Metabolism refers to the series of chemical reactions used by your body to convert the energy in the foods you eat into ATP, the form of energy used by your body's cells to sustain life and perform work. The higher your metabolic rate, the less prone you will be to storing your excess caloric energy as fat. Thankfully, there are several ways that you can increase your metabolic rate.
Aerobic Exercise to Increase Your Metabolic Rate
Step 1
Begin a program of aerobic exercise which, according to the Mayo Clinic, can burn anywhere between 200 and 1,000 calories an hour depending on your body weight and the type of aerobic exercise you perform.
Step 2
Warm up before beginning your exercise activity. For maximum benefit, your aerobic exercise should continue for at least 20 minutes and, preferably, for one hour. The longer you keep up your exercise, the longer your metabolic rate will stay elevated.
Step 3
Gradually decrease your level of aerobic activity during the cool down period to help your heart and respiratory rates return to normal and to help flush lactic acid and other metabolites from your muscles.
Resistance Exercise to Increase Your Metabolic Rate
Step 1
Engage in a program of resistance training, such as weightlifting, to increase your muscle mass. Since muscle is a metabolically active tissue, having a higher muscle mass will lead to an increase in your overall metabolic rate. Even at rest, muscle has a higher metabolic rate than other lean tissues.
Step 2
Be sure to properly warm up before your resistance training sessions and cool down afterward. Proper warmup and cool down are essential to reducing injury and minimizing the delayed onset muscle soreness that occur after resistance training.
Step 3
Exercise each of your major muscle groups being sure to let each muscle group rest a full day between workouts. Resistance training a muscle on consecutive days without an appropriate period of rest can result in over training injuries.
Diet Adjustments to Increase Your Metabolic Rate
Step 1
Eat well-balanced meals that are rich in complex carbohydrates such as whole grains, nuts and high in protein. These nutrients are somewhat harder to digest than simple starches and your body expends metabolic energy in the process of digestion. You will actually burn more calories during digestion than with a meal high in simple or refined carbohydrates.
Step 2
Consume smaller meals, as frequently as six times per day, but avoid increasing your total daily calorie intake. The process of chewing, swallowing, digesting and absorbing your food requires metabolic energy and the more frequently you eat, the more you will raise your daily metabolism through what is called the Thermic Effect of Food.
Step 3
Set a regular schedule for eating, whether it be three traditional meals or six smaller meals per day. Research has shown that an irregular eating schedule will reduce the Thermic Effect of Food.
Things You'll Need
- Aerobic equipment (running track, treadmill or stair climber)
- Resistance equipment (dumbbells, barbells or weight training machines)
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