[00:00:00] Kennt ihr auch diesen einen Freund, der morgens einfach so ruckzuck aus dem Bett und danach aus dem Grinsen gar nicht mehr rauskommt? Der sogar noch vor dem ersten Kaffee unverschämt gut gelaunt ist und mit der Morgensonne um die Wette strahlt? Furchtbar, ekelhaft, wie kann man nur so... Ausgeruht sein? Ganz einfach, trainiere deinen Schlaf und werde auch du zum Morgenmenschen. Mit der Galaxy Watch 7 oder dem Galaxy Ring und der Samsung Health App.
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[00:00:55] This is Optimal Health Daily. 4 Surprising Ways to Increase Your Metabolism. By Robbie Farlow with markfisherfitness.com. And I'm Dr. Neil, your host and narrator. Welcome back to Optimal Health Daily or OHD, where I act as your narrator of popular health and fitness blogs. And don't forget we've got 5 shows covering a bunch of different topics. Just search for Optimal Living Daily in any podcast app to find them. With that, let's get right to it and start optimizing your life.
[00:01:28] 4 Surprising Ways to Increase Your Metabolism. By Robbie Farlow with markfisherfitness.com. No one likes fat loss. Saying you enjoy fat loss is like saying you enjoy giving the IRS your hard-earned money. And who the heck wants to admit that? But every year, millions of people attempt to lose excess weight. And of those millions of people sweating it out in gyms across the world, the majority of them would do just about anything to increase their metabolism so they can achieve their goals in less time.
[00:01:57] Sadly, you can't fight science. And no matter what any gimmicky product tries to tell you, the key to burning body fat is to maintain a negative energy balance. Still, you see stories all the time online or in the news about some new fat-burning superfood that's the end-all be-all for fat loss. Here's the thing. There are foods that can increase your metabolism and aid in your quest to becoming a lean, mean, muscular machine. But they'll only work when you're in a caloric deficit.
[00:02:25] And some of these so-called superfoods are a little too pricey for my wallet. So here are a few non-food sources that can increase your metabolism and help you make your summer shred a little bit easier. Capsaicin. There are two things people moan about when it comes to dieting. One, giving up their favorite foods. And two, eating bland, tasteless meals. When it comes to cooking lean cuts of meat like chicken breast or whitefish,
[00:02:50] it's important to keep herbs and spices like rosemary, oregano, salt, black pepper, ginger, garlic, and chili pepper in your pantry. Hot chili peppers have been used medicinally for centuries around the world, but also for adding more flavor to food. Capsaicin, the compound that gives peppers their kick, may affect the thermogenic process. For instance, one study found that men who ate meals with added capsaicin pepper metabolized food more efficiently than those who didn't.
[00:03:19] And they consumed 25% fewer calories without feeling hungry later. Other studies have backed up the hunger-blunting effects of capsaicin as well. So adding a little hot sauce or chili peppers to your next meal may not only help increase your metabolism, but they may block those pesky hunger pains that happen during a cut. Coffee. Fact. Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world. The number one commodity is oil.
[00:03:45] And in the United States, the average coffee drinker consumes 3.1 cups of coffee each day. Like capsaicin, studies have found that coffee increases your metabolic rate, with much of that increase coming from the release of fat. Now, of course, without keeping energy expenditure in check, the fat-burning benefits provided by coffee don't mean a d**k. But if you're in a caloric deficit, you may be able to reap the benefits provided by a delicious cup of joe. Here's how coffee works to mobilize stored fat in your body.
[00:04:14] The caffeine in coffee stimulates your nervous system by increasing the amount of epinephrine in your bloodstream. Epinephrine tells your fat cells it's time to break down and head to the blood to be used for energy. Even if you're sitting at your desk and working, caffeine increases your resting metabolic rate. This rate can range anywhere from a 3 up to an 11% increase. And one study found that those who are already lean can see their metabolic rate increase by nearly 30%.
[00:04:43] Sadly, there is one drawback to consuming massive amounts of coffee. Over time, the effectiveness of caffeine for those that are heavy coffee drinkers lessens. So, heavy coffee consumers will lose the metabolic benefits held in those tiny, delicious-smelling beans. Dr. Neil here for a quick aside. Again, I discussed this very topic on yesterday's Q&A. So, if you want more information on caffeine and its effects on belly fat, definitely check out yesterday's episode. That's episode 1043. Alright, back to the post.
