Altering your metabolism is a tricky game. Many things affect how many calories you burn--at rest or otherwise. Genetically, you are predisposed to a specific resting metabolic rate. However, external factors also affect it, such as stress, diet, activity levels and sleep. You can do certain things to tip the metabolic scale in your favor.
Eat More
Although it sounds counter-intuitive, if you eat more, you will speed up your metabolism. When you reduce your caloric intake, your body senses a starvation mode and begins to conserve energy by slowing your metabolic rate. Eat five to six smaller meals daily to keep your metabolism high.
Break the Fast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for a couple of reasons. When you wake, you are coming off a fast, hence "breaking the fast." When you fast, your metabolism slows down. Eating breakfast sets up your metabolism for the entire day. Think of breakfast as starting your engine; once it is started, it will need fuel for the rest of the day in the form of small meals. If you never start your engine, your body will require less fuel and thus burn less energy.
Do Cardio
Cardiovascular exercise not only burns calories during exercise, but it also burns calories after your session is over. Practice interval training, which is alternating brief periods of high-intensity exercise with equal periods of lower-intensity exercise. This is more effective for boosting metabolism than a continuous, low-intensity session. For example, on a treadmill, run at level 6 for one minute and then walk on level 3 for one minute. After a 5- to 10-minute warm-up, do this for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on your fitness level. You can also incorporate interval training on a bike, elliptical trainer or stair master. Make sure your high-intensity interval is significantly higher than your resting interval.
Build Muscle
Build muscle by weight training. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so the more muscle you have, the more energy you will expend at rest. As a bonus, your metabolism remains high after a weight-training session, even longer than a session of aerobic exercise.
Drink Water
Drink more water, especially cold water. Your body has to work to warm the water to core temperature, thus burning more calories than drinking room-temperature water. Your body's systems also work more efficiently and effectively when you are properly hydrated. Aim for your eight glasses of water a day.
Increase Your NEAT
"NEAT" is a widely known acronym in the metabolic world short for "Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis." In other words, increase your amount of inadvertent movement. Do things such as parking your car farther away from the mall, taking the stairs instead of the elevator and walking to your co-worker's desk instead of phoning or emailing him. Doing these throughout the day will increase your metabolism and add up to more calories burned.
Relax
Stress is a major contributor to weight gain, or lack of weight loss. Stress (any type--physical, emotional, chemical) causes the release of cortisol, which, after a cascade of events, leads to increased appetite and storage of abdominal fat. Decompress through deep-breathing, exercise, slowing down or taking a bath.
References
- Women'sHealth: How to Increase Metabolism
- Calories per Hour: Raise Your Metabolism and Burn More Calories
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