Have you always thought you had a slow metabolism or that it’s been slowing down over the years?
If so, you wouldn’t be alone — there’s hundreds of supplements, programs, and other products promoting that they can help improve metabolism because so many people feel like this.
The good news is, you’re not doomed with a slow metabolism.
According to a recent article I found from NASM, there are five things you can do to speed up your metabolism and they’re all backed by science.
I’m going to share exactly what those are, what metabolism is, and signs of a sluggish metabolism in this article.
Let’s jump in!
A Quick Breakdown of Metabolism
So what exactly is your metabolism and why does it matter?
Your “metabolism” is what gives your body the energy it needs to perform bodily functions.
It does this through chemical and metabolic processes that convert what you eat and drink into usable energy.
Your metabolism also helps you breathe, grow and repair cells, manage hormones, digest food, circulate blood, and it helps regulate your body temperature.
So even though you may hear metabolism and think about being slow or fast or as it relates to weight loss, there’s more to the story here.
Speaking of that, is it true that someone can have a fast or slow metabolism?
What Does It Mean to Have a Fast or Slow Metabolism?
Having a fast metabolism, as you may have guessed, means you can burn more calories than someone with a slower metabolism. You even burn more calories while at rest.
Someone with a slower metabolism doesn’t need as many calories because they don’t burn through them as quickly.
Keep in mind though, you don’t need to have a super fast metabolism to lose weight. And, having a fast metabolism doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be thin.
Because of that, your goal shouldn’t be to have the fastest metabolism to lose weight.
Rather, the focus should be on making sure your metabolism is well supported so that it can run optimally and, maybe even a bit faster.
Fortunately, there are things you can do to speed up your metabolism, which I’ll go over in just a bit.
Before I do, I want to share:
7 Signs You May Have a Slower Metabolism
So how can you tell if you have a slow metabolism?
These red flags may indicate that your metabolism is a bit sluggish:
- You’ll feel tired, sluggish often
- You have trouble losing weight
- You seem to gain weight easily
- You have dry skin
- Thinning hair
- You struggle to concentrate
- You may have mood swings
5 Ways to Speed Up Your Metabolism, According to Science
If you felt like you could relate to some of those red flags, or you just want to make sure you support your metabolism as best you can (smart idea!), follow these five strategies from NASM and you’ll do just that:
1. Prioritize Protein as Dr. Ben Bikman Says
According to research, protein packed foods increase your metabolism after a meal.
That’s because the body uses more energy — it has a higher thermic effect of food or TEF — to break down protein than it does from carbs or fat.
Consuming protein can up your metabolic rate — the calories you burn to maintain important bodily processes — by 15 to 30% while carbs and fat only increase it by 5 to 10% and 0 to 3% respectively.
Protein is also satiating which means you’ll feel full sooner and prevent overeating.
2. Don’t Skip Resistance Training
I know firsthand how tough it is to squeeze in workouts when your schedule is already so packed.
It’s something I struggle with personally too and actively work at trying to improve.
But, if you want to speed up your metabolism and the amount of calories you burn each day, you can’t ignore working out.
And that specifically includes resistance training.
Whether that’s from bodyweight exercises, light weights, heavy weights, resistance bands, kettlebells, or anything you have at the house, it doesn’t matter.
What matters is that you engage in some form of resistance training at least three times per week and as much as six times per week (you can eventually work up to that of course).
That’s because it can help increase your metabolic rate and the amount of calories throughout the day, which is huge for speeding up your metabolism.
Adding in high intensity interval training (or HIIT) can also help you burn calories, even long after your workout is over, making it another great way to boost your metabolism.
According to The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), following an exercise program like the one listed below can help you speed up your metabolism:
- Aim for 3-6 resistance training sessions per week
- Reach for 6-12 reps per move
- Perform anywhere from 3-5 sets with a 0-60 second rest in between
- Use a 2/0/2 tempo
- Weave in a HIIT session 2x per week for anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes
3. Improve Your Sleep Quality (And Quantity for Some)
NASM reports that the average person gets about 6.8 hours of sleep per night, which is just below the 7 to 9 hour recommendation.
The problem is, a lack of sleep can really wreck your hormone balance and important metabolic processes. It can also throw off your homeostasis and lead to low-grade inflammation.
