10 Surprising Metabolism Boosters for Women in 2021

nagina-abdullah

Nagina Abdullah

MOLECULAR & CELL
BIOLOGY, UC BERKELEY

January 1, 2021

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What are the best metabolism boosters for women? 

Today, you get the ultimate strategies to boost your metabolism, burn more calories, and lose weight. I’ve used these strategies myself, and so have hundreds of my students — with results like this: 

Tree weight loss Facebook post

Want to learn more? Read on!

Want to burn fat and boost your metabolism?

Get the free cheat sheet with 10 surprising fat-burning foods.

How can you boost your metabolism?

Ever thought: 

“I hate the layer of pudgy fat all over my body” or…

“I feel lethargic, tired, unhealthy with the extra weight.”

Then you might be looking for ways to boost your metabolism and melt away your stomach fat.

What is metabolism?

Metabolism is a chemical process that converts food to energy. Everything from breathing to exercising is part of your metabolism. 

A well-functioning metabolism is crucial if you want to lose weight. (But it’s not a “silver bullet” — healthy and long-term weight loss takes time, so you won’t increase your metabolism just by consuming metabolism-boosting pills or supplements. In fact, and as you’ll see later in this article, these types of “quick fixes” can hurt you more than they help you.)

The bad news for women is that men tend to have a faster metabolism because they have heavier bones, more muscle mass, and less body fat. 

But that’s not to say that women can’t boost their metabolism. You absolutely can with the right foods, exercise, and support.  

That’s what students of my program, Slim Down Transformation, have been able to do, even in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond.

Take Pam, who’s in her 60s and lost a total of 100 pounds after struggling with her weight for years. 

weight loss client example

Or Kelly, in her 40s, who lost 17 pounds in 8 weeks without exercising more than a few yoga sessions.

Kelly weight loss client example

Or Pam, in her late 50s, who lost 33 pounds, without almost any exercise. 

You can find out more about the program from my free 60-minute training.

Facebook weight loss post
My student Tree enjoyed cake with her family… Guilt free!

Does your metabolism slow down? 

Too bad that your metabolism slows down as you age… Or does it? 

Technically, yes. But that doesn’t mean you can’t lose weight. 

You see, with age, your body will start working differently. You lose muscle mass that’s instead replaced by fat. This slows your metabolism. 

Also, lipid turnover in the fat tissue decreases, which makes it harder for the body to remove fat. 

Oh, and after you turn 50, hormonal changes make it even harder to lose weight with the same strategies you’ve used up until now. 

But that doesn’t mean that you can’t speed up your metabolism. You can! 

With the right strategies, which are tailored to your age and lifestyle, you can instantly boost your metabolism and start losing weight. 

For example, Slim Down Transformation helps women lose 1-2 pounds every week and sometimes even 3-4 pounds. All their weight comes off when they increase their metabolism. And they do it without dieting or exercising — or obsessively counting the number of calories they consume. 

Want to burn fat and boost your metabolism?

Get the free cheat sheet with 10 surprising fat-burning foods.

How do you boost your metabolism? 

The “secret”? When you boost your metabolism, you don’t have to exercise. You’re burning more calories as you’re sitting, working, and even watching Netflix with your spouse.

It’s like you have a hamster wheel inside your body that’s doing all the work to melt away your fat.

I myself used to struggle with my metabolism. 

Every little crumb that I ate seemed to stick itself to my body unless I used the latest trendy diet. Then I would lose a few pounds, but as fast as I had lost that weight, I would gain even more weight. 

It was constant “yo-yo” dieting that kept me feeling deprived and tired while trying to manage my busy corporate career. 

After my kids were born, I realized that I couldn’t continue in the same way. 

That’s when I started reading scientific studies to understand what actually helps women lose weight. And suddenly I had lost 40 pounds — weight that I’ve kept off to this day. 

Nagina Sethi Abdullah by the pool

After years of learning and experimenting, I created my own weight-loss program. Through that program, I’ve helped hundreds of women lose weight without fad diets or exercise.  

How? 

By eating the right foods, which melt away belly fat. 

With these foods, you boost your metabolism, decrease bloating in your belly, and reduce fat. They are also great for digestion and decreasing water retention. You see the effect on your belly almost immediately. There are women in my program who have reduced one and a half to three inches in the first three weeks!

Of course food isn’t the ONLY thing. Things like accountability are equally important.

That’s what we’ll look at next — how to achieve a high metabolism with foods, exercise, and the right support. 

The 10 metabolism boosters for women

How can you boost your metabolism and lose weight? 

Here are 10 simple things that will help you speed up your metabolism naturally and without unhealthy and unreliable metabolism booster supplements or weight loss pills. 

Use them consistently and your fat will start melting off!

#1: Protein 

What foods increase women’s metabolism?

The first thing is protein. 

salmon for weight loss

As research shows, this is one of the key ways women can boost their metabolism. You see, many proteins are enzymes, which are crucial for your metabolism. And as amino acids, proteins also contribute to cellular energy metabolism. 

