Often, even following a low-calorie diet we lose weight very slowly: in this case we need to speed up the metabolism! That’s how.
You definitely need to do that change your approach to nutrition and start doing physical activity on a regular basis. In fact, it is now known that our ability to lose weight more or less quickly is linked to the activity of our basal metabolic rate.
This indicates the amount of energy (i.e. calories) necessary for our body to perform all its functions correctly when it is in a state of rest. In practice, eating, sleeping and breathing also involve energy consumption, and this energy consumption is higher if an individual is fitter and more muscular.
What are the foods that help us increase the speed of metabolism?
Even at rest, in fact, muscle tissue consumes more calories than adipose tissue and, precisely for this reason, athletes need to eat more simply to sustain themselves.
Sedentary people have a slower basal metabolic rate, that is, they take longer to transform food into energy and therefore, to “consume” fat reserves. Basically, the more trained you are, the easier it is to lose weight, the more sedentary you are, the more difficult it is to lose weight because the metabolism is “off”.
If that’s true doing more physical activity is the best way to speed up the basal metabolic rate, today we know that certain foods can help speed up our metabolism, thus helping us to lose weight faster.
Among the most famous foods are the stimulants such as: tea, coffee and guarana. It goes without saying that you should never exceed the intake of these foods as inserting them massively into the diet could lead to palpitations and tachycardia.
In particular the green tea it not only speeds up the metabolism but also a facilitate the disposal of excess liquids as it is an excellent natural diuretic. Considering that a lot of excess weight is caused by water retention (especially in women) drinking green tea is a great way to get rid of it.
Chilli, ginger, cinnamon and pepper also help speed up the metabolism but, unlike tea and coffee, they don’t contain substances that have a long-lasting effect. This means that to speed up your metabolism consistently you should insert these spices in most of the dishes we consume.
It also seems that cocoa and dark chocolate help you lose weight faster, provided (of course) not to overdo the quantities. Now it’s up to you to decide if and how to include these foods but remember first always seek the opinion of your doctor, never do anything on your own.