The Truth About Metabolism: 7 Expert-Approved Ways to Boost It Naturally

It's likely that you have attributed your envy to a friend's metabolism if they appear to be able to eat everything without gaining weight. It sounds as though your inner engine controls how quickly you burn calories, and to a certain degree, that is accurate. Can you increase your metabolism naturally without the use of drugs, crash diets, or tricks? What exactly is metabolism?

To distinguish myths from reality, we consulted nutrition experts and examined the scientific literature. The truth is that your body's energy expenditure efficiency is greatly influenced by your everyday behaviors, even though heredity also plays a part. Here are seven ideas that experts have authorized to help you maintain a healthy, active metabolism.

How Metabolism Works: Your Body’s Energy Engine

The process by which your body turns the food you eat into energy is called metabolism. It sustains you by supplying energy to your brain and heartbeat. The calories you burn while at rest, or your basal metabolic rate (BMR), make up roughly 60–70% of your total energy expenditure. The remainder is obtained from digestion and physical activity.

Your metabolism can be affected by a number of factors, including age, muscle mass, hormones, and even sleep. There are tried-and-true methods to boost your energy balance naturally, but there isn't a magic switch that will make it a calorie-burning inferno overnight.

1. Build Muscle to Burn More at Rest

Expert tip: “Muscle tissue is metabolically active, meaning it burns more calories than fat—even when you’re not moving,” says registered dietitian Emily McKenzie, RDN.

Strength training, such as weight lifting or bodyweight exercises, helps you build and maintain muscle. The more lean mass you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate. Even small increases in muscle can make a difference over time.

Try this: Add two to three strength sessions per week. Squats, push-ups, resistance bands, or simple dumbbell routines can help rev up your natural calorie burn.

2. Don’t Skip Protein

Protein isn’t just for athletes—it’s a metabolism ally for everyone. It has a high thermic effect, meaning your body uses more energy to digest protein compared to fats or carbs. This not only boosts calorie burn slightly but also helps preserve muscle, which is key to a healthy metabolism.

A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who consumed 25–30% of their daily calories from protein felt fuller and had better energy balance throughout the day.

Include more protein-rich foods, such as nuts, tofu, eggs, lean meats, fish, Greek yogurt, legumes.

3. Stay Hydrated (Especially with Water)

In almost every research about metabolism, you will see the same statement: liquid and particularly watery is essential for virtually every process in the body—including turning food into energy. Even slight dehydration can slow down how efficiently your body burn calories.

Drinking of 500 milliliters (17 ounces) of water can temporarily boost your metabolic rate by up to 30% for roughly an hour. While this effect isn’t dramatic on its own, staying well-hydrated consistently supports healthy metabolism and helps prevent those moments when thirst is mistaken for hunger.

Pro tip: Drink a glass of water first thing in the morning and start your metabolism from the early morning and keep a bottle close at hand all day.

4. Prioritize Sleep and Stress Management

A lack of sleep and chronic stress can both negatively impact metabolism. Poor sleep disrupts hormones like leptin and ghrelin, which regulate hunger and satiety, leading to increased cravings and reduced energy burn.

Stress, on the other hand, elevates cortisol levels, which may encourage fat storage, especially around the belly.

Expert advice: Aim for 7–9 hours of quality sleep and find calming activities that work for you—whether it’s walking, reading, or mindfulness exercises—to keep stress hormones in check. Find calm activities for the period of 1.5-2 hours before going to sleep, that helps to fall asleep faster.

5. Spice Up Your Meals

Some foods can give your metabolism a gentle nudge, particularly those with a bit of heat. Spicy meals containing capsaicin, the compound that gives chili peppers their kick, can slightly increase thermogenesis—your body’s natural heat production process that uses up extra energy.

The effect isn’t huge, so don’t expect a plate of spicy tacos to melt away pounds on its own. Still, adding spices can make meals more satisfying, which may help you naturally eat a little less.

Other options that offer a small, temporary metabolism boost include green tea and coffee in moderation, thanks to their natural compounds that can encourage your body to burn a few extra calories for a short time.

6. Move More Throughout the Day

Maintaining an active metabolism doesn't require you to spend your time in a gym every day. Energy balance is greatly influenced by non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), or the calories you burn outside of exercises.

Over time, actions like walking during phone calls, standing up to stretch, using the stairs, or even fidgeting might result in hundreds of extra calories being expended.

Advice: If you work a desk job, consider setting an alarm to get up and move every hour. Small movements are more important than you may imagine.

7. Eat Regularly, But Smartly

Do not fall into a perception that skipping meals or not eating enough calories for a long time may help you to lose weight. The reality is: your body may tell you to save energy, which could slow down your metabolism. That doesn’t mean you need to graze all day, but balanced, consistent meals with a certain proportion of protein, fiber, and healthy fats can keep energy levels stable and hunger hormones in check.

Intermittent fasting can work for some people, but experts caution against extreme calorie restriction, which often backfires and lowers energy expenditure.