Nutrition Guru

Wednesday, April 06, 2011 1

Q: What foods can I eat to boost my metabolism?

What foods can I eat to boost my metabolism?
The Editors
Santa Fe, NM

By: Question from: ,
$string.replaceAll(${sidebarImage.caption}, ${replace}, ${with})
A:

Call off the search for magic foods to melt fat. Establishing healthy nutrition habits will serve you and your waistline better in the long run. Aim to eat an all-around healthy diet full of fresh fruits and veggies, lean meats, and low-fat dairy products. Limit processed foods that expand your belly, and instead follow the three simple strategies below to rev your metabolism.

Don't skip breakfast. When you wake up in the morning, your metabolism is running on low. Eating breakfast causes your metabolism to start working at a higher rate. Jumpstart your metabolism with a healthy breakfast, such as a slice of whole wheat toast with almond butter or three scrambled eggs with veggies and 16 ounces of green tea.

Eat every three hours. Every time you eat, your body has to work to break down food into a usable form. This revs up your metabolism. The key is to eat small meals with a blend of high-fiber carbohydrates, lean protein, and healthy fats every few hours.

Add lean proteins to every meal. The body has to work harder to break down protein compared to other foods types. In fact, you burn 10 to 30 percent of the calories you just ate while your body digests protein. Keep in mind that not all proteins are created equal. Lean cuts of turkey, chicken, and fish are low in calories and fat, making them great choices.

- Amanda Carlson-Phillips

Related articles
5 Ways to Stoke Your Metabolism
The Metabolism-Boosting Workout
Fill Your Breakfast with Fiber

Author's Bio

Nutrition Insiders

More at Outside

Comments

1
IFer

I like Outside magazine a lot but seriously, your nutrition philosophies are from the 90s. Why don't you clarify the "boosting metabolism" term that everyone throws around. Does eating boost your metabolism, yes, temporarily, its called the thermogenic effect of food (TEF). This is solely related to digesting your food and the actual amount that your metabolism is increased is marginal, but if you just ate a high protein meal, your TEF will be higher than a high carb meal. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, what a joke. Actually, when you sleep you are burning largely fat, when you get up and have your nice "healthy" bowl of oatmeal, your body will switch over to burning carbs. Congrats, you are now burning carbs versus fat. Eat every 3 hours... more of the same tired, unproven, nutrition myths... Meal frequency has been scientifically proven to have NO effect on body composition. Calories in vs. calories out... its that simple. Your metabolism is highly correlated with your bodyweight, even higher correlated with lean body mass, not your meal frequency, or whether or not you've eaten breakfast.

Flag This

Post Comment

Current Issue Outside Magazine

Subscribe and get a great deal! 2 FREE Buyer's Guides plus a FREE GoLite Sport Bottle. Monthly delivery of Outside - your ultimate resource for today's active lifestyle. All that and BIG SAVINGS!

Free Newsletter

Get our e-mail dispatch, with Outside articles & online exclusives, delivered to your inbox each week.

Ask a Question

Our gear experts await your outdoor-gear-related questions. Go ahead, ask them anything.

* We might edit your question for length or clarity. If it's not about gear, we'll just ignore it.