Speeding up your metabolism is one of the key steps to losing weight because it allows you to burn more calories. We’ve shown you 3 side dishes and 3 spices that boost metabolism, but proteins can too! Eating more of the right kind of protein won’t result in magically dropping a few extra pounds, but it will help you to burn more calories, especially if you’re exercising regularly.
Your body works harder when digesting protein than when it’s digesting fats or carbohydrates. Eating good lean meats, like white meat chicken or turkey, helps boost up your metabolism simply because they require so much energy to fully digest in your body. Plus, all that protein helps preserve your muscle mass and keep your metabolism at its peak performance.
Oily fish like salmon, herring and tuna, are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids reduce resistance to the leptin, a hormone that plays an important roles in determining how fast fat is burned. They also balance blood sugar and reduce inflammation, both of which help to regulate metabolism.
Although adding protein to your diet may help boost your metabolism, higher protein intake alone will not result in signfiicantly burning more calories. Your muscle mass will only increase if combined with exercises, such as weight training. Also, while it does take more energy to digest proteins than fats and carbs, protein still has calories, which means if you eat too much of it, you will still gain weight.
Replacing those refined carbohydrates with high-protein and foods that are naturally low in fat, if the best way to go without unwanted calories.
