Your metabolism is the way your body transforms the things you drink and eat into energy to fuel the many systems and functions of your body. Everything from breathing to hormone production relies on your metabolism to work properly. Weight loss can also be affected by how your metabolism works. This is due to your basal metabolic rate, or BMR, which determines how many calories are needed for the body to operate while at rest. According to the Mayo Clinic, your BMR makes up 60 to 75 percent of the total calories you burn on a daily basis. By increasing your metabolism, you increase your BMR, which can affect your energy levels as well as weight loss.
Step 1
Eat regularly. When your body consistently does not get the calories it needs (such as with many crash diets that severely cut your calorie intake), the body reverts to survival mode by lowering your metabolism. This lowers your BMR, causing you to burn fewer calories. By eating adequate amounts of food, your body is able to function at full metabolism without worrying about running out of calories. However, eating too many calories can lead to weight gain, which may negatively affect your metabolism. To balance the two sides, focus on eating five or six smaller meals each day. This will keep your calorie intake at a healthy level, as well as boost your metabolism.
Step 2
Watch your vitamins and minerals. Vitamin deficiencies can take a toll on your metabolism's ability to work correctly because certain vitamins and minerals play an important role in the control of your metabolism. For example, vitamin B (more specifically B12, B6, folate, niacin and thiamine) plays an important role in the transformation of carbohydrates, fats and proteins into energy. Magnesium is another important substance for the regulation of metabolism. Unfortunately, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, most adults in the United States do not get adequate amounts of magnesium in their diets.
Step 3
Get active. Every time you exercise, whether it's hiking, swimming, jogging, running or any other activity that gets your heart rate up, you trigger an increase in your metabolism for even hours after you finish your activity.
Step 4
Introduce strength training into your exercise routine. Strength training is another way in which your metabolism can be boosted. As you work your muscles through the use of resistance or weights, you damage muscle cells. The body then repairs these cells, building the muscles larger and stronger. With each increase in muscle, your metabolism is slightly raised. It is not raised by large amounts, but over time, these raises can start to make a difference in your overall metabolic levels.
Step 5
Laugh more often. One of the simplest ways to boost your metabolism is to laugh. Led by professor Maciej Buchowksi, a research team at Vanderbilt University set out to determine how much heat output was created while laughing. This heat output could then be translated as an increase in metabolism. After the research study was completed, the team discovered that metabolic rates could be increased by 10 to 40 calories by just laughing.
Tips and Warnings
- Always start your day with breakfast, which jump starts a process of your metabolism called diet-induced thermogenesis--a process that slows down while you're asleep.
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