Slow metabolism is a major cause of weight gain and the biggest obstacle to successful weight loss. Metabolic rate, or metabolism, is a series of chemical reactions that create and break down energy. In other words, metabolism is the rate at which the body burns calories or expends energy.
Fast metabolic rate means the body burns calories quickly, whereas slow or sluggish metabolism means you’re burning fewer calories at rest (1). Successful weight loss and its maintenance require faster metabolism. For many people, this is easier said than done. But, you can reset and recharge your metabolism in three days. Scroll down to see how.
Get enough sleep
Everything starts with a good night’s rest. Most people don’t get it, though. Numbers show 35.2% of adults in the U.S. get less than seven hours of sleep per night (2). The problem here is that recommended sleep duration is seven to nine hours. That’s the ideal amount of good rest to obtain for good health and wellbeing.
For that reason, the first day of your journey to faster metabolism should start with good rest after seven to nine hours of proper sleep. Why is this so important you wonder? Sleep deprivation has a major impact on your metabolism. Evidence confirms sleep deprivation can change glucose metabolism and alter hormones that regulate metabolism. These include leptin and ghrelin, two hormones that control hunger and satiety. As a result, sleep deprivation increases the risk of diabetes and weight gain (3).
The body perceives sleep deprivation as an additional source of stress. When that happens, levels of stress hormone cortisol are on the rise, but testosterone decreases. We can easily describe cortisol and testosterone as enemies that act in a seesaw manner. In other words, when levels of one hormone are high the other one drops (4). Testosterone plays a role in metabolism and energy levels. So, higher levels of cortisol lead to a reduction of testosterone, which could have a significant impact on your metabolic rate.
In fact, subjects who slept around 5.5. hours each night for two weeks experienced a reduction in fat loss by 55% in one study. The same research also found that getting proper sleep helped regulate hunger (5).
Therefore, sleep deprivation impairs the body’s ability to regulate appetite. You may be hungry often and eat more. This translates to caloric surplus, where you eat more calories than burn. Metabolism slows down and it becomes difficult to slim down or maintain weight loss. Persons who get around six hours of sleep per night tend to carry five to 15 pounds of extra fat in the abdominal area.
Resetting and recharging metabolism in three days is possible. That’s why the very first thing you need to do is to ensure you get enough sleep. Start your first day energized and ready to overcome any challenge that comes your way. Your seven-to-nine hours sleep schedule should be an integral component of your lifestyle i.e. you should continue beyond these three days.
Eat your breakfast
Did you know that almost one-quarter of people in the U.S. skip breakfast every day (6)? People skip breakfast due to several reasons. Some do it hoping they can lose weight whereas others skip breakfast because they’re in a hurry or don’t have time to prepare it. Whatever the reason might be, skipping meals (especially breakfast) isn’t such a good idea. Particularly when you’re trying to boost your metabolism!
Breakfast, as the most important meal of the day, can activate the process of thermogenesis and thereby has the potential to stimulate metabolism. Eating breakfast in the morning boosts energy levels and keeps them high throughout the day. As a result, you get to take your athletic performance to a new level, but also avoid overeating. One of the challenges of effective weight loss and causes of continuous weight gain is excessive calorie intake. Thanks to breakfast, you can avoid this problem.
A study, published in the American Journal of Physiology’s Endocrinology and Metabolism, revealed that having breakfast before a workout makes metabolism work faster after your exercise routine (7).
Since breakfast can speed up metabolic rate, you should start your day with a nice, nutritious meal. Make sure your breakfast contains foods that support healthy gut microbiota. The proper balance of good and bad bacteria is beneficial for your metabolism. That’s where probiotics step in. You see, evidence confirms gut microbiota is involved in the regulation of food intake, energy balance, and satiety. Gut microbiota helps maintain energy homeostasis (8). Probiotics are good bacteria, crucial for gut health.
