Your metabolism is like your body’s thermostat.
It reads the inputs and outputs from the internal and external environment and adjusts accordingly.
When there’s an abundance of stress and a shortage of food …
Your metabolism down regulates.
It’s adaptive and reactive.
The reason for all of the various metabolic adaptations that can occur is simple …
Survival.
That is, and always will be, priority number 1.
Shocking, I know. I used to think priority number 1 was to have abs but nope.
Your metabolism doesn’t give a shit about abs.
It just wants to keep you alive.
With that in mind, here are 5 things you can start doing TODAY that will improve your metabolism.
Note: It’s not that your metabolism gets damaged or repaired. It’s simply an adaptation in one direction or another. These things will cause positive adaptations.
How to Improve Your Metabolism
1. Eat enough protein and calories.
Should be pretty obvious, right?
If eating too little causes metabolic down regulation, then it makes sense to not do that too often.
Protein is the building block for your muscles and also is the most thermogenic of the macronutrients.
In other words, you’ll burn more calories digesting it and you’ll support your muscle mass which burns more calories at rest.
Win-win.
If you don’t know what “enough” means …
Start with 0.7-1g/lb. of body weight for protein (105 – 150g of protein for a 150 lb. person).
It’s ok to go a little higher if you’re a protein fan boy like me.
2. Build muscle –
I know I said this list was things you can start doing today and you definitely can’t build muscle in a day.
But, the things you need to do in order to build muscle will absolutely help improve your metabolism.
Lifting weights. Proper recovery. Eating enough. Managing stress.
All of those things are important to the muscle building process and will dramatically improve your metabolism.
Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to eat way more and stay leaner?
Wouldn’t it be nice to have more flexibility and freedom?
Wouldn’t it be nice to burn more calories at rest?
Wouldn’t it be nice to look better naked without needing the scale to move much?
Building muscle accomplishes all of that.
And, it’s one of the best ways to create a positive metabolic adaptation.
3. Sleep and manage stress –
I lumped these two together because I know some of it is out of your control.
But, there’s plenty you can do.
First, be honest with yourself.
Are you really doing everything you can to get quality sleep?
Assess what needs to be done to improve your sleep and prioritize it.
Same thing with stress.
You’re always going to have stress in your life but you also have the ability to prioritize self care.
Even if that’s 10 minutes per day.
Please don’t try to tell me you don’t have an additional 10 minutes per day.
Yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, journaling, listening to music, laughing, cuddling your dog, getting out in nature.
Plenty of options. Find what works best for you.
Your metabolism is essentially a stress barometer. So, if things aren’t progressing, the stress drains and charges are often where to look.
4. Walk –
Probably the best thing we can do for overall health.
Our bodies were built to MOVE.
Walking improves mental health, physical health, cardiovascular health, hormonal health, metabolic health.
And, it’s perfect for stress relief as well.
Go for a walk and listen to music.
Go for a walk and listen to the greatest podcast of all time (Mind Over Macros, duh).
Go for a walk and meditate.
Go for a walk with a friend and have some meaningful conversation.
Your body and your metabolism will thank you for it.
5. Eat carbs –
Ahh, bet you didn’t see that one coming.
This is more about food quality in general but too often we eliminate foods and food groups, unnecessarily.
Carbs are important for metabolic function and they also serve a purpose for everything listed above (except for maybe walking, but I could probably make an argument there as well).
Our metabolism runs primarily on carbs and fats and our brains prefer glucose as a fuel source.
Our muscles need carbs to grow optimally.
We need carbs to support thyroid function which directly impacts our metabolism.
Carbs help mitigate stress by lowering cortisol and increasing serotonin.
Which means they can also help us sleep.
Yes, quality matters when it comes to food choices in general.
Eat your veggies. Eat fruit. Eat quality protein sources. Healthy fats. Quality carbs. Etc.
But, please stop eliminating food groups just because you think it’ll help you lose weight faster.
It’s likely doing more harm than good.
Now, there are some people who actually prefer to eat very low carb because it fits their lifestyle and they feel better that way.
In my experience, that is the vast minority.
And, they are missing out on a valuable asset in metabolic health.
Are you ready to improve YOUR metabolism?
So there you have it.
All things you can start doing right now that will make a dramatic difference and help improve your metabolism.
Ever wonder why our clients seem to transform their bodies so effortlessly?
It’s because we go through a metabolic priming phase with each individual to make sure we reach their goals in the most efficient way possible.
If you want to learn more, simply tap here for a detailed explanation of our process that continues to produce results when nothing else seemingly worked before.
