What is metabolism?
Metabolism refers to all the life-sustaining chemical reactions in your body. However, it is often used interchangeably with metabolic rate, or the number of calories you burn while your body performs basic life-sustaining functions.
The higher the metabolic rate, the more calories are burned, making it easier for you to lose weight.
A high metabolism can also help you feel better and feel more energized. So here are 10 science-backed ways to speed up your metabolism.
1. Load Up on Protein
Food consumption can boost your metabolism for a few hours—this is called the thermic effect of food (TEF) or the amount of energy needed for your body to digest, absorb, and process the nutrients in your meal.
Protein increases your metabolic rate by 15–30%, causing the largest rise in TEF.
In addition, protein intake has been shown in studies to promote satiety and prevent you from overeating.
For instance, people who consumed 30% protein from their diet have been found in one small study to eat around 441 fewer calories per day.
What’s more, protein can also help reduce the drop in metabolism that often comes with fat loss.
2. Fuel Up with Cold Water
Drinking water instead of sugary drinks can definitely set you up for weight loss success.
Sugary drinks are high in calories, which can sabotage your weight loss efforts. Replacing them with water can help reduce your calorie intake.
In addition, drinking water may also temporarily boost your metabolism. In fact, drinking 17 ounces of water has been shown in studies to increase resting metabolic rate by 10–30% for about an hour.
Drinking cold water may even have a greater calorie-burning effect since your body will need to use energy to heat it up to body temperature.
What’s more, water also promotes satiety. Drinking water 30 minutes before meals has been shown in studies to help you eat less during the next meal.
For instance, those who drank half a liter of water before meals have been found in one study of overweight adults to lose 44% more weight than those who didn’t.
3. Drink Coffee
Caffeine in coffee has been shown in studies to speed up metabolism by 3–11% and promote fat burning. However, this effect is more evident in lean people.
In fact, drinking coffee has been found to increase fat burning by only 10% for obese women and 29% for lean women.
Nevertheless, coffee’s effects on metabolism and fat burning may help you achieve and maintain your weight goals.
4. Recharge with Oolong Tea or Green Tea
Oolong tea and green tea are low in calories. Plus, they have been found to boost metabolism by 4–5%. They may also increase fat burning by 10–17% by converting some of the stored fat into free fatty acids.
These teas, therefore, may be beneficial for weight loss and weight maintenance.
However, study results are mixed: some show that green tea and oolong tea do not affect metabolism. It can be deduced that their effect may vary from person to person.
5. Spice Up Your Meals
Peppers contain a substance that can rev up metabolism—this substance is called capsaicin.
At acceptable doses, capsaicin has been found in one study to burn around 10 additional calories per meal, which could account for 1 pound of weight loss over 6.5 years.
However, eating spicy foods alone may only produce subtle effects, but when combined with other metabolism-boosting strategies, it may cause a slight advantage.
6. Try Lifting Weights
Muscle building has metabolism-boosting effects.
Weight lifting can help you retain muscle and thus prevent the drop in metabolism that is often associated with weight loss.
In fact, those who performed resistance training have been found in one study of 48 overweight women placed on an 800-calorie diet to maintain their metabolism, muscle mass, and strength.
7. Perform High-Intensity Workout (HIIT)
Involving quick and very intense bursts of activity, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) increases your metabolic rate even while resting, thereby helping you burn more fat.
This type of exercise is believed to be more effective in terms of fat burning. In fact. A 12-week HIIT has been shown in one study in overweight young men to reduce belly fat by 17% and fat mass by 4.4 pounds.
8. Stand Up More Often
Sitting too much is considered “the new smoking”. It burns fewer calories and causes weight gain.
On the other hand, standing up often at work has been shown to burn extra 174 calories. So if you have a desk job, try to stand up for short periods or you can invest in a standing desk.
9. Get Better Sleep
Sleep deprivation can negatively affect metabolism. Thus, lack of sleep has been associated with increased obesity risk.
Studies also show that lack of sleep can reduce the fullness hormone leptin and boost the hunger hormone ghrelin. This is why most people who are sleep-deprived struggle to lose weight.
10. Avoid Crash Diets
Crash diets like the 1200-calorie diet and 1800-calorie diet are not recommended for people hoping to rev up their metabolism. Although it may help you lose weight fast, it is certainly unsustainable in the long term and may come at the expense of good nutrition. It also causes you to lose muscle, which can in turn slow your metabolism. You’ll end up gaining more weight with crash diets.
The Takeaway
Eating more protein, drinking cold water, coffee, and tea, lifting weights, and getting better sleep are just some of the simple ways to rev up your metabolism.
It can be noted that a higher metabolism can cause weight loss and weight maintenance. It also gives you more energy.
