#1 Stand Up
Stand Up! Yes, it really is that simple. By simply standing, instead of sitting, our bodies burn far more calories. In a study, doctors examined the difference between students using standing desks and traditional desks(1).
The students at standing desks burned considerably more calories than those sitting. They estimated that a weight loss of about 23 kilos a year could take place from making this switch for about 2 to 3 hours a day.
For an added bonus, the benefits to your posture are worth doing it alone. It will be hard at first considering most us haven’t built up good stabilizer muscles, but stick with it.
#2 Drink Cold Water
Cold water isn’t just refreshing in the summer and punishing in the winter, it is very effective at burning calories. One of the body’s principle functions is regulating temperature.
When you wake up in the morning, your body has just had a relatively easy eight hours of regulating its temperature—granted you’re not sleeping outside in the wind.
By drinking at least a pint of ice water upon waking you will shock the system and send your metabolism scrambling. Continuing this throughout the day by drinking at least two liters a day has been shown to burn off about 100 calories(2).
#3 Turn Down the Heat
So, if we can alter our metabolism by putting cold water inside us, can we also do it by surrounding ourselves with cold water? The answer is yes.
A very effective way to do that is to take a bath in ice water, but that is way too extreme for most people. One of the most effortless ways to achieve this goal is to use air instead of water, and to lower the heat in your bedroom while you sleep.
In a recent study, researchers found that by lowering the thermostat at night from 24C to 19C thermogenesis was increased(3).
#4 Drink Green Tea
Green tea, what’s not to like? It tastes good, it’s got caffeine and antioxidants, awesome right? And it also burns fat. It’s common knowledge that caffeine is thermogenic, but researchers have discovered that there is something else in a cup of green tea contributing to that factor as well(4).
Groups were given a placebo, caffeine, and green tea extract. The green tea group outperformed the caffeine group in thermogenesis and fat oxidization across the board.
When shopping for your green tea make sure to purchase a high quality loose leaf version. They trump your standard tea bags in nutrient content, where the benefits most likely come from.
#5 Have an Early Breakfast
I’m sure you have heard it before “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”. It is, really. Whoever told you that was not messing around.
Try to eat breakfast within thirty minutes of waking up for about a week. Watch your energy levels increase, which translates to an increased metabolism, meaning calorie burn. And by breakfast we don’t just mean coffee and a piece of toast either.
Eat a breakfast high in protein in order to curb your appetite throughout the day(5). You’re not doing yourself any favors with the pancakes and syrup, eggs and meat are your friends in this scenario.