How To Boost Your Metabolism with a Fat Burning Smoothie

Make fat cry by adding this Fat Burning Smoothie into your daily routine and to ramp up the effects of your workout and help boost your metabolism!

I ardently believe that what we put into our bodies matters. That means the food we eat, the beverages we drink, the supplements, vitamins, and medication we take, and the things we don’t eat, drink, or ingest.

All of those things either help or hinder us.

I have fallen in love with a plant-based diet, which means it’s rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds. (meat, eggs and dairy are more of a condiment that go with my plant-powered meal). I wanted to share my fat burning smoothie recipe in here too— so you can see just how incredible a smoothie can be. But first…

The Balancing Act: Healthy Eating, Exercise, and a Little Indulgence Too!

For most of us, there’s a balance between the good things and the not-so-good things. (I’m talking to you, French fries.) My point is, it’s hard to always eat healthy. Which is why I host a quarterly cleanse, where I give you a structured meal plan to focus on eating the foods that will help us feel the best.

Learn more about our Plant-Based Seasonal Cleanses.

There are special occasions when we want to indulge, it’s hard to eat healthy all the time when traveling. You know the drill. We do our best. And I don’t believe in punishing ourselves for enjoying a treat now and then.

What I’m a big proponent of is eating healthy as much as possible and participating in a regular exercise routine. That looks different for all of us with our varied interests, schedules, time constraints, and lifestyles. There’s nothing that will help boost your metabolism more than exercising and building up muscle.

More muscle means more fat-burning capabilities. So when we’re talking about boosting up your metabolism, exercise goes hand in hand with healthy eating. Certain foods have fat-burning and metabolism-boosting abilities and adding them into your diet can help magnify weight-loss efforts.

Foods for Burning Fat and Boosting the Metabolism

Our body needs proper fuel to keep up with the demands of daily activities. It’s important that the calories we consume, especially if we’re trying to lose weight, gain muscle, or just improve our performance, are quality calories. What does that mean? It means that they need to tick off several boxes: healthy fats, protein, complex carbs, vitamins and minerals, and/or a combination of all of the above. A fat burning smoothie, which I’ll show you how to make below will take you along way!

A protein bar may be high in calories and full of nutrition, but it won’t fill you up in the same way a plate of salmon, brown rice, and steamed veggies will. But a high-quality (preferably homemade) protein bar can give you the energy you need to power through a workout or recover from one.

A Good Sweat + Proper Fuel = results

When we exercise (I’m including cardio, weight lifting, and things like Cross Fit), we do burn calories, but if our muscles are in need of nutrition, they’ll go for the easiest source first… and that’s not necessarily going to be body fat. Give your body energy (i.e. high quality calories) to power it through a workout. The workout will in turn help build more muscle, which burns more calories (i.e. fat) the rest of the time. See how nicely that works? It’s a beautiful thing!

These are some foods that experts recommend if you’re trying to boost your metabolism and burn fat:

• Nuts – whole, preferably raw and unblanched (almonds, walnuts, pecans); good fats and protein; almonds contain L-arginine (an amino acid) that when used pre-workout can help the body burn more fat
• Eggs – high in protein which helps boost metabolism; the body digests the protein and uses the fat and calories for fuel
• Berries – low in sugar but still sweet, high in fiber, high in antioxidants; helps burn fat; can help to improve blood flow
• Apple cider vinegar – the acetic acid in ACV helps with blood sugar levels
• Fatty fish like salmon, tuna, mackerel, and sardines – protein to help build muscles, anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids that help the body burn fat for fuel
• Grapefruit –high in phytochemicals that stimulate the production of the hormone adiponectin which helps the body break down fat
• Green and white tea – caffeine in tea gives a natural boost of energy’ antioxidants in tea may help accelerate fat-burning by aiding the liver in converting fat to energy
• Chili peppers – capsaicin, the compound found in pepper aids the body in converting food to energy and abdominal fat loss; also works as a natural appetite suppressant
• Spinach + other leafy greens – chock full of vitamins and minerals and fiber
• Whole grains – like oats and brown rice; high fiber; slow-burning to keep you fuller, for longer and fuel the body
• Coconut oil and olive oil – healthy fats that help you feel satisfied when they are consumed; coconut oil is easily digested for quick energy
• Avocado – healthy fats, fiber, and vitamins, particularly B6 which counteracts cortisol, a stress hormone that contributes to weight gain via belly fat stores
• Flaxseed – high in omega-3 fatty acids
• Cinnamon – polyphenols (powerful antioxidants) boost the metabolism and help regulate blood sugar
• Watermelon and tomatoes– rich in beta-carotene (form of vitamin A) and lycopene (good for the heart and help discourage fat storage), hydrating, high in fiber
• Pears and apples – high in fiber plus contains pectin; helps keep you fuller for longer and naturally sweet
• Grapes – high water and fiber content
• Celery – very high fiber, uses more energy to digest than it provides (i.e. negative calories)
• Dark chocolate – 70%+ cacao content is the important part; cacao contains high concentrations of polyphenols that push the body to burn fat

 

Fat Burning Smoothie Recipe

This Fat Burning Smoothie is a little more hardcore than our other recipes, but we believe it will help you see results more quickly when combined with an exercise program. We hope you give it a shot and love the results as much as we do. Happy blending!

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