6 Easy Ways to Rev Up Your Metabolism

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3. Flex those biceps

Lean Body Mass (LBM) describes all of the essential tissues that make up your body, including muscles, bones, organs and essential fat. The more muscle you have in your LBM, the higher your metabolic rate, and the more calories you burn.

To help rev up your metabolism, work on your muscle tone. You don’t have to become the next Muscle & Fitness cover-guy-or-gal though! Even slight improvements in muscle tone and build will improve your metabolism.

Start off with some simple weight lifting or strength training exercises and go from there. The key is to work your muscles regularly and to gradually increase intensity; don’t start with a forty minute mega-iron-pumping session!

Yoga can also be a great way to gently build muscle tone. Any physical activity will help condition your muscles, burn extra calories and use stored fat. Talk to a fitness expert for more advice.

4. H20 to go

Most of the body's chemical reactions take place through the medium of water, so to keep things ticking you need to keep your water levels up.

A recent study conducted by researchers in Berlin suggests that water intake may actually increase metabolic rate. The metabolic rates of those involved in the study increased by 30% after drinking approximately 500 ml of water. The research is preliminary, and further studies need to be conducted, but so far the results suggest that a daily increase of about 1500 ml could equate to an extra 50 calories burned each day.

5. Pick up the pace … then drop it

Exercise in general will improve metabolism but changing the pace can increase the effect. Did you know that interval training can help you to burn more calories than a regular moderately paced exercise, such as jogging? Many gyms have classes in circuit training or interval training, but you can also interval train on your own.

Interval training is simply a short burst (up to three minutes) of accelerated exercise, such as a sprint, or a fast stair-climb, followed by a slower, more moderate pace of a similar exercise, followed again by the accelerated exercise, and then by a slower pace, and so on. The slow paced “interval” gives you time to recover and recoup energy which enables you to exert more energy in the fast interval (and overall) than you could if exercising at a consistent pace. Thus, your metabolism has even more chance to improve.

6. Something fishy

Not all fats are bad, indeed, some can help you to increase metabolism. Omega-3 fats have been shown in several studies to help overweight people burn more calories.

Fish is a great way to get a healthy dose of omega-3 fat. To boost metabolism, try eating fish at least twice a week. Grill or oven-bake fish fillets as a main meal, or toss some tuna or salmon into a salad for lunch. 

Related articles :

• Good Fats, Bad Fats: Get with the (blood) flow
• Hydration Guide
• Metabolism, Weight Loss and How to Boost Both

Last updated: July 18th, 2006