How to Get Fast Metabolism

One study found that people who sat motionless for 20 minutes temporarily increased their calorie expenditure by 4%, compared to when they lay motionless.
In contrast, fidgeting while seated increased calorie expenditure by a whopping 54% (35).
Regular exercise is highly recommended for anyone who wants to lose weight or improve their health. But even light activities like walking around, doing household tasks, or fidgeting can give you an advantage in the long run.
2. Do High-Intensity Workouts
HIIT is when exercise involves quick and very intense bouts of activity, such as sprints or fast push-ups.
It significantly speeds up your metabolism, even after the workout has finished — an effect dubbed “the afterburn” (36, 37, 38).
3. Strength Train
Another excellent way to speed up your metabolic rate is to strength train (39, 40).
In addition to the direct effect of the exercise itself, strength exercises promote the growth of muscle mass.
The amount of muscle you have is directly associated with your metabolic rate. Unlike fat mass, muscle mass significantly increases the number of calories you burn at rest (5, 41).
One study showed that doing strength exercises for 11 minutes a day, three times per week, resulted in an average increase of 7.4% in resting metabolic rate after half a year — and an additional 125 calories burned per day (40).
Old age is generally associated with muscle loss and drops in metabolic rate, but regular strength exercise can partially counteract this adverse effect (42, 43).
Similarly, a calorie-reduced weight loss diet often results in the loss of muscle mass and metabolic rate. Again, strength training may help prevent this decline (44, 45).
In fact, a study in overweight women showed that doing daily strength exercises on an 800-calorie diet prevented decreases in muscle mass and metabolic rate, versus those who didn’t exercise or only did aerobics (46).
4. Eat Protein
Eating adequate amounts of protein is essential if you want to build or maintain your muscle mass. But dietary protein also has other important qualities.
All food leads to a temporary increase in metabolic rate, known as the thermic effect of food (TEF). However, this effect is much stronger after eating protein compared to carbs or fat (47).
In fact, protein may increase metabolic rate by 20–30%, whereas carbs and fat cause a 3–10% increase or less (48).
This boost in calorie expenditure may help promote weight loss or prevent weight regain after a weight loss diet (49, 50, 51).
TEF is highest in the morning or during the first few hours after you wake up. For this reason, eating a large proportion of your daily calories early in the day can maximize the effect (52, 53).
Eating high amounts of protein can also help counteract the loss of muscle mass and metabolic rate associated with weight loss (54, 55, 56).
5. Don’t Starve Yourself
While eating less is a key weight loss method, eating too little is usually counterproductive in the long term.
This effect is known as starvation mode or metabolic adaptation. It is your body’s way of warding off potential starvation and death.
Research shows that consistently eating fewer than 1,000 calories daily leads to a significant drop in metabolic rate that sticks around even after you stop dieting (57, 58, 59).
Studies in obese people suggest that the starvation response may significantly reduce the number of calories burned. For instance, one study indicates that this slowdown in metabolic rate spares up to 504 calories per day (60, 61).
6. Drink Water
Temporarily boosting your metabolic rate doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s as simple as going for a walk or drinking a glass of cold water.
Many studies show that drinking water leads to an increase in the number of calories burned, an effect known as water-induced thermogenesis (64, 65, 66).
Drinking cold water has an even greater effect than warm water, as this requires your body to warm it up to body temperature.
Studies on this phenomenon provide varying results. About 16 ounces (500 ml) of cold water may cause a 5–30% increase in the number of calories burned for 60–90 minutes afterward (64, 66, 67, 68).
It seems that increasing your water consumption is also beneficial for your waistline. Several studies show that drinking 34–50 ounces (1–1.5 liters) of water daily may lead to significant weight loss over time (64, 69).
You can maximize these benefits by drinking water before meals, as it also fills you up and reduces calorie intake (70).
7. Drink Caffeinated Beverages
Although plain water is good on its own, caffeinated, low-calorie beverages, such as coffee or green tea, are useful as well.