The beneficial impact of balanced gut microbiota on metabolism is the reason to add probiotics to your breakfast. Good sources of probiotics are Greek yogurt, kefir, pickles, kombucha, tempeh, miso, among others. For most people, yogurt and kefir are the probiotic sources easiest to add to their menu in the morning.
Exercise
Physical activity is the cornerstone of a faster metabolism. Your effort to reset and recharge metabolism in three days should also include a workout program. Both strength and cardiovascular training are important for this purpose. Strength training is useful because muscle building accelerates metabolism for up to a few hours after a 20-minute workout session.
In one study, strength training boosted metabolic rate by 7% in both younger and older subjects (9). In other words, strength training increases muscle mass which goes on to help you burn more calories, even when you’re not exercising.
On day #1, make sure to do a 20-minute strength training. Keep in mind you don’t need to lift weights only, you can do body-weight routines that include exercises such as squats and plants.
But, strength training is not the only option to get more physical activity. You can also do cardio. According to a study from the Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 45 minutes of vigorous cardio training can speed up metabolism for up to 14-hours post-exercise (10). Cardio activities you can do are numerous, such as:
- Running, jogging, or jogging in place
- Brisk walking
- Bicycling
- Water aerobics
- Swimming
- Burpees
To sum up, strive to do 20 to 30 minutes of strength training or around 45 minutes of cardio.
Go to bed early
The very first day of your three-day program to reset and recharge metabolism should end with an early bedtime. Here, “early” means before midnight. Most people tend to go to bed late because they watch TV or use the internet for hours. This isn’t beneficial for your metabolism. You fail to get enough sleep, whose benefits were discussed above.
A study from the journal Sleep found that late bedtime (and wake time) was strongly associated with unfavorable weight status independent of other parameters including sleep duration (11). In other words, when you go to bed also plays a role in your metabolism and weight status.
Early bedtime is one of the vital segments of a healthy lifestyle and this habit should go on beyond these three days. Many people fail to go to bed early because they struggle to fall asleep. Here’s how to fall asleep faster:
- Lower the temperature in your bedroom
- Remove the TV from your room
- Make sure your bedroom is tidy and without clutter
- Avoid naps during the day
- Establish a regular sleep schedule where your sleep time and wake time are the same every day
- Don’t use a phone, tablet, or laptop in bed
- Leave phone where you can’t reach it
- Listen to the white noise sounds such as raindrops, thunderstorms, wind, birds singing, etc.
Drink coffee in the morning
Most people can’t imagine starting a day without a nice cup of coffee. Now you have yet another reason to get a dose of caffeine in the morning – it can speed up your metabolic rate. One of the older pieces of research on this subject revealed that a cup of coffee can increase metabolism by 8% to 11% (12).
A different study, from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that consumption of caffeine increased metabolic rate by 13% whereas research from PLoS One confirmed both caffeine and coffee took one hour before a workout can improve endurance during exercise performance (13, 14).
If you don’t like coffee, you can opt for green or black tea. While you can’t get the same caffeine boost from these beverages, they can still revitalize you and improve your energy levels.
Stay hydrated
Most people in the U.S. don’t drink enough water. In a sample of 20,000 people in one study, only 22% met the recommended guidelines of drinking eight to 10 glasses of water a day (15). If you’re among the majority of people who fail to drink enough water, it’s time to change that habit. You see, water is crucial for your metabolism.
The paper from the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism confirmed drinking 500ml of water increased metabolism by 30% in healthy, normal-weight subjects. The increase in metabolism occurred within 10 minutes and peaked in 30 to 40 minutes (16).
Without water, the body is unable to metabolize carbohydrates and other nutrients properly. Water also gives you refreshment and energy, which is necessary for exercise and other forms of physical activity.
Staying hydrated is important for your metabolism, but make sure to opt for water alone. Fruit juices, particularly store-bought alternatives, tend to deliver too much sugar. Strive to drink eight to 10 glasses of water during the day. If you forget to drink water or wait until you’re thirsty, it’s useful to set up reminders or download an app that will alert you every few hours.
