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The Best Ways to Boost Metabolism

Metabolism is the process your body uses to break down fuel as energy. A quicker metabolism burns more calories, but as we age, our metabolism slows naturally. Health professionals recommend diet and exercise in most cases to facilitate weight loss. But there are ways to trick your body into burning more calories without taking you out of your daily routine.

  1. Eat breakfast

    • Samantha Heller, a contributor to Health Magazine, recommends not skipping breakfast. By eating a healthy breakfast--which Heller describes as a combination of whole-grain cereal and fruit, whole wheat toast and peanut butter or yogurt and a handful of granola--you're 10 percent more likely to boost your resting metabolism. You're also less likely to develop diabetes and obesity.

    Gain strength

    • Another way to boost metabolism is through strength training, which targets muscle tissue, according to the Mayo Clinic's Katherine Zeratsky, a nutritionist. Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue, so exercises using hand-held weights, resistance tubing or other resistance will burn fat, increase lean muscle and boost metabolism.

    Vitamins

    • Heller recommends B vitamins and magnesium to boost metabolism. A lack of B vitamins can result in fatigue and a drop in metabolism. Heller says you can also get B vitamins from foods such as spinach, asparagus, darker beans like navy and soy beans, melon, broccoli, fish, poultry and eggs. Magnesium is used in more than 300 body functions, including metabolism. If you can't take a magnesium vitamin, eat foods like spinach, halibut, almonds, cashews, peanuts, soybeans, whole-grain cereals, oatmeal, black-eyed peas and lentils.

    Snacking

    • Heller says that eating healthy snacks in snack-sized portions in between meals can reduce overeating and, by extension, lethargy. You'll want snacks high in healthy carbs and proteins, including peanut butter and bananas, trail mix, hummus, apples, baby carrots or low-fat cheddar cheese. These types of foods can satisfy an appetite, regulate blood sugar and boost energy.

    Calories

    • Heller says slashing calories from your diet can actually lower your metabolism because your body will have less fuel reserves to draw from. The body also goes into conservation mode, and that means the carbs and fat you're trying to burn off get stored instead. Heller recommends you instead eat regular meals and healthy snacks when necessary to keep your body fueled throughout the day, thereby keeping your metabolism up.

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