The body's metabolism processes calories from food and turns it into energy to perform many functions, from breathing to walking. When a person's metabolism is working slowly, he or she may gain excess weight because the body isn't efficiently converting calories into energy. Boosting the metabolism through smart food and exercise choices can make it easier to achieve a healthy weight.
Eat Smaller Portions More Often
Eating small portions of food at each meal can help people avoid taking more calories into their bodies than they can metabolize into energy. People can check the amount of food they plan to eat with measuring cups or even their hands to make sure the portions are a healthy size. CNN.com says that two cupped handfuls of vegetables makes up one serving, one cupped handful of grains like cereal or pasta equals one serving, one serving of fruit should be the size of a fist, and one serving of meat should fit in the palm of a hand. Eating often throughout each day---such as snacking between meals or eating five small meals rather than the traditional three daily meals---can help the body normalize blood sugar, which boosts metabolism, according to CNN.com.
Include Protein and Fiber in Meals
Protein helps the body build lean muscle mass, which speeds up the body's metabolic rate, and food containing protein also uses up more calories to digest than other types of foods do, reports USA Today.com, which recommends including protein in every meal. Fiber such as a whole-grain cereal and bread and fresh vegetables and fruits also increase metabolism by slowing releasing the sugar the body needs to sustain energy over several hours, rather than releasing too much sugar at once, USA Today.com says.
Combine Weight Training and Aerobic Exercises
Mixing up workouts by including both weight training exercises like lifting weights and aerobic exercises such as running, boost metabolism more than focusing on just one type of exercise during workouts, reports USA Today.com. Weight training exercises help the body build lean muscle that speeds up how fast it can burn calories. Aerobic exercises work the entire body, which USA Today.com says boosts metabolism when people do them at regular intervals of switching between a few minutes of hard effort and a few minutes of a more relaxed pace.
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