THERE IS NOW A way you can boost your metabolism without changing how much you eat. It’s true. You can rev up your metabolic engine, feel more satisfied when you eat, burn more calories, and lose more body fat — all without even changing how MUCH you eat.
Recent studies show how three key changes can help you accomplish your weight loss goals without changing the amount you eat. They are:
1. Meal timing and meal frequency – In other words, when you eat and how often.
2. Meal composition -– Specifically the role of protein in controlling appetite centers in your brain, increasing caloric burning, and reducing belly fat and weight.
3. Drinking green tea – Which turns up your fat burning thermostat.
All three of these things have one very important concept in common: thermogenesis — the creation of heat in your body. When you increase the thermogenesis in your body you literally turn up your metabolic fire.
Thermogenesis has nothing to do with the amount of calories you consume. It’s controlled by a number of different interconnected control systems in the body designed to keep us healthy. By optimizing these systems you can turn up your metabolic fire without turning down the foods you love.
Today I will explain how the three key factors outlined above affect thermogenesis and give you a 5-step plan to increase your metabolic fire. Let’s start by taking a look at the first thing that increases thermogenesis — when and how often you eat.
Meal Timing and Frequency
Whether you eat all your day’s food at once or in several meals throughout the day shouldn’t affect your weight — it’s all about calories in, calories out, right?
No!
In fact, a recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (i) looked at the effects of regular meal frequency on fat burning (your internal thermostat), insulin sensitivity, and cholesterol in healthy obese women. The researchers compared people who ate small, regular, frequent meals (about 6 a day) to people who ate less regular meals a day.
What they found is that those people who had more regular meal patterns showed startling differences. They had increased thermogenesis — a faster, hotter, metabolism — from what is called the thermic effect of food (the TEF factor). This TEF factor makes you feel full. It somehow triggers the brain to feel satisfied and reduces your appetite.
Eating good quality protein not only helps you lose weight, but lose it in the right places – your hips and belly
When you eat regularly throughout the day, you get a slow, steady burn effect from the food. But when you eat erratically — by skipping meals, snacking frequently, eating away from home, or eating late — like so many of us do, your body gets mixed signals.
This irregular eating pattern leads to a lower energy expenditure (EE), or calorie burning, than regular meals. In fact, during the periods that you don’t eat, your body’s metabolism slows down to conserve energy. And it’s not just your weight that can suffer as a result …
In the same study, the authors found that those who ate irregularly had higher levels of cholesterol and higher levels of insulin, which is the major fat storage hormone. The more insulin that your body makes after meals, the fatter you will be. And, as you know, insulin imbalances can also lead to a host of health problems including insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
Meal timing makes a difference, too.
Studies show that eating breakfast (ii) and not eating late (iii) can both lead to reductions in body weight, independent of calories. (For more on this, see Chapter 5 in UltraMetabolism on the Sumo Wrestler Myth).
What’s so amazing about all this is that it has nothing to do with the content or type of food you eat. Simply changing when and how often you eat can have dramatic effects on your weight!
But, of course, what you eat makes a difference too …
Meal Composition
Now let’s look at the effect of changing the composition of the meal. What happens if you change the ratio of fat, protein, and carbohydrates, but not the amount of calories you eat?
Recent studies have clearly shown that low-fat diets don’t work. End of story. What about low-carb diets?
These do work IF you give up carbs — the most important source of health-giving compounds in our diet, including fiber, vitamins , minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients, and more. So weight loss from a low-carb diet comes at high price: poor health!
Low-carb diets also give you constipation, bad breath, hemorrhoids, headaches, and even muscle weakness and pain.
That leaves the question of protein. What happens when you increase the amount of protein in your diet?
Before I go on, let me clarify that when I am talking about increasing protein I mean nuts, seeds, beans, whole grains, omega-3 eggs, wild fish, and lean poultry or other meats. I am by NO means talking about a steak and cheese diet!
That said, protein, it seems, is more thermogenic. It burns hotter than other food sources — so at the end of the day, you have burned off more calories than you store when you eat more protein. Don’t just take my word for it. Science backs this up.
