First and foremost, let’s get something straight: The Mayo Clinic says that contrary to popular belief, a slow metabolism is rarely the cause of excess weight gain. Your metabolism influences your body’s basic energy needs, but what you eat and drink along with your physical activity are the things that ultimately determine your weight. And isn’t that what you want after all? When asking how to increase metabolism, what you really want to know how to lose body fat!
Simply put, your metabolism is the process by which your body converts calories into energy. Several things determine how fast your metabolism is including your age, sex, body size, and body composition. You obviously can’t change your age or sex, but you CAN work on burning more calories and fat each day for a leaner body composition and increase metabolism in that way. Here are some simple, effective ideas to show you how to increase metabolism, burn calories, and lower your body fat for a happier, healthier you!
1. Drink More Water
The best and most basic thing you can do for your metabolism is to drink enough water. You hear it over and over and you’re going to keep hearing it. Why? Because it’s true. This one’s not going away, so change your habits now and get your water on! Drinking water actually boosts your body’s ability to burn fat. For you smarty-pants out there this is called “water-induced thermogenesis” A study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism showed that drinking about 17 oz. of water increases your metabolic rate temporarily by 30 percent for healthy men and women. But it doesn’t end there. Studies also show that drinking water 30 minutes before a meal will help you consume fewer calories. In addition, people who drink water instead of sugary drinks are often more successful at both losing weight and keeping it off.
2. Eat Protein at Every Meal
This is not a tip telling you to go on a high protein diet. Rather, there are many reasons eating the right amount of protein at every meal, starting with breakfast, will help you increase metabolism and lose weight. First, protein has been shown to keep you full and satisfied. This means you eat less in between meals and tend to stick to the food that fuels you. In addition, one study showed that after eating protein, metabolic rate increased by 15-30% compared to 5-10% for carbs and 0-3% for fats. Keep in mind that protein has calories too, so finding the right amount for your body is key. If you aren’t sure, check out our article “How Much Protein Do We Really Need” for some simple guidance.
3. Get More Sleep
Sleep deprivation wreaks havoc on metabolism. According to the International Journal of Endocrinology, there is growing evidence that sleep loss and sleep disorders have a significant impact on metabolism. People who are sleep deprived tend to feel hungry and eat more during the day. Lack of sleep has also been shown to increase blood sugar levels. Getting by on just a few hours of sleep is not a badge of honor. For good health and a better metabolism, shoot for 7-9 hours of sleep a night!
4. Build Muscle
We’re going to let you in on the best “anti-aging” secret you can get: strength training! Maybe you’ve heard that your metabolism will slow down as you age. A large part of this is due to the loss of muscle tissue. At age 30 you begin to lose muscle. Aside from other benefits like staying strong and independent and looking great, muscle is active tissue. It burns calories even when you are at rest, unlike fat tissue. This means an increase in strength training and muscle means an increase in metabolism at any age. Cardio is still important, but for long-lasting, continuous calorie burning, you need to strength train and build muscle!
5. Increase Your Intensity
Reading a book and walking on a treadmill is such a nice way to get your exercise in. The problem is that this type of lower intensity exercise burns a lower amount of calories and does it mostly only while you are moving. On the other hand, High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT, burns more calories per minute and keeps burning calories long after you’ve stopped the workout! Nice, right? According to Dr. Len Kravitz, “oxygen consumption and caloric expenditure remain elevated as the working muscle cells restore physiological and metabolic factors in the cell to pre-exercise levels. This translates into higher and longer post-exercise caloric burn.” In other words, after HIIT, your metabolism is revved up! The best part of HIIT is you spend less time working out and get better results, but this doesn’t mean you have to give up your moderate intensity exercise. Dr. Kravitz study showed that it has value too! However, if you’re not satisfied by the results you’re getting from your typical routine, consider incorporating 1 or 2 HIIT workouts into your weekly schedule.
