10 Scientific Tips To Increase Metabolism and Weight Loss

According to SAEDNEWS, Eating food increases metabolism for a few hours. This is called the thermic effect of food (TEF). In this case, the factor that increases metabolism is the extra calories needed to digest food and absorb nutrients.

1. Consume Enough Protein with Every Meal

Protein creates the highest increase in TEF and raises metabolic rate by 15-30%. Carbohydrates increase metabolism by 5-10%, and fats by 0-3%. Additionally, consuming protein enhances feelings of fullness and reduces hunger.

A study has shown that if 30% of the daily diet consists of protein, hunger is reduced by approximately 441 calories. Metabolism decreases often with fat loss. Consuming more protein can also reduce the decrease in metabolism since protein prevents muscle loss, which is a common side effect of dieting.

2. Drink More Cold Water

People who drink water instead of sugary drinks tend to lose weight more effectively since sugary drinks contain calories. Thus, replacing sugary beverages with water naturally reduces calorie intake. Drinking cold water might also temporarily increase your metabolism.

Studies have shown that drinking half a liter of water increases resting metabolism by 10-30% for about an hour. Drinking cold water may increase calorie burning since energy is used to warm the water to body temperature.

Drinking water also helps fill the stomach. Studies have shown that drinking water half an hour before meals reduces appetite. A study on overweight adults found that those who drank half a liter of water before meals lost 44% more weight than others.

Summary: Water boosts metabolism and helps with weight loss by filling the stomach before meals.

3. Do Intense and Strength Training Exercises

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) helps you burn more fat by increasing metabolic rate. This fat burning continues even after the workout and seems to occur more significantly with HIIT than other forms of exercise.

A study on overweight men showed that after 12 weeks of intense exercise, fat mass decreased by 2 kg, and abdominal fat decreased by 17%.

Summary: Combining different exercises and adding HIIT can boost metabolism and aid fat burning.

4. Lift Weights

Muscle is metabolically more active than fat, and building muscle can help increase metabolism. This means you burn more calories even at rest.

Weightlifting helps preserve muscle mass and fights the decrease in metabolism that can occur during weight loss.

In a study, 48 overweight women were given three types of diets, each containing 800 calories: no exercise, aerobic exercise, and resistance exercise. After the diet, the women who did resistance exercises maintained their fat mass, metabolism, and strength. The other women lost weight, but their muscles shrank, and their metabolism decreased.

Summary: Weightlifting is crucial for building and preserving muscle. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism.

5. Stand More

Sitting for long periods is harmful to your health. Some experts even compare it to smoking because prolonged sitting reduces calorie burning and can cause weight gain. In fact, standing for an afternoon at work can burn 174 more calories than sitting. If you have a desk job, try to stand at intervals to reduce sitting time. You can even get a standing desk to work while standing.

Summary: Sitting for long periods is unhealthy. Try to stand periodically or get a standing desk.

6. Drink Green Tea

Research shows that green tea and oolong tea can increase metabolism by 4-5%. These teas help convert some stored fat in your body into free fatty acids, which may increase fat burning by 10-17%.

These teas are low in calories, making them useful for weight loss or preventing weight gain. It seems that their effect on metabolism can help stabilize or stop weight loss as metabolism slows down.

Some studies have found that these teas may not significantly impact metabolism, so their effect might be small or only effective for certain people.

Summary: Drinking green tea or oolong tea might increase your metabolism and possibly aid in weight loss.

7. Eat Spicy Foods

Peppers contain capsaicin, a chemical compound that can increase metabolism. However, many people cannot consume an effective dose of peppers for various reasons.

A study on capsaicin suggests that consuming peppers burns about 10 more calories per meal. For a man of average weight, this could result in a weight loss of half a kilogram over six and a half years.

Adding spicy spices to meals might have a small effect, but consuming them along with other metabolism-boosting methods might be beneficial.

Summary: Spicy foods can be useful for boosting metabolism and maintaining a healthy weight.

8. Get Enough Sleep

Sleep deprivation significantly increases the risk of weight gain. This may partly be due to the negative impact of lack of sleep on metabolism. Sleep deprivation also causes insulin resistance and elevated blood sugar, both of which increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Lack of sleep also increases the hunger hormone, ghrelin, and decreases the fullness hormone, leptin. This may explain why many people who don't get enough sleep feel hungrier and struggle to lose weight.

Summary: Sleep deprivation can reduce calorie burning, alter sugar absorption in the body, and disrupt hunger-regulating hormones.

9. Drink Coffee

Studies have shown that caffeine in coffee increases metabolism by 3-11% and, like green tea, aids fat burning. However, the effect of coffee seems more significant in lean individuals. In a study, fat burning in lean women increased by 29% after drinking coffee, while it only increased by 10% in obese women.

The effects of coffee on metabolism and fat burning help with weight loss and maintaining an ideal weight.

Summary: Drinking coffee can significantly boost metabolism and assist in weight loss.

10. Replace Other Cooking Oils with Coconut Oil

Unlike other saturated fats, coconut oil contains relatively high amounts of medium-chain fatty acids. Medium-chain fats increase metabolism more than long-chain fats found in foods like butter.

Researchers found that medium-chain fats increase metabolism by 12%, while long-chain fats only increase it by 4%. Given the unique properties of coconut oil, replacing it with other cooking oils might have a slight effect on weight loss.

Summary: Replacing coconut oil with other cooking oils may slightly increase your metabolism.