In one study, for example, the participants who got 36 percent of their daily calories from protein burned 71 more calories a day than those who ate low-protein diets (15 percent of calories). (iv) This may not seem like much — but over a year, it’s equivalent to an extra 7.4 pounds of weight loss!
This works because amino acids, the building blocks that form protein, send messages to areas in the brain that signal you are full. This is called the mTOR signaling pathway. (v) But protein has even more benefits …
Eating good quality protein not only helps you lose weight, but lose it in the right places – your hips and belly. A higher protein diet can help you lower your waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio (one of the most important measurements in your body which predicts heart disease, cancer, and death better than almost anything), and intra-abdominal adipose tissue (otherwise known as belly fat)!
There are just a few caveats …
People with kidney failure have to be cautious with increasing their protein intake. And those with concerns about osteoporosis should focus on plant sources of protein (like nuts, seeds, beans, and whole grains), because the high acid content of animal protein may cause bone loss.
We’ve now covered meal timing, frequency, and composition. Next let’s look at what you drink.
Green Tea
Tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world — and I’m not talking about Lipton’s tea here, which is the bottom of the barrel in terms of quality. I am talking about real, brewed green tea which is part of a fantastic class of compounds called polyphenols — powerful plant chemicals or phytonutrients that interact with human biology to keep us healthy.
The polyphenols green tea contains are called catechins, and this group of chemicals has such wide effects that it would be impossible to discuss them all in one blog. So for now, let’s look at just their metabolic effects.
The same issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition I mentioned previously also reported on the effects of green tea on metabolism. (vi) Researchers specifically focused on the effects of catechins on metabolism in this double-blind, controlled study and found they were two-fold.
First catechins increased thermogenesis, or calorie burning. People who drank 690 milligrams of catechins in the form of green tea daily for 12 weeks had lower body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, total body fat, and subcutaneous body fat. That’s WITHOUT changing their calorie intake.
The second effect was green tea’s antioxidant properties. Not only did the green tea and catechins increase calorie burning, but they prevented the damaging effects of free radicals on metabolism by reducing oxidized or rancid fats. Other studies show how rancid fats and oxidation may interfere with metabolism.
To sum up, this research shows that green tea can affect weight loss in two ways — by increasing thermogenesis and by reducing the damaging effects of oxidative stress on metabolism.
So what can you do to incorporate these research findings into your life, lose weight, and increase your metabolism without changing the calorie content of your diet? Just follow these simple steps.
5 Steps to Lose Weight Without Changing What You Eat
1. Start the day right. Eat breakfast every day, and eat protein for breakfast every day. Try omega-3 eggs, nut butters on whole grain bread, and protein shakes.
2. Boost your protein intake. Have some protein with every meal.
3. Stay regular. Eat regular meals every day. That’s breakfast, lunch, dinner, and one or two snacks.
4. Don’t go to bed too full. Finish eating 2 to 3 hours before bed.
5. Make a cup of tea. Drink 1 to 2 cups of good quality green tea every day. Steep one tea bag for 5 minutes in hot water and enjoy!
Follow these steps and you will not only lose weight without changing what you eat, but you will be well on your way to lifelong vibrant health.
Now I’d like to hear from you …
What happens to you if you skip meals?
Have you noticed that eating carbs for breakfast increases your appetite throughout the day, or that having that omelet in the morning is more satisfying?
Have you experimented with low carb or low fat diets? Share your experience with us.
Please let me know your thoughts by adding a comment below.
To your good health,
Mark Hyman, M.D.
References
(i) Farshchi HR, Taylor MA, Macdonald IA. Beneficial metabolic effects of regular meal frequency on dietary thermogenesis, insulin sensitivity, and fasting lipid profiles in healthy obese women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Jan;81(1):16-24.
(ii) de Castro JM. The time of day of food intake influences overall intake in humans. J Nutr. 2004 Jan;134(1):104-11.
(iii) Keim NL, Van Loan MD, Horn WF, Barbieri TF, Mayclin PL. Weight loss is greater with consumption of large morning meals and fat-free mass is preserved with large evening meals in women on a controlled weight reduction regimen. J Nutr. 1997 Jan;127(1):75-82.
