Metabolism is the chemical process that your body goes through when it burns calories for daily functions. These daily functions involve every voluntary and involuntary action you make, such as getting up from the table, sanding down a board, breathing, sleeping and reading the paper. If your metabolism is low, and you want to crank it up, several methods can be used. Speeding up your metabolism can help you lose weight or prevent you from gaining it.
Step 1
Eat more often. When you eat a meal, then don't eat again for several hours, your body will go into starvation mode, which causes your metabolism to slow down. To increase it, eat a small meal every two to three hours during the day. This can also help give you sustained energy levels and prevent you from overeating. Make your meals consist of nutrient-dense foods that are a balance of protein and carbs. A baked chicken breast with steamed broccoli and brown rice is an evening meal example.
Step 2
Include protein in your diet. Protein, carbs and fat are macronutrients. Of the three, protein causes the highest thermic effect in the body when you eat it. This means the body must use more calories to break down protein than it does carbs and fat. Include quality sources of protein in your meals, such as chicken breasts, turkey, venison, bison, low-fat dairy products, eggs, fish and beans.
Step 3
Eat something before you leave the house in the morning. Not eating breakfast will cause your metabolism to stay slow, and it can also cause you to overeat later in the day. To boost your metabolism and keep your hunger under control, have a high-fiber breakfast meal such as oatmeal with low-fat milk, fruit with yogurt, a granola bar or a whole grain muffin with scrambled egg whites.
Step 4
Drink ice cold water. Water helps flush toxins from your system, it keeps you hydrated and it also aids in digestion. Water that is really cold can help boost your metabolism because your body burns calories to warm it up. Aim for six to eight glasses a day.
Step 5
Build more muscle mass. Muscle boosts the metabolism because it burns more calories when you build it up. To do this effectively, perform compound exercises that involve multiple joints and multiple muscle groups. Examples include bench presses, military presses, dead lifts, close-grip bench presses and squats. Do 10 to 12 reps and for three to four sets of each exercise with weights. Do weight training three times a week every other day.
Step 6
Perform cardio at a high intensity. High intensity interval training (HIIT) is a type of cardio that not only burns calories while you are doing it, but also turns your metabolism up for hours after you are done. To do this type of exercise, start with a five-minute warm-up at a light pace. Go all out for 15 seconds, then come back down to a light intensity for 30 seconds. Alternate back and forth 12 to 15 times and finish with a five-minute light cool-down. You can apply this type of training to exercises such as running, indoor cycling, stair climbing, elliptical training, swimming and rowing. Do cardio on three alternating days in between lifting weights.
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