How to Speed Up Your Metabolism

Burn more calories without even trying with these metabolism boosters.

Step 1: Take cold showers
Give yourself occasional blasts of cold water when you shower; it improves circulation, according to research, which can in turn speed up metabolism.

Step 2: Don't skip meals
Don't go longer than five hours without eating, except when you're sleeping. Skipping meals slows down metabolism.

Tip
Always eat breakfast to kick-start your metabolism in the morning.

Step 3: Eat lean protein
Eat lean protein, like skinless chicken or egg whites, at every meal, and aim to make lean protein 30 percent of your daily food intake. A Dutch study found that people who did increased their metabolism all day long, even while they slept!

Step 4: Choose the right carbs
Choose complex carbohydrates, whole-wheat bread instead of white, and steel-cut oatmeal rather than sugary cereals. They boost metabolism because they are harder to digest than refined carbs are.

Tip
Spice up your food with red chili pepper, black pepper, and ginger – your body may burn more calories immediately after the meal.

Step 5: Get intense bursts of exercise
Get short, intense bursts of aerobic exercise for a few minutes every day, whether it's sprinting for a few blocks or pedaling on a stationary bicycle at the most difficult setting you can handle. A study indicated this kind of exercise can speed your metabolism in just two weeks.

Step 6: Lift weights
Take up weight training. Building muscle increases your resting metabolic rate, the number of calories your body burns when it's doing nothing at all. Some research has shown that weight training can raise a person's resting metabolic rate by 15 percent in 12 weeks.

Tip
Lifting free weights builds muscles more efficiently than lifting on weight machines.

Step 7: Fidget!
Move around more during the day, even if it's just small movements while sitting. Studies show that naturally thin people fidget more than heavier people. And fidgeting is a lot easier than working out!

Did You Know?
Metabolism slows down by about 5 percent for each decade after 40 because of muscle loss and body-fat gain.

[emilywojt]

To the people saying "I'd ya don't wanna eat then don't eat!" Actually no ur body will need fat without eating ur body clings in to every fat calorie and it will keep building up so u can survive so actually eating frequently is good. They didn't mean like eat a sandwich of pasta very four hours then mean like a snack like a apple, orange, or banana.

***Sorry for spelling errors***

[jadeyknoxville]

i'm skeptical about the cold showers part. cold doesn't improve circulation because cold constricts blood vessels. that's why they have you put cold on a wound or bruise, to close off the vessels and lower blood flow. if you want to improve blood flow, go hot. look up: vasodilation. heat dilates blood vessels. but i have heard that drinking cold water when you wake up kickstarts your metabolism.

[flint]

1:12 spice up your food with
1: red chilli pepper
2: black pepper
3: a ginger

[skunktheshrink]

Rice is a source of complex carbs. Simple carbs are found in food that a lay person would associate with sugar, like cakes, fruits, etc.

[tathtath]

nicely and clearly said!
Especially for normal (not working out) people :)

[vanea]

not a lot of walnuts because they are really high in calories which won't help in your diet... But in small quantity it is very good! For the heart as well as for the matabolism.

[CokedUpPuppy]

Just incorporate a lot of spicy food into your diet. When you eat spicy food your body has to work harder to digest the food which speeds up your metabolism. The spicier the food, the faster your metabolism. I ate a whole Ghost Chili Pepper once(NOT something I recommend as I do regret it)and I looked a few pounds lighter.

[mksabourinable]

Other than the food thing I do it all already. I have ADD so I'm always fidgeting, and when I start working out I do a short burst then get distracted and do another short burst etc. And at the end of my shower I do 10 sec icy cold water to keep frizz down and prevent split ends in my Cool!

[EvilPaola]

I liked the fidgeting part. I have a slow metabolism, but I can never stand still for more than 5 seconds. I am constantly twitching my fingers or shaking my left leg while sitting.

[KagamineLenX]

When they said cold showers, they said short blasts of cold water, not a whole shower w/ cold water, so every once in a while when ur taking a shower, turn it 2 cold then go back 2 ur regular shower temperature water

[TheWowwa]

no magic skinny pills right? good sharing.

[agent]

cold showers are really good, I love them :)

[qhairful]

Wow! Learn somethng every time I watch here.

[forrest]

ahh cold showers are amazing... take a regular hot shower then blast that cold for as long as you can before you get out, its sooo refreshing and great for your skin too :)

[mindmolding]

does drinking water jump start your metabolism as well?

[cloetrain]

best part of Howcast videos, are the top comments

[swiftpunchtotheface]

um it's perfectly fine to skip meals if you're not hungry. if you wake up and don't feel like eating breakfast, then don't. eating more frequently does not speed up your metabolism enough to make it matter. your metabolism will not slow down unless you're actually STARVING (as in, not eating enough for multiple weeks)

[PairoftheSocks]

HGH is responsible for repairing and growing muscles, the most dramatic increase happens in the first 2 hours, then it stays elevated many days afterward. Mainly talking about metabolism, your metabolism is dramaticaly increased for the next 48 hours. Look it up.

[ThisisDanBell]

the chick in this video has nothing to worry about.

[thishomicidalbunny]

can someone give me a link to howcast's playlist of cooking tutorials