(iv) Whitehead JM, McNeill G, Smith JS. The effect of protein intake on 24-h energy expenditure during energy restriction. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1996 Aug;20(8):727-32
(v) Cota D, Proulx K, Smith KA, Kozma SC, Thomas G, Woods SC, Seeley RJ. Hypothalamic mTOR signaling regulates food intake. Science. 2006 May 12;312(5775):927-30.
(vi) Nagao T, Komine Y, Soga S, Meguro S, Hase T, Tanaka Y, Tokimitsu I Ingestion of a tea rich in catechins leads to a reduction in body fat and malondialdehyde-modified LDL in men. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Jan;81(1):122-9.
Great information! If I begin the day with a muffin or something sweet (bad carb,processed)I will want more of the same type food all day. Vicious cycle especially when traveling. If I begin the day with a coconut milk shake made with hemp protein I feel full and I’m not immediately hungry. Lately I’ve been replacing two meals with this shake, drinking puerh or Yerba mate tea then eating a good dinner. I haven’t seen a weight change but I feel better. More energy. What can I do to lose weight and is this the right method?
My best breakfast is 2omega 3 poached eggs, 2 pieces 10 grain bread, V8 juice and a banana. No need for morning snack. I am energetic, clear headed and ready to go for 4-5 hrs
I have tried every diet going, low fat, low carb, meal replacement. I don’t lose any weight. I have asked doctors to help me and no one will. I have recently started a gluten free lifestyle due to having HS (most people with HS are overweight/obese my BMI is 27. I am desperate to lose 2 stone I eat healthily, and walk for 30 minutes everyday I will definitely try this.
I have often wondered about 3 meals a day vs 6 meals a day. There is also some premise that if you let your body go for 5-6 hours without eating (the premise for 3 meals a day), then you improve your leptin levels and therefore are not as hungry. If you eat 6 meals a day, then when does your body rest? On the one hand, the body is getting signals that it is regularly getting meals, so I can see the justification for eating 6 meals. On the other hand, it seems that the process of stimulating insulin is constantly turned on and insulin triggers fat promoting storage signals. Could it be that this is a very bioindividual thing and people need to experiment with the 3 vs 6 meals a day? I do see reason for the consistency in intake vs sporadic however.
One other thing I have to mention is that I tried turning away from coffee and turned towards green tea. I ended up having extreme dry eye that even restasis and eye plugs couldn’t help. Once I stopped drinking the green tea, the dry eye went away. However, I was drinking about 3 cups a day so maybe that was too much. I now drink water , water, water.
Dear Dr. Hyman,
I read your book, about the ultimate mind, about a year and a half ago. I think I have mercury poisoning, but I don’t have the money to change my fillings, yet. I have about 13.
My family has autism in it. Some of my cousins and their children have autism, as well as Asperger’s Syndrome; my sisters and I think that my father has Asperger’s, too, though her’s never been diagnosed by a doctor, like the others have been. So I think that we have a hard time detoxing our bodies, because of our genes.
I have what appears to be Fibromyalgia, which I think is actually mercury poisoning. What can I do to help my health until I’m able to remove the fillings? Can I use EDTA? I’ve done clay baths, and they do help. After the first clay bath, (the next morning), I felt like I had been ‘oxygenated’, if there’s such a thing. I felt better than I’d felt in YEARS. More energy, not that ‘heavy’ feeling in my legs. Yes, mercury really makes you feel HEAVY. There were thousands of tiny black specks that had come out of me, into the bath water. I’ve done several clay baths since, but the first was the most dramatic.
I make cilantro pesto on a regular basis, it’s so delicious that I can’t keep it around the house for more than a day or two, as soon as it’s made, my son eats it with crackers for a snack. I actually ate too much, too quickly, the first time I made it, (because it’s SO tasty, and mobilized so much mercury that I was getting symptoms of mercury poisoning, so I’m more careful to eat only a little at a time, now.
I bought a bottle of chlorella, I’m not sure how much to take daily, I haven’t taken any, yet.