And that’s just the beginning of not getting enough sleep. (I wrote a whole article on the topic it was so important)
The last point NASM mentions is that a lack of sleep can also mess with your glucose metabolism and lead to decreased leptin levels – the hormone that signals you’re full – and increased ghrelin levels – which is a hunger hormone that stimulates appetite, food intake, and increases fat storage.
This explains why you may find yourself ravenous and reaching for caffeine after a night without proper sleep.
One night of bad sleep isn’t the end of the world but continue to do this often enough and overtime you’ll have even bigger problems on your hands.
You can’t ignore sleep and expect to feel good or have a fast metabolism.
I couldn’t agree more with these sleep hygiene tips NASM presented:
- Aim to fall asleep around the same time every night to regulate your circadian rhythm better
- Turn off the electronics 1-2 hours before bed, bonus points if you can leave them out of your room altogether
- Have a wind down routine – get ready for bed, stretch, read a book, journal, etc., then do this most nights, if not every night
- Create a dark and comfortably cool place to sleep in
- Cut off the caffeine after 12 and skip the alcohol at night (the latter may help you fall asleep but it leads to poor sleep quality which makes you exhausted the next day)
- Try to get outside in morning sun every single day
- Ditch processed foods and sugars
4. Manage Your Stress Better
The next key ingredient to the metabolism puzzle has to do with handling stress.
Having chronic stress episodes — stressful jobs, poor relationships, financial or health issues — activates your HPA axis, releasing stress hormones like cortisol, which can activate your sympathetic nervous system.
Do this long enough and over time and you’ll slowly build up a harmful type of fat known as visceral fat which wraps around important organs and releases fatty acids that can travel to the liver and affect important blood lipids like cholesterol, and leads to weight gain, especially around the midsection.
If you’re in a stressful period that may be out of your control — a job you can’t get out of, financial stress thanks to this current economy, etc. — it’s crucial that you implement the right type of stress management protocols.
Instead of turning to wine, sugar, carbs, shopping, etc., it’s about facing your emotions head on through healthy strategies like meditation, journaling, taking daily walks.
Just 15 minutes per day of meditation can help lower cortisol levels and combat the negative impacts stress can cause.
And you don’t have to be perfect here.
Throw on a guided meditation on Spotify or from a YouTube video and just listen to the prompts and come back to center if/when you veer off.
You don’t have to do it every day to start but, once you do, you’ll likely enjoy a daily meditation session, even if it’s just for five or 10 minutes.
Regularly engaging in exercise can also help with stress management.
That’s because exercise can affect important feel-good neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, which can improve your mood and how stress affects you.
Just like with meditation, building up to a daily practice is the end goal but, if you’re just starting out, 2-3 sessions are better targets to reach for early on.
Once you do either, you’ll start to crave more, which makes it easy to reach a daily practice.
5. Cut Down on These Chemicals in Your Environment
Lastly, even if you tackle the other four big areas just mentioned, if you’re still flooding your environment with synthetic chemicals — which are sadly found in soooo many things — your health and metabolism will suffer.
These chemicals are lurking in fragrances, candles, pesticides, plastics, antimicrobials, and more.
The problem is, they’re HUGE endocrine disruptors (aka they wreak havoc on your hormones) and can lead to obesity, metabolic syndrome, or type 2 diabetes.
Whether you smell them in candles in fragrances, lather them on in lotion, or heat up food in plastic containers, these chemicals will ruin your health slowly over time.
The advice here is to get rid of as many chemicals as you can.
From your makeup to cookware to cleaning supplies — limiting your exposure is the goal.
The more you can cut back on the chemicals in your environment, the better you’ll breath and feel and you’ll help your metabolism along the way (by supporting better hormone health).
Boost Your Metabolism Today
I’ve thrown a ton of information at you not to overwhelm you, rather, to show that there’s a few ways you can help support your metabolism.
That doesn’t mean you should do all of them at once though. That will certainly be difficult to keep up with.
Instead, choose one or two areas that could have the biggest impact on your life and start with those first. Master those for a month or two before adding in the next pillar.
Keep going until you have a pretty good handle on all five tips and you’ll see a remarkable change in how you feel and how fast your metabolism runs.
The tips I just shared are backed by science and most of the information contained in this guide came straight from NASM’s article on the topic — so you know it’s good!
Give one or two strategies a try and let me know how it goes!
You can always reach out to me for questions, support, or accountability. I’m here for you!
To revving up your metabolism,
Devan
P.S. Sign up for my newsletter below to ensure you receive my latest articles and freebies as soon as they come out. Enter your info into the box below to do just that: