Foods That Speed Up the Metabolic Rate

"Women's Health" magazine says that you can increase your metabolism by incorporating certain foods into your diet. After eating, enzymes in your cells break down food and convert it into energy to fuel your body. Choosing specific foods helps your body to work like a more efficient machine and utilize energy more readily. Over time, this results in more calories burned and a trimmer waistline.

Grapefruit

• Grapefruits help burn calories.

  "Good Housekeeping" magazine says that grapefruits speed up your metabolic rate. They cite a study that reveals how eating half a grapefruit before each week (three times daily), helps people lose an average of three pounds over a 12-week time frame. The fruit also helps to reduce insulin levels which is very beneficial for the body. This pushes the body to convert calories into energy rather than fat. Both whole grapefruits and grapefruit juice have the same effect. Grapefruits have a slightly sour taste that may put off some people. You can reduce the sour taste by peeling the white crust just underneath the (inedible) peal. However, removing the skin may lesson the effects of this food.

Protein

• Fish is high in protein and omega-3 fatty acids.

  "Shape" magazine recommends eating protein to speed up your metabolic rate. Protein appears in meats such as buffalo burger, salmon, chicken and turkey, but if you can't eat meat, you can find many healthy vegetarian sources of protein. Spirulina is a blue-green sea vegetable with high amounts of protein. You can find it in most health food stores. Add one scoop of spirulina powder your morning fruit smoothie or simply buy raw spirulina algae and eat it for dinner. Other good sources of vegetarian protein include legumes such as beans, peas and sprouts in addition to tofu.

Dark Leafy Green Vegetables

• Spinach is your friend.

  Dark leafy green vegetables such as kale, spinach, collard greens and mustard greens also help boost your metabolic rate, as well as containing high amounts of vitamins A, C, E and a long list of minerals. Prepare salads with dark leafy greens rather than iceberg lettuce (which contains no nutrition). These foods also help improve digestion due to their high fiber content.