6. Move More
Getting a great workout in is an important part of your day and a valuable piece of the puzzle when trying to increase metabolism. But if you get in a hard workout then sit for the rest of the day, you’re not doing yourself any favors. Maybe you’ve heard the phrase “sitting is the new smoking.” That phrase isn’t so far from the truth. An eye-opening new study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that sedentary behavior like sitting in a chair all day increases your chances of developing a potentially fatal disease prematurely even if you exercise! And for the purposes of our topic on metabolism, it might be good to know that researchers at the University of Missouri recently showed that prolonged periods of sitting can actually slow down your ability to burn fat. So get up and move several times a day. Take the stairs. Park farther away. Take a stretch break at work. Fitness trackers are a wonderful way to keep you accountable and remind you to keep going all day long. Try out these tips to start boosting your metabolism and working towards a healthier, happier, life!
I am entering my menopause, and it seems getting more difficult to maintain weights. Being doing exercise 3-4x week, but i still have my abdomen bloated. Watching carbs and high protein lately, getting smoothies. How can I get rid of bloated abdomen? Any exercise recommend?
Dear Noriko,
Thank you fro your patience while I reached out to our experts, here is their reply:
Ahh yes, menopause and peri-menopause. Such interesting times for a woman’s body. First of all, you are doing all the right things, Keeping up your exercise routine, keeping your empty carbs low (keep in mind sweet potatoes, brown rice, fruits and other healthy carbs are good) and focusing on getting enough protein are good. The things you cannot control are generally the things that frustrate you- namely your hormones. There is a level of hormone change that goes up and down with this change in life and sometimes we have to keep doing the best we can without getting frustrated at the things we cannot change.
Read this article on perimenopause and see if it helps you at all. This one is another great bit f info that gives you some awesome ab moves.
This is also a good time to put regular pilates training into your routine. It will help tighten the abdoninal wall and pull muscles in tight down in your “low belly”. At GHU TV put “pilates” in the search bar and you will get lots of different videos that you can do. Pilates has protected my low back and kept my tummy tight even through the bloating and hormone changes of perimenopause.
Hope this helps!
Kim GetHealthyU Team
What kind of intensity work do you recommend for a woman of 75. I walk 3 miles most days and go to the gym 2 times a week. But nothing is high intensity
Hi Carole. So great to hear from you. I can’t tell you how impressed I am with your exercise routine! 3 miles a day of walking is absolutely amazing for you. If you are getting to the gym in addition to that – WOW!
The only advice I have for you is to make sure when you do get to the gym you are focusing on some strength training. It is super important for everyone- but even more important for women over 50. It will keep you strong and independent for years to come. It will protect your bones and connective tissue. If you aren’t sure what to do for strength training, seek out a good trainer who can help you make a plan, attend a class with weights, or try some of our strength workouts at GHU tv. I think you might enjoy our Definitions program which really focuses on strength.
You are doing exactly what you should be doing and I congratulate you!
Kim, GHU Team
My all time favorite topic is about metabolism. Above tips and suggestions are the best to achieve the ideal weight. To become healthy looks easy but many people ended up feeling unhealthy and fats. Please clarify, after eating I usually eat a piece of orange or apple then after 3-4 hours I got hungry again. Is it mean, my metabolism got speed up or because the fruit is bit acidic?
-Internist in Houston
Hi Gregory. Thank you for your question! I have heard of people eating fruit or veggies pre-meal so they aren’t starving at mealtimes, but not after.
Most people eat every 4 hours or so, so perhaps your metabolism is efficient and you are just ready to eat again. Eating frequently is good to maintain a healthy metabolism, as far as fruit and veggies the more the merrier! After dinner a piece of fruit or Greek yogurt with fruit an hour or so after is a nice healthy dessert option as well.
I hope that answered your question.
Thanks
Kate-GHUTV
I work at a job where I rarely get up from my desk for 8 hours a day. It frustrates me! Can you recommend some moves to do during the mini strectch breaks? And, how often should I take a stretch break?
Thank you!
Hi Regina. Thank you for your question. This is a great 10 minute stretch sequence that would be good am/pm: https://www.gethealthyutv.com/video/10-minute-total-body-stretch-015281/ <https://www.gethealthyutv.com/video/10-minute-total-body-stretch-015281/>
Here are some simple stretches you can do from your desk a few times a day: https://gethealthyu.com/simple-desk-stretches/ <https://gethealthyu.com/simple-desk-stretches/>
You could do these stretches a few times throughout the day!
Hope this helps!!
Kate-GHUTV