Eat metabolism-boosting foods
Proper nutrition is important for fast metabolism. Your diet goes hand in hand with physical activity. Instead of fast food and other unhealthy choices, you may want to opt for fruits and vegetables, lean protein, nuts and seeds, and healthy fats. Your diet should be versatile. Avoid eliminating one food group entirely, because each of them delivers specific nutrients.
In order to accelerate metabolism, you need to choose your foods wisely. Your diet should be delicious, but also healthy. Metabolism-boosting foods are a good idea during these three days and beyond. Protein-rich foods are always a good idea. Protein kick-starts your metabolism by supporting muscle building and muscle retention. At the same time, those foods are tricky to digest. In other words, the body spends more energy using them. Protein-rich foods include lean meats, poultry, fish and seafood, eggs, and dairy products.
You should also add chili peppers to your meals.
Why?
It’s simple – chili peppers can give a significant boost to your metabolism. Evidence confirms capsaicin, the main active compound in chili peppers, can improve the metabolism of fat, decrease glucose intolerance, and it may enhance metabolism and energy expenditure. At the same time, capsaicin promotes satiety and increases the feeling of fullness. Plus, this compound is beneficial for the gut microbiome (17).
Besides chili peppers, other metabolism-boosting foods to add to your diet include:
- Ginger
- Beans and legumes
- Cacao
- Seaweed
You should also consume foods rich in vitamins and minerals. Nutrient deficiencies slow down your metabolic rate. This is the way to prevent the problems associated with insufficient levels of micronutrients.
Increase physical activity levels
The power of exercise is undeniable and we’ve covered that subject above in this post. But, regular workouts aren’t always enough. You need to increase your non-exercise activity as well. That means it’s important to be active throughout the day, instead of being sedentary.
After all, a sedentary lifestyle can decrease metabolism and disrupt the body’s ability to regulate blood glucose levels, break down fat, and control blood pressure. Faster metabolism calls for more activity, which is why you need to move more frequently during the day.
Options for non-exercise activity are endless, such as:
- Using stairs instead of elevators or escalators
- Parking further from the entrance to the office building
- Taking a short walk after dinner
- Walking around the house during a phone call
- Standing up every 20 or 30 minutes and walking around home or office
- House chores and cleaning
- Gardening
- Grocery shopping
- Playing with your children
- Walking the dog
What’s next?
The goal of the abovementioned activities is to jumpstart your metabolism in three days only. While it may seem unrealistic, you can achieve it. One thing that’s important to clarify here is that dramatic weight loss in three days is impossible. This plan only helps you to set up a good foundation by speeding up your metabolism, which can help you achieve your body goal later on.
Ideally, you should introduce these simple and subtle changes to your lifestyle. Go to bed before midnight so you can get seven to nine hours of sleep. Have a nutritious breakfast, don’t skip it or other meals. Add probiotics to your breakfast or start a day with coffee too. You should stay hydrated throughout the day and eat nutritious meals. Exercise regularly. The best thing to do is to continue with this program beyond these three days. That’s the most practical approach to achieve better results and maintain them.
Conclusion
Slow metabolism contributes to weight gain, but it also prevents you from losing weight at an expected rate. Fortunately, there’s a lot to do in order to accelerate metabolism. This post showed how you can make it happen in three days. But for the best results, you should keep going and follow these tips. After all, the suggestions from this post are easy to incorporate into your lifestyle and don’t include drastic changes that usually cause stress and are difficult to follow for the long term.
References:
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/diet-and-weight-loss/does-metabolism-matter-in-weight-loss
- https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/sleep-facts-statistics
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2929498/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3880087/
- https://news.uchicago.edu/story/sleep-loss-limits-fat-loss-study-finds
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4881002/
- https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpendo.00163.2018
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6412733/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11283427/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21311363/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3174832/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2912010/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14684395/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3616086/
- https://nypost.com/2020/09/03/most-adults-dont-drink-enough-water-every-day-do-you/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14671205/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5426284/
