Ginger Cochran, MS, RDN, CDCES, EP
The New Year is approaching, and many of us plan to restart our healthy diet after the holidays. The internet is full of lists of foods that may increase your metabolism. Unfortunately, when you dive into the research, only a few foods show beneficial effects on metabolism. In this blog, we’re diving into what food to eat to increase your metabolic rate.
Our metabolism is also called our total energy expenditure (TEE). It can be split into different components: resting energy expenditure, which is the energy required to support the body’s basic activities like breathing; activity-induced energy expenditure, the energy burned from movement; diet-induced thermogenesis, the energy spent to process the ingested food (about 10%-15% of energy expenditure); and the energy necessary for the body to stay warm.
The calorie burners we control most are our activity and the thermic effects of food. This is where lifestyle and the foods we choose to eat come in, and we at Designer Wellness are all about helping you choose healthier foods that also promote your metabolism through the thermic effect of foods.
The Top Metabolism-Boosting Foods
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Protein
Proteins cause an increase in calorie burn when digested, plus help aid weight management due to their satiating effect (1). Protein has been shown to have a higher thermodynamic effect, aka calorie burn, than fats or carbohydrate foods. Protein foods include Designer Wellness Protein Powders, Designer Smoothies, animal meats, beans, dairy, eggs, and soy.
Boosting your protein intake and causing an increase in metabolism is easy. Make sure your meals contain at least 30g of protein. According to research, thirty grams of protein may be the most beneficial on your metabolic burn from food. (2)
Examples of 30g or more of protein include the following
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2 scoops Designer Whey (40g of protein)
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1 scoop Designer Egg in 1 cup of Soy Milk (32g)
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1 Designer Smoothie with 2 Hard Boiled Eggs (about 30g of Protein)
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2 scoops Designer Lite in 1 cup milk (about 32g of protein)
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2 scoops Designer Plant in Almond Milk with 1 Tbsp Peanutbutter (31g of protein)
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1.5 cups of lentil soup (about 30g of protein)
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4 ounces of chicken, fish, or firm tofu ( about 28-32g pr Protein)
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1 cup cottage cheese with 1 tablespoon nuts and (about 30g of protein)
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Whey Protein
Different protein sources are broken down and metabolized by the body differently. There are different foods with protein that boost your metabolism more than other protein foods (3).
The protein that’s been shown to increase your metabolism the most is whey protein. You can find whey protein in Designer Smoothie, Aria, Designer Lite, and Designer Whey. These are all great sources of whey to help boost your metabolism.
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High Fiber Carbohydrates
When it comes to carbohydrates, high-fiber carbohydrates like beans, lentils, winter squash, fruit, and whole grains like barley, farro, and wild rice burn more energy to digest than refined flours like white flour. Including carbohydrate sources in your diet is vital for stable energy throughout the day (4).
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Green Tea
Green tea is supported in research to increase calorie burn and fat oxidation (fat burn) after consumption (5). Enjoying green tea is easy; either brew a cup or add a scoop of matcha green tea to your favorite vanilla or plain Designer Wellness protein powder.
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Red Chili Pepper
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According to research, eating 1g of dried red chili pepper in a meal may increase your calorie burn after eating and promote fat oxidation.
It’s not just calories in and out that influence our metabolism and fat burn. What we eat plays a massive role in our daily calorie burn. Choose metabolism-boosting foods like protein foods, whey protein, green tea, and red chili peppers to help increase the thermic effect of food. Use this list of metabolic-boosting foods as a guide when making your New Year meal plan.
