Metabolism jump start: 10 small changes for big results

While perusing Pinterest I came across another Metabolism Boosting article. I’ve pinned a bunch before, but this one really caught my attention.

I need to do something different.

I’ve been doing well with my eating (when I’m committed and on track), but I think I could be making some small changes to make my body work more efficiently. I don’t get to workout as often as I’d like, so I need to make sure my food plan is working harder for me.

I think many of the tips mentioned in the article are totally doable. I’m going to make a plan for the next two weeks and then see how it’s working for me.

Check the original article out if you’re interested. Some of the tips just aren’t going to work for me. I don’t drink coffee, so I won’t even address that one.

I really try with this one, but feeding the little ones breakfast and trying to get our day started means that sometimes I just don’t have the time to eat like I should. I’m going to work harder on this one. I’ve been meaning to make up some Egg Breakfast Muffins, and I think I’ll try making them in ham “cups” for a little protein boost.

This is easy because I already make sure to load up on the ice when I drink my water. I had no idea that it helped my body burn a few extra calories by heating up the ice cold water. Bonus!

I’ll work on this one. According to MyFitnessPal, I usually go over on my protein so I’m off to a good start. It’s nice to know I should be aiming for 30 grams at each meal – about 4oz chicken or 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese.

No thanks. Not a tea drinker… BUT… I do have some green tea supplements. Maybe I’ll try to add those to my morning routine.

Looks like a good afternoon snack rich in dairy will boost metabolism by increasing your body’s efficiency with removing waste. I think I’ll attempt to add some afternoon snacks into my routine and try to keep them focused on dairy – string cheese (I’ve been craving those anyway), yogurt, or cottage cheese.

I’ve read about the benefits of capsaicin on boosting metabolism. This is a good reminder and I’ll try to work some heat into our meals. One of my favorite weight watcher breakfast recipes ads a small dab of chili paste to the eggs and I might have to make that a habit in the mornings.

This one I know, but I need a reminder that just because I can’t get the kids out for a run doesn’t mean I don’t have time to squeeze in some high-intensity interval workouts.

Like many women with children, I have a supply if fish oil supplements from my last pregnancy. Instead of sitting around, I need to start taking those again because they increase the ability of fat-burning enzymes. The article advices popping two two hours before a workout. Please. I’ll be happy if I can remember to take one with a green tea pill in the morning.

I love fish, so this will be easy. For some. Reason it doesn’t seem to make it to the menu as often as it should. For the next couple weeks, I’ll try to have one meal of fish a week.

Here is one of the hardest for me. I’m sure this will make sleep experts cringe, but I actually get into bed around 8:30-9:00. The little guy and I spend some time together, so he doesn’t wake up his sister after she’s just gotten to sleep at 8. My time in bed is when I finally get a couple hours of Me Time. It’s my first moment of the day without kiddos, and I usually use it to get on the iPad and get some blogging, email, Pinterest, business, etc. time. Obviously, there are times this is hard to turn off and I get to sleep later than I would like (as I write this it is 1:30am). I also have little ones and never get a full night sleep. It works to stay up until at least midnight because the littlest will likely be up and the again I the wee hours of the morning and both kiddos will likely be up around 6:30. I make no promises, but I’ll work on this.

Ok, there’s the plan. It ends up being 10 separate changes, but all are completely doable as long as I plan to stay conscious of them.