Hopefully, you haven’t resorted to diet pills or some weird one food crash diet…like the Banana diet!  Yeah…really, believe it or not it’s the craze in Japan (of all places!). Apparently green tea is out…it’s all about the bananas.

Well, diet pills and crash diets may work for a short time, but it’s temporary at best, super unhealthy and only perpetuates more yo-yo dieting and worst of all, in the end, it slows your metabolism even MORE.

Why?

Because your metabolism is controlled by your hormones, which are super powerful but also very sensitive. Which is what you want, because that’s what allows your hormones to do their job in an efficient manner. BUT, constantly abusing your hormones by going on crash diets and taking harmful diet pills will “burn out” your hormones and make them much less responsive.  It’s like having slow, lazy workers, that don’t get anything done.  Good luck meeting a deadline!

So how do you “fix” your lazy metabolism so you start burning off calories again?

Here’s 3 simple but very effective tips you can implement to “wake up” your metabolism, by making sure that your hormones work optimally.

(1) Eat a diet low in sugar!  That means eliminating all refined carbs like bread, pasta, rice…basically all grains. Whole grains are better than refined grains, but for the sake of optimizing your hormones to boost your metabolism, I recommend completely eliminating grains altogether.  Of course, this also means not consuming any (processed) junk foods, like chips, ice cream, candies and soft drinks (these foods are TERRIBLE for your health).

Instead, stick to eating vegetables and some fruits.  Even fruits I would consume in moderation since they also have higher sugar (fructose) content.  But, you can’t go wrong with vegetables…especially dark leafy green vegetables like spinach and lettuce as well as cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, brussel sprouts, kale, cabbage, arugula, cauliflower and bok choy.

Vegetables are super nutrient dense and provide your body with anti-aging, anti-oxidant and anti-cancerous properties.  They also optimize your hormonal functions so to effectively help increase your metabolism!

(2) Eat plenty of quality proteins.  Most people just don’t eat enough proteins.  A major portion of a typical diet comes from refined carbs and as stated above, that completely compromises (slows down) your metabolic functions.

Getting enough protein is essential to building lean muscle and it also increases your satiety level so you get full quicker and for a longer period of time.  Eating protein also takes more energy, so you actually burn more calories by eating protein than any other types of food!  It’s a win-win situation.

Keep in mind though, that not all proteins are created equal.  I highly recommend that you eat quality protein, preferably from animal sources, since they have the highest bioavailability…meaning it gets use by your body the best.  Plant proteins are less bioavailable, but if you combine the right plant proteins, you will be able to get the necessary proteins to support your metabolic function as well.

Either way getting enough protein in your diet is key, along with low sugar intake, to maximize your hormonal functions!

(3)  Perform short bursts of intense activities!

I know that cardio is king in many people’s opinion when it comes to burning fat.  Although that’s not completely true, I’ll save that rant for another article.  What’s even more effective is doing short bursts of high intensity exercises like sprints or some type of metabolic workouts like the ones in my MAX Workouts program.

Doing short bursts of high energy activities produces a metabolic deficit, also known as the EPOC effect, and really cranks up your metabolism!  (To learn all about EPOC and how you can burn calories even after your workout is over, sign up for my free Lean Body Kick-Start).

It’s by the far the most effective way to wake up your dormant metabolism and shift it into high gear to start burning more calories.  Why bother doing long mind numbing cardio, when you can get better results by doing less?

These are simple but very effective tips that you can start today and “fix” your metabolism for good.  Keep in mind that the most “real” solutions are simple, but not necessary the easiest.  Changing your diet and doing the right workouts can seem daunting at first, but the results are well worth the effort.  Be patient, persistent and don’t give up just because you couldn’t do it perfectly the first time around.  It’s like riding a bike, you’re going to fall down a few times before you can get up and ride it for good.  Give yourself some leeway to fall down…just make sure that you get back up and get on the bike again!