The speed of our metabolism is not fixed and can increase or decrease depending on our diet and activities.
One of the ways to increase metabolism via nutrition is to eat 5 – 6 small meals a day rather than 1 – 3 large meals. Each meal should contain a combination of carbohydrates, proteins and fats to facilitate slower digestion and release of nutrients into the blood stream, therefore avoiding spikes in insulin levels. This will not only increase metabolism, but also your energy level throughout the day. I believe the only way to eat this often is to plan in advance and always have healthy snacks on hand.
My favorite way of increasing metabolism is exercise. Your metabolism will not only increase during the exercise but also stay elevated for many hours after you complete your exercise routine. The best types of training for increasing your metabolism are weight bearing exercises and high intensity cardio interval training (HIIT). Both types have so many benefits that I would highly recommend including both into your workout routine. Do weight bearing exercises at least 3x / week for half an hour, and cardio for up to 5x / week for 20 minutes.
The way high intensity interval training works is that you will perform your cardio (walking, running, biking, or any cardio machine at the gym) at a moderate intensity level with bursts of high intensity intervals. For example, to start you could walk for 3 minutes, and then run for 1 minute, going all out. As your fitness level increases your high intensity bursts will become more intense, and you can increase the duration of them. So, as you improve, you might walk for 2 minutes, and then run for 2 minutes. Repeat for 4 – 6 times each. HIIT will burn more calories than long, moderate-intensity cardio workouts, while promoting fat loss, increased metabolism, and heart health.
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