3 Habits You Can Start ASAP To Increase Your Metabolism*
Metabolism refers to the processes your body undergoes to turn what you eat and drink into energy you store or use. If you're having trouble balancing blood sugar, lowering cholesterol, gaining muscle, or losing fat, then your metabolism could use more support.
While recalibrating your metabolism can take time (for example, healthy fat loss is often considered no more than 1 pound a week, and it can take three months to start to see changes in cholesterol levels), some metabolism-supporting habits start working on day one. And their impact only increases over time.
These are three habits you can implement now to start improving your metabolism ASAP:
Increase protein intake (& decrease carbs)
Eating enough protein is a crucial part of improving metabolic health. Protein is a very satiating macronutrient and helps curb hunger and overeating. In addition, high-protein meals help stabilize blood sugar levels1 after a meal—providing you with consistent energy levels until you eat again.
But protein also targets a more underrated part of your metabolism: the thermic effect of food2. This refers to the energy (aka calories) the body uses to digest food and get it ready for use or storage. Protein has a high thermic effect (about 20-30%), so the body spends significantly more energy digesting, absorbing, and metabolizing protein after a meal compared to carbs or fats.
That means if you eat 100 calories of protein, you'll burn up to 30 calories just digesting it. Fat has a thermic effect of about 0 and carbs have a 5-10% thermic effect—so the body spends a lot less energy digesting these foods.
Overall, you can improve the efficiency of your metabolism by just shifting the composition of your diet.
Increasing sources of lean proteins (like these), reducing refined carbs (like white bread and pasta, sugary cereals, crackers, chips, and sweetened beverages), and limiting excess fat (like fried foods) can improve blood sugar and calorie burn almost immediately. And following this eating pattern results in even more profound effects.
Aim for a minimum of 100 grams of protein a day (you likely need more and can learn more about your individual needs here).
Try a science-backed supplement
The realm of metabolism-boosting supplements is not new—however, most of these products fall short of their promised claims.
One supplement that improves your metabolism by helping lose fat and build muscle (the best combo for transforming your body composition) is mindbodygreen's creatine tone+. This unique powder combines 5 grams of creatine monohydrate (the most studied supplement) and 300 milligrams of veld grape extract to improve your metabolic well-being.
- Creatine: Creatine supplements are most potent at building lean muscle3 when paired with strength training. As muscle is more metabolically active than fat (i.e. muscle burns more calories at rest), maintaining and even building lean mass is vital for your metabolism and preventing excess weight gain.
- Veld grape extract: Research shows that supplementing with 300 milligrams of veld grape extract can aid in fat loss (and overall healthy weight loss) as well as blood sugar balance by helping your body use fuel more effectively while supporting healthy appetite and cravings.*
No supplement outranks or outperforms the benefits of a healthy diet, but the right, science-backed supplement like creatine tone+ can give you an edge in achieving your goals.
Start strength training 2x a week
Most of the benefits of strength training come from keeping a consistent schedule over time.
Strength training is the most effective way to increase muscle mass—a key way of improving your body composition. Muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat tissue, which means the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn throughout the day.
Building muscle takes time (at least several weeks of consistent training), but there are also some more immediate metabolic perks to strength training.
First is something called post-exercise oxygen consumption4. After a weightlifting session (which naturally puts some stress and pressure on your muscles), the body enters a state of recovery. This increases the rate of oxygen intake to replenish what was lost in the bloodstream and muscles during workouts.
For several hours after a workout5, this process increases calorie and fat burn. In the long term, it increases metabolic rate.
Not to mention, lifting weights can improve mood and decrease depressive symptoms.
New to strength training?
The takeaway
While improving your metabolic health is highly dependent on habit consistency over time, it can be more motivating to start a habit when you know what the immediate payoffs are. When it comes to boosting your metabolism, eating more protein, taking a high-quality supplement, and strengthening help you out in the short and long term.*