Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the rate at which your body burns calories at rest. Genetics has a large effect on your BMR, but other factors also can influence it. If you have a low BMR, you may have problems losing weight and feel tired overall. To increase your BMR, you have to make a few changes and stick with them. Increasing your metabolism will help you reach your weight-loss goals.
Step 1
Drink more water. Researchers at the University of Utah studied the effects of water on metabolic rates. Study participants who drank between eight and 12 glasses of water a day had a higher metabolic rate than participants who drank four glasses. Drinking cold water burns calories as well, since your body has to heat the water up to your core temperature.
Step 2
Eat breakfast. By morning, your body has gone without food for a long time. Your metabolism slows down, protecting you from starvation. To raise it again, you need to consume some food.
Step 3
Eat more often. Rather than eating three large meals a day, eat six smaller meals. Skipping meals slows your metabolism and leads to the storage of fat. The longer you go between meals, the more your body's metabolism slows down.
Step 4
Exercise. Exercise burns calories and keeps your metabolism raised for an hour after you finish. It also builds muscle, which is metabolically active tissue. Since muscle burns more calories than fat, your metabolism will go up.
Step 5
Consume more protein. Protein helps in the muscle-growth process, and muscle burns calories. Choose lean meats and beans to get more protein without extra fat.
Step 6
Drink caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant. Introducing any kind of stimulant into your body increases your metabolic rate.
Things You'll Need
- Water
- Caffeinated drink
Member Comments
commandsthezoom April 14
"Consume more protein. Protein helps in the muscle-growth process, and muscle burns calories. Choose lean meats and beans to get more protein without extra fat."
Then everyone who eats meat, or a large amount of protein, must be a total musclehead. But that's not what happens.
I'm tired of seeing this dumb trope everywhere, because it's just not true. Protein isn't used for building muscles - it's used for building cells, synthesizing chemicals and hormones, and repairing your body (that is, building cells). Your cells won't rebuild if they aren't damaged, though. So you need to EXERCISE: your diet has very little to do with gaining muscle - unless you're eating too much protein, in which case your muscles will be starved of their fuel (carbohydrates), and will break themselves down to provide fuel for that purpose. Protein can be broken down into carbohydrates, as inefficient and strenuous as it is for your body (it's called gluconeogenesis, if I recall correctly).
If you're not getting enough protein, you need to do one of two things: 1. Drop all junk food from your diet, because you're eating such a high proportion of refined products that you have actually become malnourished, or 2. Stop starving yourself. Protein deficiencies happen in starving populations, but they must be artificially created where no starvation exists.
raccazip100 April 15
I don't think the author found this information herself. I think she is just a generic author who found this information from the sources they list. Hope this helps!
dongjun82 April 15
^I agree. This information can be found in a variety of sources. If you look at her credentials she's a writer, not a dietician or nutritionist. But that doesn't mean that she's not capable of doing research and compiling information that is generally accepted and found to be proven. The 6 tips that she's listed here are pretty generally accepted facts that you can pretty much find anywhere. I've heard every one of those tips before.
RE: Your cells won't rebuild if they aren't damaged, though. So you need to EXERCISE
This is also VERY true. You don't build muscle without exercise. But I think she was building off her Step 4 which says to exercise. Under the assumption that you exercise, eating protein helps your muscles grow.
RE: Protein can be broken down into carbohydrates, as inefficient and strenuous as it is for your body (it's called gluconeogenesis, if I recall correctly).
This also happens, and tends to happen once the muscle's stores of glycogen are consumed, and there isn't fat available to use as energy. If you're at 30% body fat, and you're doing moderate exercise while limiting carbohydrate consumption, I wouldn't worry too much about this. The body adapts to low carboyhdrate intake (ketosis) after a week or two.
ljrunner April 16
Her advice is great.Most of us should know this already,and you do not need a degree to know tips on eating better and what to do for exercise..My Dr had a medical degree but is heavy,so your comments are really kinda not so cool.
dongjun82 April 18
To clarify, I am supporting the author, and backing her up in saying that all the information she is giving us doesn't require a medical background. Its a little out of context now as a few of the previous comments were deleted.
fig8v2 April 27
LiveStrong and many other websites in need of regularly refreshed content, openly and regularly solicit people to write content for the site and the pay rates are fairly low. This makes venues like this a great way to build your clips and presence when you're starting out. It also means you might want to be as efficient as you can be when putting together the material. If you're getting paid $10 or $20 bucks for an article, it's hard to justify spending 8 hours on research.
This is not a criticism of the system, it works really well for some people, just a "reader beware." As online and mainstream publishers devalue content, many experienced journalists and writers are considering other career paths!
Bocastrobe April 30
"Your cells won't rebuild if not damaged" Not True - In a healthy human 1000s of cells die constantly and 1000s are created to replace them. Muscle tissue must be damaged to rebuild and in that replication process it requires proteins or elements of proteins amoung other things. Several vital organs require some of the same protiens and protien elements so if you do begin a regular exercise program it is not bad advice to increase protein intake so not to deprive the needs of the vital organs - the best approach remains in a balance of carbs, proteins and fats as each rely on one another for total health - The advice provided here is basic and technicaly accurate although I do agree that 4 and 5 go together. If your not excercising regualrly eating more protien will do little to improve you metaboilism.