After your workout, muscles are activated all over your body increasing your metabolism. You are burning calories even when you aren’t working out!

Healthy Lifestyle Tip: 9 Ways to Rev up Your Metabolism

You can burn more calories just by tweaking your habits.

Build more muscle.
It’s true what they say about muscle burning more calories than fat: Muscle is about three times more metabolically active than fat tissue, so by increasing lean muscle, you’ll burn more calories even when you’re sitting still!

Don’t sit still.
The “fidget factor” – activities such as cleaning the house, playing an instrument, even wiggling your toes – has a cumulative effect on body weight. Take the stairs, dance to your favorite tunes while you cook dinner; play with your kids, put your wastebasket at the far end of your office, and wander around when you’re talking on the phone. Just plain FIDGET whenever and wherever you can to keep your metabolism revved up throughout the day.

Get keen on cardio.
You probably already know that aerobic exercise (like running, brisk walking, swimming, and bike riding) increases many different metabolic processes (like your heart rate), all of which burn extra calories. But, did you know that aerobic activities also keep your metabolism humming at a higher speed for hours after exercising?

Eat protein at every meal.
When it comes to food, think protein. Because your body uses energy to digest food, eating any type of food at all gives your metabolism a slight uptick, but the consumption of protein contributes the greatest metabolic boost when compared with carbohydrates and fat. In addition, protein can increase your metabolism by helping to maintain and build muscle mass.

Keep eating.
When you’re cutting calories to lose weight, it’s important to feed your fire and keep your metabolism at its optimal level by eating at least 1,000 calories a day. Your body and metabolism thrive on food, so when you fast, crash diet, or restrict your intake to below 1,000 calories, your metabolism will respond by slowing down to conserve energy. Imagine your metabolism as a blazing fire: Feed the fire continually, and it will keep burning at a good rate. If you stop feeding it, the fire goes out.

Change your routine.
If you’ve been working out for a while, and the numbers on the scale won’t budge, it’s probably time to switch up your routine. Perhaps you and your body are simply becoming bored with the same old program. Vary your food choices, browse for healthy recipes online, try a new restaurant, or modify your exercise program. Sometimes little changes are just enough to recharge your body and propel you out of a rut.

Skip processed, go whole.
Whole foods – think vegetables, fruits, and whole grains – require your body to work harder during digestion than processed foods like sugary snacks and refined “white” starch. That means your metabolism gets a significant boost when you eat meals containing foods in their natural state.

Stay hydrated.
Water is necessary to maintain a healthy metabolism. In fact, about 60% of your body is water so you must stay hydrated to function efficiently.

Go to bed earlier.
Research has shown that sleep deprivation can have a significant impact on your ability to lose weight. When we sleep less, we have more opportunities to eat. Also, when we’re tired from lack of sleep, we have less resolve to fight cravings and mindless munching. The obvious solution to this problem is to get more sleep – aim for at least seven hours a night. And before you say “impossible,” think about this: One study showed that the difference in the amount of shut-eye between obese subjects and slim ones was about two hours a week – that’s only 17 minutes more sleep per night!