Cecilia
I am having diffucuty losing weight. I have 2 poached eggs on toast one morning and museli and fresh fruit the next. Cold meat and salad for lunch and meat and vetg for dinner. I also have 2 mangos a day, and two light beeers a day. Can you give me a suitable diet, I have a bloating feeling and have never had a large tummy before. I get quite a bit of exercise because I live on a property and work outside. I take quite a few natural supplements also. I drink 3 cups green tea a day.
Good info, thanks. I drink green tea but fix it different. I put 2 bags in the drip coffee pot and that 10 mugs lasts a couple of days, maybe three. Is this a bad way to do it or does that matter at all???? It’s heated in the microwave oven.
I always eat breakfast but not always eggs. Dry cereal or cooked oatmeal, maybe I’ll cook grits, served with cinnamon, butter and honey.
I am nearly 78 yrs old and weight about 130 lbs. I am 5′ having lost 4″ from taking Fosamax for 4 and a half years. Thank you, Carol Mitchell
For religious reasons I do not drink traditional teas. I also firmly believe that there is never just one answer to any situation because no one thing works for everyone. What can be used besides green tea in this program to achieve this level of thermogenesis?
How much of a concern is there with pH balance?
Even eating only the healthy protein stated above & vegetables & healthy grains,
my pH is quite acidic. It doesn’t seem eating more vegetables & less protein is the
answer, as I do seem to feel better w/protein. Any suggestions or
comments, especially on the importance of a balanced pH?
Thanks
I’m going to try your suggestions to loose weight. I need to loose 20 lbs between now and April 1st. I haven put shorts or a bathing suit on in years… I need as much help as I can get. I’m 52 and my metabolism has slowed down tremendously. I’ve got the stomach fat, hip and butt fat going on. I also noticed my skin on my thighs front and back is getting wavy. Can you help me?
What do you mean by “good quality green tea”? and what brand do you mean, and where do we get it?
Thanks,
jerene
it’s so not easy to eat at the right time, and the right amount of good protein day after day.
someone should put it in a pill form or something.
meats are loaded with antibiotic, fields of crop are loaded with pesticides, and process foods are useless in terms of nutrition.
Imported food could be contaminated with bacterias as their local laws are less stringent.
Add the stress from make choices to the stress at work, we become franctic like me
Where does a nurse go to learn about functional medicine?? Sometimes I hate being a nurse whentaking medicine is the only thing being done to help folks!!
I went on a low carb diet and lost 35 pounds in just a few months. I’m diabetic and blood sugar was lowered. Cholesterol was lowered. Then I started eating normal again and started gaining weight , blood sugar increased and bad cholesterol increased.
What brand of green tea is best?i’m a 62 overweight female with fibromyalgia.love to walk but pain is so intense and im extremely tired all the time.I need all the help I can get so I don’t lose my health Ins.Thanks
i heard ground cinnamon boosts your metabolism up to 20 times and helps burn fat. is it true?
Hello Deedee, thank you for your interest in Dr. Hyman’s website and for your question. We can refer you to another article for additional information on this topic http://drhyman.com/5-steps-to-reversing-type-2-diabetes-and-insulin-resistance-591/.
Wishing You the Best of Health!
Dr Hyman-
I am frustrated. I am a 39 year old female, 5’4 1/2″ and I weigh 147 lbs. My “normal” weight, the weight at which I am most comfortable, and fit into my clothing is 135-138. I have gained 10 lbs over the past year and I CANNOT take it off. I removed ALL gluten and refined sugar from my diet well over 6 months ago, I also eat only organic meat and wild caught fish. I workout 6-7 days a week, an average of 10-15 hrs a week and this has also been consistant for over a year. I run, cycle outdoors, cycle indoors, swim, strength train, trx and practice yoga 3 x a week. (I have practiced yoga for 12 years, working out is NOT a new fad for me, I have always worked out and enjoyed it.) I have a garmin 310xt and monitor and track all of my workouts with the heart-rate monitor and use the tracking system on their site, I have records for the past 1 year. I purchased a body bug 10 months ago out of frustration and I measure and track my food intake EVERY day since I bought it. I eat clean whole foods as much as possible, I use your supplements (for the past 3 months) I purchased your thyroid support kit and have used those supplements for the past two months and I still have seen no results. The info I have collected from my body bug and garmin support that I am consistantly at a caloric deficit, and average of about 900 calories a day…without losing ANY weight. my calorie intake supported my workouts- I ate 3 small meals and two snacks a day, but I did not eat more than i burned on a daily or weekly basis except for 4 days I was on vacation in St Thomas in May, I still worked out on vacation but my calories were not at a deficiet for those days.
