Life gets better with age, right? Well, except when it comes to our metabolisms. We can’t quite eat like we used to, and the extra weight gets harder to lose.
But it’s not all gloom and doom for our waistlines. There are ways to boost our metabolisms, even after the age of 40!
Ready to turn back the hands of time? Let’s look at everything you need to know about how to increase metabolism after 40.
Stay Hydrated
Boosting your metabolism is as simple as drinking a glass of water! Eight glasses a day, to be exact. Though shoot for drinking more on days you work out.
Your body loves to stay hydrated. In fact, you burn more calories than normal when you’re properly hydrated.
Try to stick with drinking ice water. It triggers your body to burn even more calories by working harder to warm you back up to normal body temperature. Eight glasses of ice water a day can burn up to 70 calories.
Detox Your System
One reason your metabolism slows down as you age is that your digestive tract accumulates clogs and build-up. That prevents your organs from working at peak levels. To get things moving again, you need to detox your digestive system.
A good way of doing this is eating more fibre and enzymes together. Adding food like sauerkraut (which has natural digestive enzymes) and beans (chockfull of soluble fibre) will help clean you out.
Once you’re detoxed, you’ll have better digestion, elimination, and metabolism.
Work Your Muscles
It’s no secret, your muscles begin to lose mass as you age. But one way to fight this, and speed up metabolism, is to get your muscles moving again.
Do strength training sessions at least twice a week for 30 minutes each. Movements such as planks, squats, and lunges will engage more than one muscle group at a time.
While you’re strength training, make your movements deliberately slow. This will cause tiny tears and a breakdown of muscle tissue. The repair process will boost your metabolism for up to 3 days after your session!
Limit Toxin Exposure
You may not know it, but you’re exposed to toxins on a daily basis. These hormone-disrupting chemicals are in things like your tap water, cleaning supplies, and non-stick cookware.
Toxins will build-up in your body, using up resources to clear them out. Resources that should be helping you burn fat instead and keep your metabolism up.
To limit your toxin exposure, drink only filtered tap water and buy an air purifier. Use all-natural cleaning supplies and certified toxin-free personal care products. And opt for organic food when possible.
Eat Protein
Adding protein as part of a metabolism reboot diet will help build lean muscle mass. It also keeps you feeling full longer.
And no better time to start than with a breakfast of protein. Since muscles break down as you sleep, refuel with a breakfast of eggs, Greek yogurt, or add nut butter to a morning smoothie.
Since protein packs more calories than carbohydrates, you should only be eating about 20 grams of protein at each meal.
Don’t Skip Breakfast
Speaking of breakfast, skipping it is a bad idea when you’re wanting to get your metabolism revved up.
That’s because you activate the thermogenesis process, stimulating your metabolism, when you eat breakfast. The longer you wait to eat, the longer it takes to get this process going.
Within two hours of waking up, try starting your day with a green smoothie of lemon juice, greens, and high-fibre fruit. It provides a host of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and fibre – all great things to boost that metabolism!
Try Interval Training
A longer exercise routine doesn’t always mean better. In fact, incorporating interval training for a shorter period of time will torch calories long after you stop working out.
The even better news is, you can add interval training to any workout you like. Walking, swimming, running, aerobic – it doesn’t matter!
All you have to do is add short bursts of speed into your routine for one minute. Follow it with a period of rest or slow speed for two minutes. Repeat this for the entire workout.
Interval training will jump start your fat burning and give your metabolism the boost it needs.
Get a Full Night’s Sleep
For an easy way to boost your metabolism, why not sleep your way through it?
Your body needs 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night to rejuvenate itself. Sleep also helps to curb your appetite, which explains why not getting enough can lead to overeating and weight gain.
Train yourself to go to bed at a certain time every night. Establishing a bedtime routine will help your body stay on schedule.
Use Probiotics
Your body’s natural “good” bacteria decrease with age. These bacteria help absorb needed nutrients and fight off toxins, both of which aids weight regulation and healthy metabolism.
You can increase “good” bacteria with diet, but you can also take a probiotic for it.
A high-potency probiotic contains 80 billion bifidobacteria and lactobacilli. These are two strains of “good” bacteria that work together well in the body to help support your digestive health and increase your metabolism.
Sip Some Green Tea
Your ideal metabolism may be a cup of tea away. A cup of green tea!
It’s true, sipping on either hot or iced green tea can help your metabolism run at peak performance. It contains a stimulate that gets your metabolism going and helps with weight loss.
Plus, caffeine contained in green tea triggers the nervous system to release fat into your bloodstream. This fat is then used as fuel that the body burns.
Now You Know How to Increase Metabolism After 40
You really can have it all after 40, even that ideal waistline! And now that you know how to increase metabolism after 40, you can show them that age is just a number.
Avoiding sugar is also a great way to boost your metabolism. Check out the effects of sugar on your health.