You Asked:

What is the fastest and easiest way to speed up my metabolism? — Joanne, Los Angeles, Calif.

Marshall Brain Answers:

The dictionary defines metabolism as: “all the physical and chemical processes in the body that create and use energy.” The Krebs cycle would be an example of a metabolic process happening inside your cells.

When people talk about speeding up their metabolism, however, what they are usually trying to do is burn more calories throughout the day to lose weight. Everyone has a basal metabolic rate – the rate at which your body burns energy when you are idling. Since most modern humans spend most of their time idling (sitting in chairs, lying on couches, sleeping in beds, driving in cars, etc.), any increase to the basal rate would help to lose weight over time (provided you don’t increase your calorie intake at the same time – see How Dieting Works for details).

The easiest way to speed up your metabolism is to idle less. When you exercise, your metabolism automatically increases to produce the energy needed to move. There’s a side benefit as well – by exercising you increase your muscle mass, and muscle mass burns more calories when you are idling. If you were to lift weights regulary and really bulk up, the number of calories you burn when idling would go up significantly. This paper shows the potential:

Effect of an 18-wk weight-training program on energy expenditure and physical activity

In conclusion, although of modest energy cost, weight-training induces a significant increase in ADMR (average daily metabolic rate).

The average daily increase was 9.5%.

Note also that every little bit helps when it comes to exercise, so if you were to take four 10-minute walks during work hours, that would be better than sitting idle all day. Running up and down the fire escape stairs instead of walking might even be better.

Many web sites, like this one, also talk about the importance of breakfast when it comes to metabolism:

Believe it or not, it may be the most important meal of the day as far as metabolism (and weight loss) is concerned. Breakfast eaters lose more weight than breakfast skippers do, according to studies. “Your metabolism slows while you sleep, and it doesn’t rev back up until you eat again,” explains Barbara Rolls, Ph.D., professor of nutrition at Penn State University and an author of The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan. So if you bypass breakfast, your body won’t burn as many calories until lunchtime as it could. That’s why it’s smart to start the day with a solid 300- to 400-calorie meal; it jump-starts your metabolism.

Nibbling (eating many times a day in much smaller meals, rather than eating a few big heavy meals) is also recommended as a way to keep metabolism uniform throughout the day.

You did ask, “What is the fastest and easiest way to speed up my metabolism?” In the interest of completeness (rather than safety), we should probably mention nicotine. According to this page:

Cigarette smoking increases a person’s metabolic rate in part by forcing the heart to beat faster. When a cigarette is inhaled, the smoker’s heart may beat 10 to 20 times more per minute for a period of time. This causes extra stress on the heart and plays a role in heart disease, the most common cause of smoking-related death. And think about this: A smoking habit of 20 cigarettes a day puts approximately the same amount of stress on the heart as 90 pounds of extra weight would. When we stop smoking, heart rate slows down somewhat, causing metabolism to dip a bit as well.

See also: How Nicotine Works and How to quit smoking (which mentions nicrotine gum as an alternative nicotine source if you are trying to quit).

See also – How to increase your metabolism with food: