5 Sure-Fire Ways to Speed Up Your Metabolism

Your metabolism is always working, relentlessly breaking down the food you eat and converting it to energy to fuel you up for the rest of the day. The faster your metabolism, the faster you burn calories. So if you’re trying to lose weight, you might be wondering: Are there ways that can help increase my metabolism?

Genetics and age have a large role in determining your metabolic rate, and obviously, you can’t control these factors. But there are still plenty of ways to influence your metabolism by simply making a few changes in your daily habits.

Never Skip Breakfast

There is no excuse not to eat breakfast. Countless studies have shown that people who eat breakfast gain much lower weight in the course of a year compared to those who don’t. Additionally, skipping breakfast increases the risk of obesity and coronary heart disease.

“HSPH researchers found that men who regularly skipped breakfast had a 27% higher risk of heart attack or death from coronary heart disease than those who did eat a morning meal. Non-breakfast-eaters were generally hungrier later in the day and ate more food at night, perhaps leading to metabolic changes and heart disease.” – Harvard.org

Pro tip: Ideally, you should be eating 20-50% of your daily caloric intake during breakfast. Go for foods that are slow to digest such as complex carbohydrates and lean protein. This allows you to stay full for a long time and give a great jumpstart to the day.

Intensify Your Workouts

High intensity workouts are known to provide a higher and longer increase in metabolic rate than low or moderate intensity exercises. It’s time to challenge yourself and turn your workout sessions up a notch. High intensity interval training (HIIT) is a great way to start.

Pro tip: Aside from aerobic exercises, building muscle also helps speed up metabolism. Consider this for a comparison: each pound of fat burns 2 calories a day while each pound of muscle burns 6 calories per day. In the long run, the disparity just becomes increasingly larger.

Keep Yourself Hydrated

Not drinking enough water causes your metabolism to slow down. Water is needed when burning calories. The old adage of drinking eight glasses of water a day applies here. You can also go for fruits and vegetables rich in water content such as watermelon.

Pro tip: Drinking cold water can help burn more calories. This is because the body consumes more energy bringing the cold water up to your core temperature. Don’t ignore the tiny difference this makes; when you turn this into a habit, you’re burning more calories without you even knowing it.

Eat Small Frequent Meals

Did you know that the typical three large meals a day may cause your metabolism to slow down? Start eating small frequent meals instead. Every 4 hours or so, eat snacks to keep your metabolism working. This results to more calories burned at the end of the day.

Pro tip: Replace carbohydrates with protein in your daily diet. The body uses up more calories when digesting protein as compared to breaking down fat or carbs. Try to get about 30 grams of protein with each meal. Eggs, beef, and fish are some good sources of protein.

Say No to Crash Diets

Far too many people resort to crash diets when trying to lose weight. This is not a good idea at all. Losing weight at the cost of your health isn’t something you should even consider. Crash diets can also have the opposite effect since muscle loss becomes a real issue. Consequently, your metabolic rate decreases and you burn fewer calories.

“…and muscle tissue burns more calories — even when you’re at rest — than body fat. According to Wharton, 10 pounds of muscle would burn 50 calories in a day spent at rest, while 10 pounds of fat would burn 20 calories.” – WebMD

Pro tip: Trying to reduce weight doesn’t mean you have to starve yourself. Nothing replaces a well-balanced diet and consistent exercise. Go for foods and beverages that have been shown to increase metabolism such as tuna and green tea.

Wrapping it Up

If you haven’t inherited a speedy metabolism, you shouldn’t fret about it too much. Follow the tips above and stick to them. As you form better habits, you are going to find that speeding up your metabolism isn’t that difficult after all.