4 Ways to Kick Start Your Metabolism

Your metabolism, also known as metabolic resting rate, is how quickly your body burns calories. If it is sluggish, you can experience fatigue, mood swings, food cravings, and have difficulty losing weight. And any of these factors can contribute to poor health over time. There are ways to boost metabolism, however, and if you incorporate them into your daily routine, you'll see benefits in the form of increased energy and weight loss. The following are four of the easiest and most effective ways to rev up your metabolism.

Get Quality Sleep

First, make sure you get quality sleep. In and of itself, getting sufficient sleep will not magically boost your metabolism, but not getting enough sleep over time will contribute to lethargy and lack of energy. Ideally, people should try to get eight hours of sleep per night. A lack of sleep places additional stress on the body, and as a result, cortisol levels rise, and testosterone levels drop. A study from the University of Chicago showed that those individuals who only slept an average of five and a half hours per night over the course of two weeks, reduced fat loss by 55 percent. Additionally, research has shown that getting only six hours of sleep as opposed to eight hours per night, often results in carrying an additional five to 15 pounds of belly fat.

Drink Water... but Make it Cold

Secondly, drink plenty of water every day and make sure it’s cold! In addition to quenching thirst, drinking cold water can have the added benefit of aiding in boosting your metabolism. There has been research indicating that drinking just over two cups of water can increase the body's metabolic rate by 30% for up to 40 minutes. Besides the potential metabolism-revving benefits, drinking adequate amounts of water every day also helps to suppress your appetite, resulting in less overeating. To gain the most benefits, your goal should be to drink at least 16 ounces of cold-water multiple times over the course of a day.

Eat Protein-Rich Foods

The next way to help boost your metabolism is to incorporate more protein into your diet. Some of the best sources of protein include almonds, fish, beans, chicken, and turkey (without the skin), and lean beef/pork. Try eating some form of protein at each meal and you'll notice a difference in your metabolism and increased energy levels. You'll also notice an effect on your waistline as protein takes longer for the body to break down, leaving you satiated and full of energy for a longer period than eating other foods. Another benefit of protein is that it assists in building muscle, which helps boost your metabolic rate as well.

Move Your Body

Lastly, try to incorporate some type of physical exercise into your day at least three times per week. Depending on your fitness level, this could be something as simple as going for a walk for 30 minutes to integrating high-interval training into your workout regimen. In the gym, there are multiple ways to boost your metabolism, and resistance training is ideal for this, as it promotes muscle growth, which will aid in burning calories while at rest. If that's not your thing, doing some cardio work – indoors or outdoors – is a great option too. In fact, one study found that 45 minutes of vigorous cardio exercise can boost the metabolic rate for up to 14 hours after exercising.

If you've been feeling sluggish or just don't have the energy that you're normally used to, incorporating these four ways to rev up metabolism into your daily life will help you feel more energized, which can lead to a boost in weight loss and better health overall. It won't take long for the effects of increased metabolism to be noticed either.