[00:05:13] Cold water. Dehydration can have a horrendous effect on your workouts, but it can also wreck your metabolism. Proper hydration does two things. One, it helps your liver break down fatty acids to use as fuel. And two, it keeps your kidneys running in tip-top shape. But when you're dehydrated, your liver has to pick up the slack from your less efficient kidneys to rid the body of toxins. This means you may lose some of the fat-burning capabilities of your liver. And you're trying to lose body fat, right? So that's not good.
[00:05:43] Guzzling down more water will not only help your liver better process its fat stores, but consuming 500 milliliters of water before each meal could help you lose an extra 5 pounds over 12 weeks. Drinking ice-cold water has also been shown to increase your metabolism due to the thermogenic effect of bringing the cold water up to body temperature. The effect isn't staggering, to say the least. But every little bit counts, right? Your environment. Okay, so stick with me on this one.
[00:06:10] This metabolism-stoking non-food source is pretty neat. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or NEAT, is what happens every day as you walk through the world. Actually, it's happening right now as I type this very sentence. Typing this only burns a few calories. But my point is, NEAT is all the physical activity you do every day that isn't structured exercise.
[00:06:34] For example, walking from your car to the grocery store, swinging your arms, dancing, typing, singing, shopping, cleaning your home, cooking, or working in the yard. Now here's the interesting thing about NEAT. According to a study by the American Heart Association, the amount of NEAT you perform every day may be entirely influenced by your environment. If you're an office worker who sits all day and only gets up to go to the bathroom or leave for the day,
[00:07:02] you're not in an ideal place that promotes activity. Now if you're a letter carrier, or even a doctor, or nurse, or a teacher, your NEAT will be far higher as your job requires more activity. The American Heart Association study estimates that NEAT can vary by up to 2,000 calories a day. That's the recommended daily allowance of calories for an adult male by the USDA. So how can you get more active outside of the gym and increase your NEAT even if your environment isn't conducive to activity?
[00:07:32] According to the study by the American Heart Association, one way to do that is to get rid of your chair and use a standing desk, or hold meetings with colleagues while everyone takes a walk. The study even suggests using yoga bands and stretches as a way to improve group dynamics before beginning work every morning. You may not have control over your work environment, but to increase NEAT, look at the environment you live in, and look at ways you can change it. You could do this by parking your car further away from your building,
[00:08:00] or getting off the train station one stop early, or walking to the places that are less than a mile from your home, or taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Conclusion Energy balance is the key to driving fat loss, and the non-food sources I mentioned earlier, according to the data, have been shown to increase your metabolism. But if you're not in a calorie deficit, it won't matter, so you need to take care of that first. When combined with a negative energy balance, these non-food sources can give your metabolism a healthy boost
[00:08:30] and make your fat loss efforts more effective. You just listened to the post titled, Four Surprising Ways to Increase Your Metabolism, by Robbie Farlow, with markfisherfitness.com, and I'll be right back with my commentary. Oikos presents 15 seconds of strength. Here we go. Steve's got a trunk full of groceries and no one to help him. Oh, that's tough, Jim. Looks like a five-trip load at least. He grabs the first bag, the second.
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[00:10:25] Shopify.com slash OHD. Dr. Neil here for my commentary. I want to mention something really interesting about drinking cold water specifically. Remember, today's author, Robbie, discussed drinking cold water may increase your metabolism because your body has to warm up that water. Warming up water takes energy, just like it would when you're trying to warm up water on the stove. Now, Robbie also mentioned the importance of hydration. Well, something really interesting about cold water
[00:10:55] as it relates to both hydration and metabolism is that cold water gets absorbed more quickly than warm or room temperature water. When I used to mention this to my exercise physiology students, it would blow their minds. It seems so counterintuitive. But here's the thing. The reason why cold water may be absorbed more rapidly than room temperature or warm water is still a bit of a mystery, but researchers believe that it triggers some of the nerves in the gut. When these particular nerves get triggered,
[00:11:25] they somehow tell the gut to absorb the water we just drank more quickly. So, after a workout or on days when you're feeling particularly parched, drinking cold water may not only speed up the rehydration process, but it may also slightly increase your metabolism. All right, that'll do it from me for today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend if you're listening in real time, and I'll see you back here tomorrow for the Sunday show and where your optimal life awaits. Thank you.