The term "metabolic rate" refers to how quickly your body converts food into energy. You need energy for exercise and regular daily activity as well as basic life functions like circulation and digestion. If your metabolism is slow, then your body uses less energy throughout the day, and the leftover energy from extra food is stored as fat. You must burn more calories than you consume to lose weight, so a low metabolic rate also slows weight loss. Metabolic rate depends on some factors beyond your control, like age and genetics, but there are a number of lifestyle changes you can make to increase your metabolic rate so that you can eat more without gaining weight.
Exercise
Step 1
Increase your muscle mass by lifting weights. Muscle burns more calories than fat, even at rest. The American Council on Exercise estimates that each additional pound of muscle mass burns between 15 and 30 calories per day without doing any extra activity. If you exercise those muscles, the additional muscle tissue burns even more energy.
Step 2
Walk, dance, play soccer or do some other form of aerobic exercise as often as you can. Exercise not only burns calories while you're working out, but it also speeds up your metabolism for several hours afterward as your body works double time to recover.
Step 3
Increase your daily activity. Adding micro-bouts of exercise to your daily routine such as parking farther away or taking the stairs help you accumulate a greater calorie expenditure throughout the day. Interspersing small chunks of exercise throughout your day will also prevent your metabolism from lagging during long periods of sitting. Also, a huge proportion of the energy for these light activities will come from fat rather than other sources.
Eating
Step 1
Eat breakfast. Your metabolism slows down when you sleep to prepare for eight or more hours without food. To jump-start your metabolism in the morning, you need to eat something, explains nutritionist Anna Sloan. Also, your metabolism naturally slows down throughout the day, so calories you eat for breakfast are more likely to be used for energy than stored as fat.
Step 2
Eat every three to five hours. When you consume calories, your metabolism speeds up from the energy demands of digestion. To keep your metabolism ticking along, spread your daily food intake over several smaller meals, and your metabolism will be buoyed all day long.
Step 3
Maintain a minimum calorie intake of between 1,200 and 1,800 calories. When you lose weight too quickly or go too long without eating, your metabolism naturally slows down to conserve your energy, sabotaging your efforts to speed your metabolic rate.
Step 4
Eat more protein. According to a study published in the scientific journal "Nutrition and Metabolism," protein takes more energy to digest than fats or carbohydrates, producing a greater metabolic boost.
References
- Forever Fitness Podcast; Episode 91; Anna Sloan and Ish Cheyne; 2010
- "Contemporary Nutrition Support Practice: a Clinical Guide;" Laura E. Matarese, Michele M. Gottschlich; Saunders; 2003
- Nutrition & Metabolism: Diet Induced Thermogenesis; Klaas Westerterp; Department of Human Biology, Maastricht University; 2004
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