In my program Slim Down Transformation, we use a concept that we call Protein More, a Slim Down Transformation core principle.

It’s simple but effective. We guide women to have protein at every meal and at the same time, make their meals healthy and delicious. 

We also provide a huge list of foods and what to pair them with to boost metabolism. For people who eat meat, we recommend foods like:

  • Chicken
  • White fish
  • Salmon
  • Turkey

And there are great options for vegetarians and vegans that are real foods and not soy-based, including: 

  • Greek yogurt
  • Chickpeas
  • Chickpea flour
  • Hemp seed
  • Vegan protein powder

#2: Spices

spices to boost metabolism

Did you know that spices increase metabolism? 

It’s true, according to decades of research

But that’s not all. Spices have other health benefits, too. 

For example, studies by the USDA show that consuming half a teaspoon of cinnamon a day leads to improvements in blood sugar, LDL-cholesterol, cholesterol, and triglycerides.

Turmeric, on the other hand, helps the body to manage oxidative and inflammatory conditions, arthritis, hyperlipidemia, and exercise-induced inflammation and muscle soreness. 

In Slim Down Transformation, we integrate metabolism-boosting foods with metabolism-boosting spices. All of the program recipes include spices in the best way to boost metabolism.

Some examples are:

  • Cinnamon, which lowers your blood sugar.
  • Turmeric, which is anti-inflammatory and reduces puffiness and bloating in your belly. 
  • Cayenne pepper, which increases metabolism and reduces your appetite. 

When you combine these spices in your day, you get incredible weight-loss and health benefits through natural additions.

#3: Eating the right amount

What’s one of the BIGGEST myths about metabolism boosters for women?

A lot of people think they need to eat less to lose weight.

But this is simply not true. 

Your metabolism will actually not work as well if you deprive yourself. 

Take a study that followed participants of the show The Biggest Loser. 

Do you think they were able to keep their weight off after losing an average of 100+ pounds in 30 weeks? 

Not at all. As the study shows, these participants had regained their weight just six years after the show. What’s more, because their weight loss was built on a rigorous diet, their metabolism had slowed down. It was now harder for them to lose weight than it was before they participated in the show. 

So instead of starving yourself, you should eat meals throughout the day. (Yes, that means eating more than when you’re using diets to lose weight!)

With the right foods, you don’t feel sugar cravings or feel that you need to eat fatty foods to feel satisfied. 

This also helps you keep your blood sugar levels stable and your energy up so that you get more done and perform at your best. 

#4: Sleep 

After food, what’s the most important thing for boosting your metabolism? 

That’s right — sleep. 

Seriously, your sleep has such a huge impact on your weight. 

The average person needs 7-8 hours of sleep every night.

And research shows that sleep deprivation affects food preferences. Sleep-deprived people tend to choose foods with lots of calories and carbohydrates. A lack of sleep also disrupts circadian rhythms, which might lead to weight gain. 

What’s more, sleep deprivation leads to metabolic dysregulation. This is associated with inflammation, weight gain, and obesity. 

In other words:

If you don’t sleep enough, your metabolism won’t work properly AND you’ll have more sugar cravings.

Look at how much you’re sleeping and that you feel rested when you wake up. 

Make sleep a priority by creating a plan so that you go to sleep early enough and get 7-8 hours of sleep every day. 

sleep for weight loss

#5: Strength training

kettlebells for strenght training

What are the best exercises to increase metabolism naturally? 

Strength training, as research shows

Unfortunately, women often get the advice that they should do cardio five times a week and that this will help them lose weight. 

This is not true. Cardio doesn’t boost your metabolism and it’s an uphill battle for losing weight. 

Instead, strength training helps you build muscles. Muscles require more energy and so you use up more of your energy just by sitting there and watching Netflix. 

That’s why the first step to increasing metabolism is to eat in the right way and the second step is to build strength. 

My recommendation is that you do strength training for 30 minutes two times a week (which is also SO much more doable for busy people than spending hours at the gym).

You can even do this at home because all you need are dumbbells or kettlebells or your body weight to get stronger and build your muscle.

As a result, you burn more fat, boost your metabolism, flatten your stomach, and strengthen your back. 

If you have back pain, it will go away and you’ll be able to do more with your legs and become leaner. 

The best part? This is a long-term sustainable lifestyle change because when you are working out twice a week, you’re going to be more in shape and you’re going to burn more fat three years from now than you will right now. That means that you’ll look better three years from now than you do now.

And because your body will have more forgiveness, you won’t see the same weight gain from a piece of cake or pizza.

The result? If you use metabolism-boosting foods 80% of the time, you can treat yourself when you feel like it. 

Want to burn fat and boost your metabolism?

Get the free cheat sheet with 10 surprising fat-burning foods.

#6: Water

infused water

Water is a real metabolism booster drink. 

A study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism shows that drinking 500 ml (about 2 1/4 cups) of water increases the metabolic rate by 30%. 

