Studies confirm that going without food for certain lengths of time has numerous health benefits like improving insulin sensitivity, increasing energy levels, and boosting metabolism. To ease into it, allow 15 hours between dinner and breakfast a few times per week. If you are more of a morning eater, try skipping dinner multiple times a week and only eat during the mornings and afternoons. Intermittent fasting is not intended to be calorie depriving. In fact, you should not be reducing your caloric intake at all when practicing this form of fasting. You are simply giving your body more time in between meals to reset because digestion is a lot of work on your system.
Stop Calorie Restriction
Give your body the calories it needs to function properly! If you are dieting too intensely, you can wind up entering “starvation mode.” This causes hormonal and cellular changes that drive up your hunger and thirst, while slowing down your fat-burning abilities and muscle growth. Your body slows down all of its essential processes as a means of conserving energy since it is not consuming enough fuel in the form of food.
Exercise
Various forms of exercise have been shown to have both short and long-term effects on metabolic function. I often tell my clients that mild intermittent fasting paired with moderate exercise can be a great combination for combatting poor metabolism. Moderate cardio in a fasted state first thing in the morning, for example, has been shown to offer superior metabolic effects than exercising after eating.
Cold Showers
You may be thinking that this one sounds like an old wives’ tale, but it actually works! Not only does cold water force your body to work harder to keep you warm, thereby burning more calories, it also activates healthy brown fat that helps to eliminate harmful adipose (white) fat. For optimal results, alternate 20 seconds of hot water and 20 seconds of cold water in the shower for a few minutes.
Get Plenty of Sleep
There is a proven link between a properly functioning metabolism and getting adequate sleep and rest. Therefore, a lack of sleep can literally mean a lack of weight loss. “Running on fumes” can seriously slow down your metabolism, so it is absolutely imperative for you to get around eight hours of sleep every night. Just because your brain may feel like it is able to function on limited sleep, that does not mean that your body is operating optimally on it.
Eat the Right Foods