Have you tried to lose weight so many times that you would need more than just your fingers and toes to count them on, as well as those of every member of your family? And does each attempt eventually result in you weighing the same as, if not more than, when you first started your weight loss journey? If so, unfortunately you are not alone.

Dieting is one of the most understood lifestyles around the globe. People everywhere are watching what they eat in an attempt to lose weight and gain health. But, if that’s the case, why is it that there is an obesity epidemic that is threatening the health of people all over the world?

The answer is simple: diet. Not diet as in what food people eat (although healthy eating is obviously very important), but diet as in the process. It’s about what effect calorie restriction has on your physical body.

You Can Blame Your Slow Metabolism on Your Grandparents

Okay, maybe you’re going to have to go back a few generations (or dozens of them) before your grandparents, but the reality is that our bodies are very efficient at keeping weight on because they had to be to protect themselves. They had to be able to adapt to adverse conditions (such as famines) in a way that promoted their existence to live to see another day. They did this by conserving energy.

You see, when you go on a diet, your body goes into ‘survival mode’ and starts to slow its metabolism. It doesn’t want to burn too much energy too quickly because it thinks that you’ll starve to death. Therefore, it lowers your metabolic rate (think about it as being similar to turning a gas stove burner from high to low).

Along with the slower metabolism comes increased hunger. Your brain encourages eating in an attempt to get you to stock up on nutrients when you have the chance (remember – it’s getting the signal that starvation is coming). After all, if your appetite wasn’t increased, you may perish because you wouldn’t necessarily push yourself to eat the vitamins and minerals that you need to survive.

Now, when you “go off” your diet, generally you increase the amount of calories you consume, but the problem is that your body is still in ‘survival mode’. It wants to hold onto those extra calories in case it is forced into starvation again and needs the weight to sustain life. The result is weight gain and an overly sluggish metabolism.

How to Speed Up Your Metabolism for Weight Loss

Does that mean that you’re always going to be overweight because you’ve turned your metabolic ‘burner’ down? Not at all. It is possible to increase the intensity with which your body burns calories. And there are a number of ways you can make that happen.

They include:

• Eating healthy. Foods higher in fiber and nutrients not only help you lose weight, but they give your body what it needs to burn calories as efficiently as possible. You want to keep your body out of ‘survival mode’ by making sure it has all of the vitamins and minerals it needs to thrive on a daily basis.
   
• Keeping active. The more physically active you are, the more calories you’ll burn. Your body won’t be able to hold onto any extra energy (also known as fat) because you’ll use it all up. Ideally you want to participate in a regular exercise regimen but, at a minimum, at least incorporate more movement in your daily life by doing things such as parking further away from your office so you take more steps or going for a walk after dinner instead of moving right to the couch.
   
• Have a cup of Joe. Not only does coffee taste great and energize you for your day, it also raises your metabolism a notch or two. So, enjoy a cup or two in the morning while you’re planning how you’re going to take the world by storm.
   
• Enjoy a cup (or glass) of tea. Tea has the same benefits of coffee. It tastes great and has been found to increase your calorie burn too (especially green tea). You can drink it warm or cold, whichever suits your taste buds. Just make sure you drink it.
   
• Detoxify. If you have too many unnatural substances in your body, it won’t work as efficiently. It’s like having pipes that are filled with sludge. When you detoxify, it’s like giving your body a tune up. You’re removing all of the junk and making way for good, clean nutrients to be absorbed. And, you’ll likely lose weight in the process, which is a bonus!
   
• Take all-natural supplements. Sometimes you may need a little help to get your metabolism where it needs to be and there are some great all-natural options. You want to stay away from products that contain a lot of fillers and preservatives and choose those that have ingredients like raspberry ketone, African mango and other straight-from-the-plant options.

It’s time to stop the cycle of diet and weight gain and make changes that are going to give you the lifelong weight loss that you’ve been struggling to achieve. Use metabolism boosting tips like the ones above, add an all-natural weight loss supplement to speed up the process, and the weight will start to melt off. That’s a nice image, isn’t it?