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The 4 Ways to Increase a Slow Metabolism

author avatar Dr. Eric Berg 02/18/2025

Struggling with weight, even with diet and exercise? You might feel like your body is working against you. It's a common frustration, and it often comes down to understanding how to increase metabolism naturally.

Many people find themselves stuck at a certain weight, unable to move past it. This is because of things going on inside the body, and the really cool part is there are absolutely steps you can take to get things moving again. It is a complex process.

The Role of Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance might be one of the primary culprits. It's a condition where your cells become less responsive to insulin, leading to higher insulin levels in your blood, also known as circulating blood. It is critical to have an insulin-friendly diet.

High insulin levels, in turn, can hinder weight loss. A study suggests that lowering insulin with approaches like the ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting can fix this.

Both keto and intermittent fasting can be really effective for that.

Exercise Intensity and Metabolism

When it comes to exercise, duration and frequency play roles. Out of all of these, intensity is a key factor that boosts metabolism and triggers hormonal changes that support fat burning.

This includes growth hormone, adrenaline, and glucagon. These hormones play crucial roles in fat metabolism.

Intense, full-body workouts with shorter durations and longer recovery periods can be great for raising metabolic rates.

Woman with a foam roller

How Exercise Impacts Hormones

Intense exercise stimulates growth hormone. Growth hormone is a major fat-burning hormone. High-intensity training also affects adrenaline and glucagon, additional hormones associated with fat burning.

Interval training is a good option and works great for many people. Working with a personal trainer can help tailor a program to your needs. But you need to grasp this piece: High intensity makes big changes.

How Nutrition Revitalizes Metabolism

Prior low-calorie diets may have hindered the metabolism. Restoring your metabolic rate should take time, and supporting it over time needs to take commitment.

Making a restrictive eating habit for even one week can throw off someone's metabolism, even for months.

You must have dense nutrients. Rebuilding metabolic function needs lots of nutrients including calcium-rich foods.

Boosting Thyroid Function to Support Metabolism

Enhancing thyroid function is an element in boosting metabolism. Supporting the liver, managing insulin levels, and avoiding genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are important for optimal thyroid health. A healthy functioning gallbladder helps too.

Autoimmune conditions and GMOs can cause blocks to thyroid health. Sleep hygiene is important, too, so make sure you are doing things for a great night of sleep.

Natural vs. Artificial Metabolic Boosters

Some use caffeine and ephedra to raise metabolism because stimulants give fast results. They artificially stimulate metabolism, and they often come with risks. These stimulants can overwork the adrenal glands.

Ultimately, this will lead to fatigue and potential weight gain, defeating the purpose. The better route for you is sustainable health to really increase metabolism naturally, which may include things like green tea.

Metabolism illustration

How to Increase Metabolism Naturally

Here are steps you can consider, drawing from insights and data-backed methods:

Strategies to Boost Metabolism

  • Address Insulin Resistance:

    • Reduce high insulin levels with diet and eating patterns.

    • Impact: Helps overcome weight loss plateaus and improves metabolic flexibility.

  • Prioritize Intense Exercise:

    • Do high-intensity, full-body workouts with short durations and long recovery times.

    • Impact: Activates fat-burning hormones like growth hormone, adrenaline, and glucagon.

  • Nutrient-Dense Consumption:

    • Focus on meals rich in nutrients to support metabolic repair.

    • Impact: Provides essential tools for rebuilding a healthy metabolism.

  • Enhance Thyroid Function:

    • Support thyroid health by managing insulin, avoiding GMOs, and caring for key organs.

    • Impact: Helps regulate metabolic processes and maintain overall balance.

  • Consider Cold Exposure:

    • Expose yourself to cold temperatures briefly to stimulate brown fat activation.

    • Impact: Increases metabolism by forcing the body to work harder and regulate internal temperature.

  • Get Enough Quality Sleep:

    • Aim for 7-9 hours of restful sleep to avoid reduced metabolic rate.

    • Impact: Supports energy production and keeps metabolism functioning optimally.

Incorporating strength training and lifting weights into your workout is great for building muscle mass. The more muscle mass, the more your body burns calories naturally.

Even when your body is resting it is working hard with daily activities like repairing cells.

Supporting Metabolism Through Thermogenic Foods

Enhancing your metabolism naturally involves incorporating foods that stimulate thermogenesis, a process where the body burns calories to produce heat.

Certain ingredients, like ginger, have been shown to boost metabolic function by increasing calorie expenditure and promoting fat oxidation.

For instance, enjoying a batch of keto ginger cookies made with real ginger, almond flour, and healthy fats can provide a tasty and metabolism-friendly treat without disrupting ketosis.

The ginger in these cookies contains compounds like gingerol and shogaol, which support digestion and increase thermogenesis.

When combined with a keto diet and intermittent fasting, these metabolism-boosting snacks help the body burn fat more efficiently while satisfying occasional cravings.

Making smart, thermogenic food choices ensures your metabolism stays active, supporting long-term weight loss and overall health.

Conclusion

Trying to lose weight and feeling stuck? You might already be exploring various diets and still not getting any closer. However, you could incorporate a healthy lifestyle that helps promote a higher metabolic rate.

These could involve anything from high-intensity training and low-calorie diets to cutting sugar and supplements, yet there are often key aspects that are still ignored that can have a great impact on being able to help.

Making nutritious choices is key. The concept of increasing metabolism naturally involves a layered strategy. Diet, workout, hormones, and nutrients must be considered.

You might not see an instant fix for a rapid increase in metabolic function, though by following the outlined plan, you are one step closer to a metabolism boost.

FAQs about increased metabolism naturally

How can I super speed up my metabolism?

There's no magic fix to boost metabolism. Focus on consistent steps to raise your overall health and help for how to naturally increase metabolism. Lifestyle habits support and really play critical factors.

How do I naturally get a fast metabolism?

Fast metabolism comes from combining factors such as intense workouts, good nutrition, and thyroid function. Addressing insulin resistance is also vital in this holistic plan. Quick fixes that seem too good to be true need to be avoided.

What triggers fast metabolism?

A faster metabolism is triggered by a combination of intense workouts, hormone regulation, and giving your body quality fuel.

Metabolism plays an important role in so many of the body functions. A short burst workout program with ample rest after each circuit is the ultimate approach to fat burning.

What is the 2 2 2 method metabolism?

This question is hard to answer with confidence as it has different meanings across various contexts. It might describe two minutes of exercise and two minutes of rest, done twice.

For metabolism, high-intensity workout is effective, done by giving your full effort during the period, coupled by a cool down rest.

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