3 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism Naturally (Without Extreme Dieting!)
Ah, metabolism… It’s often seen as the apparent gatekeeper of whether you gain weight or not. We’re made to feel like it is set in stone at birth and there is nothing we can do about it. Luckily, this is not true!
There are many ways to support a healthy metabolism and keep off unwanted weight gain without resorting to strict and unpleasant dieting methods. Our registered dietitian, Abby, is here to break down why extreme diets can do more harm than good and share the healthy habits that can raise your metabolism naturally.
A quick note: we'll be discussing average calorie and macronutrient recommendations below. However, your nutritional needs are unique to you and likely vary from the averages mentioned here. So think of them as a reference – not a rule – for your journey.
What is metabolism?
In the general sense, your metabolism is the minimum amount of energy that your body uses for you to move and stay alive, also called your resting metabolic rate or RMR. We know that our bodies use energy for activities like walking around or exercising, but we don’t often think about all of the things that they do behind the scenes.
Right now, your heart is pumping blood all throughout your body, your liver is sorting through that blood to determine what it wants to keep and what it wants to throw away, and if you’ve eaten something recently, your small intestine and other digestive organs are working furiously to extract every bit of nutrition out of that food. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of processes happening every minute and all of these processes use energy. RMR is affected by several factors, including your age, size, and gender, but on average the RMR for the average woman is about 1400 calories per day.
That’s why it’s important to be aware of severely limiting calories during your day — because your body needs energy to survive!
Why extreme dieting does more harm than good
When we look at what slows your resting metabolic rate down, one main culprit is extreme dieting. You may think that the less you eat, the more weight you will lose, right? Wrong! Although we do need to eat fewer calories than we burn in order to lose weight, going too low for too long will leave you with chronically low energy available.
When this happens, the body fights back by doing three things:
It releases metabolic hormones to make you hungrier and prevent using existing energy stored in the body
It may also slow down your RMR (in some cases by up to 10%)
It may eventually begin to slow down bodily processes not deemed necessary for life (like reproduction)
The more frequently you do this, the more damage that can be done. Even if you do lose weight temporarily, it’s not a long-term solution that will help maintain this weight loss. That’s why losing weight gradually through a healthy balanced diet combined with some exercise is always going to be better for you in the long run. You know what they say, slow and steady wins the race!
3 ways to speed up metabolism naturally
A great place to start is by establishing the foundation for healthy habits that will give your body long-lasting benefits. Here are 3 evidence-based things that you can do to raise your metabolism in a meaningful way:
1. Strength training to build muscle
Muscle is metabolically active and constantly burns energy (even when it’s not moving). The only way to build muscle is through exercise, specifically strength training. These could be functional exercises that use your body weight for resistance such as squats, or exercises that use external weights — like dumbbells for biceps curls.
From a nutritional point of view, you need extra energy and protein to build muscles in conjunction with the exercise and a general rule of thumb is to eat about 20-25 grams of protein after a strength workout. Speaking of which…
2. Eat protein-rich foods
The types of food you eat regularly can also affect your metabolism, and the thermic effect of food (TEF for short), is the amount of calories your body uses to digest and absorb food. In general, protein-rich foods need more energy to be digested than carbohydrate or fat-rich foods because they have a higher thermal effect. This means that including protein foods in your diet builds muscle but if eaten regularly, they may also speed up your metabolism while your body digests them!
Whey protein is commonly found in protein powder and shakes because it contains an abundance of an amino acid called leucine, which is beneficial for muscle growth. But any type of protein is great for this post-workout period! If shakes aren’t your thing, try other protein-rich foods like chicken, fish, cheese, or nuts to help muscle-building after a workout.
3. Drink up!
Not everyone enjoys drinking water, but what I’m about to tell you may make it a little easier to swallow. Numerous studies have found that drinking water (especially cold water) can have an impact on your metabolism. Just like when we eat, when we drink water our bodies burn more calories. If the water is cold, a lot of this energy goes towards warming it up.
The common recommendation of drinking 8 glasses of water a day is a general recommendation aimed at encouraging us all to drink more. Most of us are more likely to become dehydrated than over-hydrated. This being said, smaller, less active people may need less while others may need more, so an average of 8 glasses or so is a good general daily goal. It doesn’t always have to be water, but whatever you’re drinking should be minimally processed, unsweetened, and contain minimal additives. Something like unsweetened homemade herbal iced tea is a good choice!
All in all, these are 3 healthy habits to help you take control of your health and raise your metabolism in a meaningful way. Remember, it is never too late to make healthy changes to your diet and lifestyle – start small and gradually work your way towards your goal.
