Your metabolism is working tirelessly to make sure that your body is breaking down everything you consume and turning into energy. Despite any preconceived notions you may have about age or genetics forcing your metabolism to slow down, what you do on a daily basis actually affects its efficiency. If you alter some of your habits you may soon notice a swift increase.
Step 1
Eat breakfast. Your metabolism slows down when you are asleep and it is coaxed to start back up again as soon as you eat your next meal. A study performed at Virginia Commonwealth University, published in a 2008 edition of the "American Journal of Epidemiology," found that eating a big breakfast full of carbohydrates and protein and following it up with a low-carbohydrate and low-calorie diet for the rest of day can actually help you lose weight. From now on, start your day with some whole wheat toast and scrambled egg whites, or a big bowl of steel-cut oatmeal with side of apple dipped in real peanut butter.
Step 2
Do interval training. In a study performed in the School of Human Movement and Exercise Science at The University of Western Australia, female volunteers did 40 minutes of steady-pace cardiovascular exercise while others broke it up into segments of intense and low intensity exercise (also known as interval training). By alternating between sprints and jogs, or hills and slopes, your heart and muscles learn to utilize oxygen better. Using interval training, your metabolism increases, your body burns more calories, and your overall fitness improves.
Step 3
Sleep. Stanford University researchers found a connection between lack of sleep and low levels of metabolic hormones that tell the body that it's full. The study by Emmanuel Mignot, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, as well as his colleagues at Stanford and the University of Wisconsin, was published in a Dec. 6 online issue of "Public Library of Science." It found an additional connection between low levels of these hormones and an increased body mass index. People who got fewer than seven and a half hours of sleep every night saw an increased body mass index in comparison with people who got more. Next time you think of staying out late on a work night, consider your health.
Step 4
Eat all day. If you restrict the most of calories in your diet, you may actually gain pounds. Thanks to your body's self-preservation mechanisms, it is ready to protect you when it thinks that you are in an emergency starvation scenario. Multiply your weight by 11 and eat that many calories if you want to safely lose up to two pounds per week. If you divide these calories into five smaller meals a day (after breakfast, that is) your metabolism will have less of a chance to slow down and you will be less likely to get so hungry that you overeat.
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