That’s why it’s so important that you keep dehydrated throughout the day. On average, people should drink six to eight glasses of water every day. 

For people with health issues such as heart and liver problems, that amount might be lower. In that case, you should ask your doctor, who can give you an individualized assessment. Also, if you exercise a lot or live in a warmer climate, you might need more water every day. 

A nice side benefit of drinking more water? You’ll feel more alert and energized throughout the day.

And don’t forget that you can make your water tasty and fun to drink. For example, in Slim Down Transformation, we use infused debloating waters, which include metabolism-boosting herbs and natural ingredients to debloat your belly while making your water less boring. 

#7: Green tea and caffeine 

green tea for weight loss

A great way to burn calories throughout the day?

Drink green tea or coffee. 

Green tea is rich in natural antioxidants and a number of studies have shown the benefits of green tea for weight loss. A Penn State study performed on mice shows that consuming green tea on a daily basis together with exercise leads to increased fat metabolism.

The dose of green tea used in the study was the equivalent of 8-10 cups of tea a day — so if you’re already a heavy tea drinker, this is for you. 

A Harvard University study shows that caffeine, which you get from coffee and most teas, seems to increase people’s metabolism. Study participants drank four cups of coffee a day, so, again, if you’re a heavy coffee drinker, your habit might have some great side benefits. (Just skip sugar and milk for the best results.)

#8: Support 

As I’ve mentioned before, boosting your metabolism doesn’t just come down to the foods you eat or your exercise regimen.

According to scientific studies, habits are more powerful than our motivations. Even if you’re extremely motivated to take action and lose weight, it’s surprisingly hard to follow through every day — because of your old, harmful habits. 

So if you decide to eat consistently throughout the day and exercise a few times a week, it can be very hard to actually do any of those things for longer than a few weeks. 

That’s where support comes in. 

In fact, support has been shown to help people lose weight. In a pilot project, participants who worked with a health coach were able to lose weight more successfully than other study participants. 

It makes sense — with a health coach, you have the support to break plateaus and get out of harmful mindset blocks. You know what to focus on without having to spend time researching every food or drink you consume. 

how a weight loss coach helps you

In our program, Slim Down Transformation, students get tailored meal plans and recipes, as well as grocery lists every single week. We work with them to help them follow the fat-burning food framework and make it very simple. 

We also customize portions and brands and the amounts of foods so that the plan can be implemented no matter what is happening in their lives. 

If they have a family that they need to feed, we give them family-friendly meals that taste good for everyone. We also give them quick and easy ideas that they can implement, even if they are working from 8 AM-7 PM without barely any breaks. 

Also, we help them break their plateaus if they get stuck for weeks. For example, we may change the portion size of one food, or we may add one food or one spice to their diet and their metabolism gets boosted again. 

So we’re able to troubleshoot and keep them moving forward on their journey all the way to their goal and to their dream body. We also share virtual workouts they can do for 30 minutes a day as many times a week as they want to. 

#9: Accountability

Just like support, accountability is important if you want to boost your metabolism.

As this University of Illinois study shows, accountability helps you lose weight. In the study, 23 women went through a weight loss program. All the women who participated lost a significant amount of weight. But those who were able to keep it off felt accountable. 

If you have accountability in place, it’s easier to change your habits. You stay consistent for several months so that your weight melts off. And at that point, your meal plans and exercise routines are a part of your life — and it’s harder to go back to your old habits. 

That’s why we pair all the students of Slim Down Transformation with an accountability coach. It’s easy to get back on track as the coach checks in and makes sure everything is going well. 

#10: Skip diet foods 

Here’s a sad statistic: More than a third of Americans are on a diet

The problem? Diets might help you lose weight in the short term… But they won’t keep your weight off in the long term. A study confirms this — popular diets are modestly effective for a year or so but then they stop working. 

Unfortunately, the same goes for weight loss supplements. A study by Oregon State University shows that no weight loss supplements have scientifically-backed weight-loss benefits. And many of them are harmful to your health and can lead to problems like bloating and heart problems!

What you should do is choose foods you like and that have metabolism-boosting benefits. That way, it’s so much easier to stick to your meal plan. And in the process, you stop craving sugary foods that are bad for your health and your waistline.

Want to burn fat and boost your metabolism?

Get the free cheat sheet with 10 surprising fat-burning foods.

Over to you!

There you have it — these are the best metabolism boosters for women that help you burn calories throughout the day. 

I’m curious to hear from you:

Which of these metabolism boosters surprised you? Why?

Leave a comment here below!

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Nagina Sethi Abdullah, BA, MBA

Nagina Abdullah is a health coach for middle-aged women and professionals. She coaches women to boost their metabolism naturally, shed pounds and keep them off. Her work with weight loss clients led to the creation of Masala Body, an online weight loss platform that provides an easy and accessible system that helps women sustainably lose weight. She has helped over 1200 women successfully lose from 10-80 lbs and create a sustainable lifestyle change. Nagina earned her degree in Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley.

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