How to Increase Metabolism While Dieting

Your metabolism affects how efficiently you burn calories. No two people burn calories at the same rate. People with high metabolism burn more calories than those with low metabolism. Metabolic rate is influenced by age, gender, weight and heredity. While many factors are unalterable, there are ways to boost your natural burn rate and increase weight loss. Follow the steps below to increase metabolism while dieting.

Instructions

How to Increase Metabolism While Dieting

1. Get moving. Aerobic exercise 30 minutes each day is the best way to burn more calories, but any movement will increase metabolism. Find opportunities to get the body moving---walk more, take the stairs, perform chores vigorously and fidget while sitting. The key is to raise your heart rate for sustained periods of time.

2. Add muscle. Fat does not burn calories efficiently (2 calories per every pound of fat), but muscle does (35 calories per every pound of muscle). Use weight training to add muscle mass to your body and burn more calories--even while at rest. An extra 3 pounds of lean muscle will burn an additional 100 calories each day.

3. Get a good night's sleep. Adequate sleep levels promote metabolic function. Getting only 4 hours of sleep instead of the recommended 8 hours mimics the effects of advanced aging on metabolism. Make sleep a priority when dieting to maintain a healthy metabolism.

4. Eat high-energy foods. Prevent lethargy by eating energy-boosting foods. By using diet to maintain appropriate energy levels, you are more likely to increase movement and burn more calories. Fuel up with complex carbohydrates (fruits and vegetables), lean protein and high-fiber grains.

5. Eat more often. Your metabolism slows between meals. Eating small, frequent meals maintains a high metabolic rate. More calories will be burned if your metabolism doesn't have the opportunity to slow down between huge meals. Skipping meals is highly detrimental to metabolism levels.

6. Drink water. Water aids all the chemical reactions in your body, including calorie burning. Without water, your body cannot perform its metabolic functions efficiently. Inadequate levels of water can lead to calorie hoarding rather than calorie burning. Drink at least 8 glasses or 64 fluid oz. each day.

7. Avoid dietary supplements. The Food and Drug Administration does not require metabolism-boosting products to prove their claims. Some supplements produce dangerous side effects and offer only minimal benefits at best.

Tips & Warnings

• Metabolism slows slightly with age, so increase physical activity or decrease calorie intake to avoid weight gain.

Resources

• Master Your Metabolism: Three Diet Secrets