Though many people consider their metabolic rate an inert system incapable of change, that isn’t the case.
Like many systems in your body, your metabolism is highly adaptive, and there are numerous ways to influence its speed.
Today’s guide will outline five practical and effective tactics for supercharging your metabolism for easier fat loss and good health.
Let’s dive in.
But First: What Is ‘Metabolic Rate’ And What Tactics Don’t Work
Metabolism is the collection of reactions and processes that sustain life (1). The three primary functions of your metabolism are:
‘Boosting’ one’s metabolism refers to speeding up your internal engine to expend more calories and promote weight loss without significant dietary restrictions. The idea is popular these days, and you’re likely to come across many tactics, from taking certain supplements to changing your meal frequency.
Unfortunately, most of these have no scientific backing. For example, extensive research suggests that your meal frequency doesn’t impact your metabolism (2). In other words, eating more frequently won’t ‘stoke the metabolic fire.’ But, despite that, you’ve probably come across many resources claiming that eating six small meals per day is crucial in igniting the metabolic flame.
The good news is that there are some science-backed ways to boost your metabolism to a degree and burn extra calories.
Five Effective Ways to Bump Your Metabolic Rate For Weight Loss And Health
It’s important to note that some of the following tactics offer immediate benefits, whereas others mainly benefit your metabolism in the long run. We will break down the differences below.
Strength training benefits your metabolic rate in the short and long term. First, lifting weights burn calories. The average person can expend up to 500 calories in a single workout.
Second, weight training leads to tissue damage, and your body has to expend energy (calories) and resources (carbohydrates and protein) to repair the damage, strengthen your muscles, and promote growth.
Third, building muscle is beneficial for your resting energy expenditure. Muscle is metabolically costly tissue, and your body expends calories to keep it around. According to research, each pound of muscle requires about 13 calories daily (3).
The number isn’t earth-shattering, but add 20 pounds of muscle to your frame, an extra 260 calories burned daily without doing anything.
Further, having more muscle leads to better insulin sensitivity, promoting a better body composition and reducing the risk of metabolic conditions (4, 5). Also, having more muscle means completing more challenging workouts and burning more calories.
Protein is one of the three macronutrients (along with carbohydrates and dietary fats) necessary for good health, athletic performance, and more. Alcohol (ethanol) is also technically a macronutrient, but that’s a topic for another time.
The reason why you can bump your metabolism with protein has to do with the thermic effect of food (TEF). Your body expends calories to break down the nutrients you consume and absorb them (6).
Protein has the highest thermic effect at 20 to 35 per cent. In other words, consuming 100 calories of protein would cause your body to expend 20 to 35 calories to break down the protein and absorb its amino acids (7).
In contrast, the TE of carbs and dietary fats is 5-10% and 0-3%, respectively.
Eating more protein would cause your body to burn extra calories, thus elevating your metabolic rate slightly. According to research, the ideal protein intake is around 0.7 to 1 gram per pound (8). Excellent food sources include meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy.
Green tea and coffee are two popular beverages people consume for their health benefits and effects on alertness. Interestingly, your morning cup of coffee might be good for more than waking you up, and it all has to do with caffeine – a nervous system stimulant.
Drinking more coffee and green tea can have a direct positive effect on your resting metabolic rate. According to research, caffeine and coffee can increase energy expenditure and promote fat oxidation (burning) (9). Green tea is also encouraged for its fat loss benefits (10).
Further, caffeine can improve your athletic performance and energy levels, allowing you to burn more calories through physical activity (11). Some data suggest that caffeine blocks pain signals in the brain, making it easier to endure the burning sensation in our muscles (12).
These beverages can also blunt your appetite and lower your calorie intake. While that doesn’t relate to metabolic rate, eating less can make reaching your fat loss goals easier.
NEAT stands for non-exercise activity thermogenesis and refers to the number of calories you burn through everyday activities. Walking to the store, climbing stairs, brushing your teeth, playing with your kids, and cleaning your home are some NEAT-based activities.
Boosting your NEAT is one of the most effective ways to increase your metabolic rate to a significant degree and reap the associated benefits. According to research, NEAT can account for thousands of extra calories burned when comparing individuals of similar size (13).
NEAT is effective because movement adds up, so long as you’re conscious of it and approach each day with the idea of moving as much as possible:
HIIT refers to high-intensity interval training, a form of fast-paced exercise designed to bring numerous benefits in as little as 10 minutes per session.
As its name suggests, HIIT is a form of intense exercise where you alternate between short bursts of intense activity and recovery. For example, run at 80 per cent of your max for 30 seconds, walk for a minute, and repeat five to ten times.
HIIT is beneficial because you burn calories while training and expend extra energy after your session. The caloric burn isn’t as big as some claim, but it still adds up over time (14).
The great thing about HIIT is that you can apply the principles to various activities, including running, riding a bike, jumping rope, using a battle rope, and more.
Coach Michael
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