Start off your morning with these 9 rituals and you’ll be well on your way to boosting your metabolism and keeping it revved up all day long. The key is to incorporate them one at a time until they feel totally natural, rather than trying to overhaul your current morning routine.
1. Drink Warm Lemon Water Right When You Wake Up
When you wake up and don’t know what to do first, taking up the habit of having a cup of warm lemon water will serve you well. It cleanses the digestive system and gets your metabolism on point so that you’re firing on all cylinders.
The water should be warm so that it’s not a shock to your system, but you can switch to cold water for the remainder of your water intake, as this has been shown to raise your resting metabolic rate.
You can also add in a bit of organic, raw honey to sweeten up the sour lemon and introduce digestive enzymes and antioxidants to the equation.
Making It Work: Each time you’re at the store make sure you pick up a bag of organic lemons. Having them on hand is key if you want to stick with this long enough to make a habit out of it. Lemons keep very well in the refrigerator, so they won’t go bad before you can use them up.
2. Set Your Alarm 30 Minutes Earlier
This might be the hardest step, especially if you already feel like you’re required to wake up too early. Waking up earlier is going to boost your metabolism by putting you in sync with the way the body works, and helping you eliminate at the right time.
You’ll be helping to remove toxins from your body by getting into the natural circadian rhythm and be more in tune with your body’s 24 cycle, which naturally wants to release toxins in urine and waste at dawn. Sleeping later only delays that release and keeps the toxins in the body, with the possibility of having them reabsorbed.
Making It Work: It might seem tough to wake up earlier than you have to, but it’s not so bad as long as you go to sleep earlier the night before. Your day really begins the previous night, so make sure you take the strategic step of getting to bed earlier to account for the earlier wake up time.
3. Rebound for 5 Minutes
A rebounder is great for getting your lymph fluid flowing and keeping your thyroid healthy. The lymphatic system and thyroid play a big part in your metabolic rate, so keeping them happy is key, and rebounding works wonders in this area.
If you’re having a good time, and have more time to rebound, you can stay on it longer and do yourself even more good. The 5 minutes is just a minimum, and something that anyone can do every morning to shake off sleep and get energized for the day.
Making It Work: You can buy a high-quality rebounder for less than $50, and keep it in a corner of your house that is easily accessible. Once you have it in place it’s very hard not to get on it for a few minutes each day.
4. Perform the 5 Tibetan Rites
These 5 actions, when done together and in the recommended sequence, can help your metabolism kick into a higher gear. They include spinning in a circle, doing leg lifts, arching your back, making a table, and a full body lunge.
Here is a free video which shows how to do a complete circuit of the five rites, including rests between them. She’s able to complete it in a little over 10 minutes, so this is something that you can work into even the busiest of mornings, and will set the tone of calm and tranquility that washes over the rest of your day.
Making It Work: Start off slowly and be OK with the fact that you might not be able to do all of the actions shown. Your goal should be to work up to these 5 exercises over time, gaining the benefits along the way, not all at once.
5. Lift Weights for 20 Minutes
Building muscle is a sure way to increase your metabolic rate, and one of the best times of the day to lift weights is in the morning. This is one ritual you don’t want to pass on, and if you choose only one on this list, make it this one.
Lifting weights puts your body in fat-burning mode, and if you don’t get exercise in the morning the likelihood is that you’ll be in fat-storing mode instead. By getting active in the morning you’ll have a greater chance of staying active and energetic all day.
If doing resistance training isn’t feasible, do an HIIT session. High Intensity Interval Training will keep your metabolism high for several hours after you complete the session.
Making It Work: If you don’t see yourself going to the gym every morning for strength training, invest in a set of resistance bands and use those instead. They take away any weather-related excuse, and make it so you can lift all of your major muscle groups from the comfort and privacy of home.
6. Have 2 Eggs, Any Style
Eggs are a great way to get your metabolism in gear, and it doesn’t matter how you cook them up, you’ll still be getting the nutrition and the boost to your metabolism they provide.
The protein in eggs is what is most important for your metabolism, and will make sure that you not only feel satisfied for much of the morning, but that you’re burning calories as you go about your day.
If you want to round things out and make it more of a meal, consider adding othermetabolism-boosting foods to your morning. Cook your eggs in coconut oil, have organic pears or peaches with them, or have a bowl of oatmeal with raspberries or blueberries on top.
Making It Work: Expand your repertoire of egg recipes so that you can make up your eggs in many different ways so that you look forward to them rather than thinking you have to stay with the same old same old every morning.
7. Drink a Cup of Green Tea
Green tea has antioxidants in it that improve your overall health, but for the purpose of an increased metabolism you’ll be most interested in the EGCG and catechins it contains.
You’ll have to continue to drink green tea throughout the day if you want to get the most benefits from it. One cup might not be enough to produce the effect of a faster metabolism, and research suggests that multiple cups per day are required, as many as five or more.
Making It Work: These days there are plenty of different green teas on the market, which helps to keep things interesting each morning. There are green teas that are mixed with different berries, as well as other herbs to provide energy and detox benefits.
8. Pack a Snack for Later
The morning is the time to set yourself up for success the rest of the day, and make sure you don’t run into any metabolism roadblocks later on. Getting hungry and reaching for the nearest unhealthy snack is a good way to slow your metabolism down, so be prepared with a healthy snacking option.
Change up your snack depending on how you feel each day, and what you think you’ll want most later. This keeps it interesting and makes you more likely to stick with it and form a habit out of it. Snacking helps keep your metabolism strong and prevents eating food that isn’t good for you.
Making It Work: Make a snack that you’re really going to want later so that you have something to get excited about before lunch. It’s amazing how a simple snack can totally change the way you feel all morning long, with the anticipation before the snack and the satisfaction after you eat it.
9. Fill Your Water Bottle
Staying hydrated is key if you want to keep your metabolism humming along. If you started your morning with a cup of warm water with lemon, you’ve already started the process of rehydrating the body after a night’s slumber.
Making It Work: Take your weight and divide by 2. Drink that amount of water in ounces each day. To make it extra simple, buy a water bottle that makes it easy to divide it up for the day. So if you want to drink 75 ounces of water, find a 24 ounce water bottle and make sure to fill it up 3 times (plus drink your lemon water when you awake)
