You just don’t want to live (in a broader sense please!), but live healthier and stronger. Yes, when you are considering staying fit, you have to keep a check on your metabolism rate on a daily basis. There are many reasons why you’ll want to increase your metabolism, as it can help you lose weight, maintain your physique, or build up body resistance. Fortunately, you don’t need to be a certified nutritionist to give your metabolism a boost, as these tips will help you achieve that goal.

1. Eat Meals in Small Portions

This may sound weird, but the more often you eat, the faster your metabolism will be. So, it’s a good idea to eat frequently. To avoid putting on some unwanted pounds, eat your meals in small portions, as it’s not only healthier but also easier to digest. If you have to eat three meals a day, make sure dinner is the lightest and don’t eat anything at least three hours before going to sleep. The reason is that your body will take longer to process and burn the fats when you are asleep.

2. Add Chromium in Your Diet

Chromium helps your body burn calories, so make sure you get 120 mcg of chromium daily. You can get it from different kinds of food, but the best sources to munch on would be spinach, bananas, green peppers, eggs and meat. Tomatoes are also rich in chromium and it can be found in multivitamin supplements as well.

3. Get Some Sunshine

Everyone knows that sunlight is good for your bones, but it also boosts your metabolism and increase muscle strength. For best results, make sure you get some morning sunshine every day.

4. Watch What You Drink

A quick way to increase metabolism is to drink iced water, as the cold water forces your body to produce heat. Other drinks that can help are green tea and coffee (although tea is preferable). Water of course, will also help but make sure you drink at least eight 8 oz glasses a day.

5. Get Enough Vitamins 

If you take 500 mg of vitamin C daily, plus eat kiwi fruit, you’re going to burn up to 40% fat when working out. But don’t take more than 2,000 mg of vitamin C a day, as you’ll suffer side effects like diarrhea, gas and bloating. You should also take vitamin B every day, particularly B 12 because it is a natural energy booster. All types of vitamin B are important, but when it comes to boosting the body’s metabolism, emphasis will be on B12 and B complex.

6. Get into Weight Training

Weight training will also help in the long run as muscle burns calories.  You don’t need to become a bodybuilder, but developing some muscles is necessary.

7. Don’t Starve Yourself

Starving won’t help you burn calories, and in fact will make things worse, because when your calorie intake drops below 1,000 your metabolism will slow down. This happens because your body senses that you are in starvation mode.

Apart from weight training, you can also boost your metabolism through aerobics exercise. For this to work though, you need to workout vigorously, your rate must increase and the pace has to be maintained for 30 minutes at a time.