Metabolism is the way your body uses food as fuel and is measured in units of heat known as calories. Several factors can affect how fast or slowly your metabolism burns calories, including your level of activity and how much lean muscle mass you have in proportion to fat. Fortunately, if you want to increase your metabolism to lose weight, you can take steps to boost your calorie-burning furnace. Check with your doctor before taking steps to raise your metabolism to rule out medical conditions or medications that can also cause it to slow down.
Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise helps you lose weight by increasing your metabolic rate in order to keep up with the demands for energy expenditure. The Mayo Clinic says aerobic activities include brisk walking, cycling and swimming, and that the activity should be maintained for a minimum of 10 minutes. Aerobic exercise also helps to develop your larger muscle groups, such as your legs and arms. Increased muscle mass causes an increase in metabolism in order to provide fuel to the muscle cells, even when you are at rest.
Eating Smaller Meals More Frequently
In an effort to lose weight, many people turn to low calorie diets, which actually can cause your metabolism to decrease. When your body recognizes that there is an insufficient number of calories for basic functioning, it attempts to conserve them by slowing the metabolism. Eating smaller meals more frequently, in contrast, helps to maintain your metabolism at or above normal. Metabolism is required to process calories you consume, so by eating more frequently, you force your metabolism to increase more frequently. The sum of the number of calories in your smaller, but more frequent, meals should equal the amount recommended by your physician or dietitian.
Strength Training
Just as aerobic exercise increases metabolism by increasing large muscle mass, strength training increases overall muscle tone. Exercises such as lifting weights or using resistance training can help to improve your muscle to fat ratio, boosting your metabolism at the same time. Building your muscles also helps you lose fat, even if the scale doesn't reflect the loss. Muscle weighs more than fat, which means you'll be losing body fat and inches all around and you'll be burning fat even when you're sleeping.
Caffeine
Caffeine is commonly found in energy drinks and other nutritional supplements and there is evidence to support the ability of this natural substance to raise metabolism. According to Terry E. Graham of Guelph University, writing in the journal "Sports Medicine," caffeine doesn't directly influence metabolism, but it appears to provide energy that can help you exercise longer and at a higher intensity. Additionally, the belief that caffeine consumption prior to exercise can lead to dehydration is unsupported by research. This may be because athletes tend to be more aware of hydration and consume enough fluids to offset any lost as a result of increased urination caused by caffeine. If you have sensitivity to stimulants like caffeine however, speak with your doctor before attempting to use it to raise your metabolism.
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