In desperation this past week I have become so frustrated that I reduced my caloric intake to 1200 calories a day,I cut back on portions and cut out snacks (at times a little less) I am still working out every day, I have a headache, I feel weak, I am having great trouble sleeping and STILL the scale has not budged.
I went to my doctor a month ago, he ordered blood tests to test tsh, t3, t4, hormones, ect and a pelvic exam. He said my blood tests are normal, I have a fibroid tumor and two ovarian cysts but NOT polycystic ovaries. I have an apt with and endocryologist, the earliest apt I could get was for October, I scheduled it a month ago. I feel hopeless. I was about to order armour thyroid myself over the internet because I do not know what else to do. I have read all your thyroid material, ultra-metabolism book, info on your site and I follow a gluten-free diet, (yes, I check everything i eat) Please help me!!!
Dear J S Yost, thank you for your interest in Dr. Hyman’s website and for your comment. Your condition seems to require medical attention and that is what you should do, Dr. Hyman cannot give medical advise over the Internet, you are welcome to make an appointment at http://www.ultrawellnesscenter.com. With that being said, it sounds like you are using all the tools we provide to address thyroid issues. If you wish to seek medical assistance from a practitioner of functional medicine please check this website and find one near you:
http://www.functionalmedicine.org
Wishing You the Best of Health!
I am in serious need of help.I am going to be 28 yrs old, im 5’1 and weight almost 200 lbs.I go to bed at 3 am wake up around 2pm eat very unhealthy(lot of soda).I cant find the energy to exercise,but i want to change this lifestyle that I am condusing.I was thinking of taking xenical or something to give me the motivation to want to execise
Is there a certain kind of green tea to drink? I have a hard time drinking it! Unless of course it’s in a Peace tea can
And I have tried every kind..ones with flavoring..I even have a Blueberry Green tea by Yogi….I just can’t get past the taste! Any suggestions?? Thanks <3
Hi Courtney, thank you for your comment. Green tea has a distinctive flavor that requires getting used to. If you don’t care for it don’t force yourself to drink it. One thing I do is to put a little soy milk in it and that makes it a bit more tasty.
Wishing you good health,
Dr. Hyman Staff
I am following Dr. Fuhrman’s Eat to Live diet which advocates not eating between meals so that the body can do the work of detoxing. I find it difficult not to snack between meals. I feel hunger pangs and a feeling of urgency. Before Dr. Furhman, I normally snacked at least twice a day. Would you please comment.
Hi Marita,
Thank you for writing in and sharing your concerns about snacking. Our thought is that those hunger pangs are your body’s way of getting your attention, asking for nourishment. The goal of healthy living is to be in tune with cues from nature guiding you towards the action which will ultimately serve you the best. So, the problem isnt the snacking perhaps, just the quality of the snack. We suggest eating some protein-based snack twice a day between meals to stabalize your blood sugar and keep your energy up. Some ideas are a small handful of raw almonds and a small apple, hummus and veggies, a hard boiled egg, a shake etc…
By eating a diet rich in vegetables, fibers, proteins, whole grains, herbs and spices and healthy fats you will be providing your liver and kidneys the necessary inputs to naturally detoxify. Perhaps some supplements might help as well if needed.
We do not advocate starving yourself as this promotes stress which only worsens symptoms!
In good health,
Lizzy
I have been drinking the gunpowder green tea for years. It is the type you get in Chinese Restaurants and is only imported from Asia and available in Asian supermarkets. In a square green packet, most common name is Temple of Heaven (shows pic of Temple of Heaven in Beijing). When dry it looks like tiny round pellets (hence the name gunpowder) These are actually full leaves which unfurl when hot water is poured on them and left to steep for a while. No stems of powdery rubbish is in these packets. You only need a pinch in a teapot. It is very economical. A medium size $5 pkt lasts me nearly 12 months. I usually put a very fine slice of fresh ginger it it. I buy a knob of ginger and slice it up immediately with a potato peeler and put it in a freezer bag in the freezer and then just break off a small piece when I need it.
I have lost 60 ponds in the past year but I seem to be at a plateau. I always seem to be carb heavy at the end of the day. About 65% carbs – mostly whole grains, fruits and veggies, 15% (lean) protein, 20% (good) fats. What balance in carb/protein/fat should I be aiming for?
Hi Jenny,
Congrats on the 60 # achievement! Remarkable! It is best to consume the majority of your carbs at breakfast and then taper off as the day goes by. While we do not have a % breakdown, it is probably best to have your dinner plate be something like this:
50% non starchy vegetables
25% lean protein (animal, fish or plant-based)
25% complex carbohydrate (1/2 sweet potato or less, 1/3 cup beans/legumes, 1/3 cup whole grain- amaranth, quinoa etc.)
For a personalized nutrition plan, please see:http://store.drhyman.com/Store/List/Coaching-Programs
In good health!
Lizzy
Nutrition Coaching Program
I am diabetic and have found that eating protein at breakfast is the best start to the day, cheese and onion ommelette being one of my favourites as this takes some time to digest and keeps blood sugar stable. Potatoe and bread, whether white or brown are diabetics worst enemy as they turn to sugar quickly in the body. I am currently overweight but thanks to a new drug, Victoza, also known as Liraglutide, which is an appetite suppressant I have lost a stone in weight over the last eight months. However I now have to take a slow release insulin, that I take at night to keep my blood sugar steady while I am asleep. Stress is also bad for diabetics as this increases adrenalin for fight or flight, which causes glucose to be released into the system for energy for muscles to use. The last thing a diabetic needs is glucose in the system that is not going to be used. I have also found that drinking green tea to be of help in weight loss, I add lemon juice and a sweetener to make it palatable. Vitamin supplements also help for wellbeing.
Thank you for your exceptional work, Dr. Hyman. As a doctor of functional medicine and a Naturopathic Physician, I appreciate your determination to point to science and bio-individuality over trends and “loose weight quick” diets, regardless of the negative effects. I use your work often in my private practice.
In health,
Dr. Sarah
I just wanted to make a comment about green tea. I never cared for the taste of it; I thought it was bitter. Then I went to a tea shop and took a “tea basics” class. At the class, I learned how to make green tea so that it tastes wonderful, to me. The three important things are: tea to water ratio, water temp, and steep time.
For me, it works best to use 1 tsp of green tea leaves to 8 oz of water; adjust according to the size of your mug.
Water temp should be BELOW boiling. I like to use about 175 degrees; aim for 160 to 180 degrees F. (you can just add some cold water to your boiling water to lower the temperature)
Finally, I like to steep my green tea for only 2 or 3 minutes.
These three things make green tea taste great! You can buy loose green tea, plain and flavored, from many sources online, at health food stores like Whole Foods, or google for a tea shop near you.
I just wanted to ask you about shift workers. I am a nurse and I am having a hard time figuring out what is better to eat on night shifts and what I should be eating prior to going to bed in the morning.
I eat a lot of veggies and some fruit with yogurt and I am not sure if those foods are ok to be snacking on at night.
I have been using the Ideal Protein shakes and bars as well for snacks.
I have been following the Revolution Weight loss diet since last January and I am down about 80 pounds but now not always following their diet and trying to eat according to your book is a little challenging during my two weeks of nights at the hospital. Could you give me some advise, Please?
Thanks!
Hi Tammy,
Kudos to you for maintaining a grueling work schedule and accomplishing this weight goal! Which program are you on? Visit Dr. Hyman’s nutrition coaching portal to recieve a personalized nutrition plan including trouble shooting to some of these issues: http://store.drhyman.com/Store/List/Coaching-Programs
Here is one tip- try to include a hard boiled egg with a some berries (1/2 cup) + either ground flax seed or 1/4 avocado before bed. See how you feel when you wake up. This should keep your blood sugar balanced so that sleep is healing, restorative and rejuvenating…the trifecta of sustainable weight loss with a busy schedule!
In good health!
Lizzy