Who else loves a reboot?
It’s all the fresh feels of New Year’s Resolutions without the mounting pressure. A reboot feels like a personal treat. We set aside time to:
- Assess how we feel
- Note how we want to feel
- Reset our systems so we feel better
For a fitness junkie like me, a reboot is as refreshing as a bubble bath. And today, I’ll teach you how to give some TLC to your metabolism.
If you’ve been feeling sluggish, you’re working hard, but the weight isn’t dropping, your digestion is slow, and your mood is dragging, you’re in the right place.
Let’s give your metabolism a spring cleaning and rev things up a bit! Here are five proven steps to reboot your metabolism, starting today.
Strength Train
If you only try one thing from this list, make it strength training. This is the most impactful step you can take to increase your metabolism, because your muscles are metabolically active tissue. That means they burn through calories, and the more lean mass you have, the higher your resting energy expenditure.
Here’s what the research shows. Strength training will change your body so that your:
- Resting metabolic rate (RMR) increases
- Insulin sensitivity improves
- Metabolism improves long-term
- Body burns more calories for 24-48 hours after each workout
Try this: Life 3-4 times per week. Focus on compound movements (ones that use multiple muscle groups, like squats, presses, rows, and deadlifts). As you build strength, progressively increase your weights so your muscles are challenged with every workout.
Increase Your Daily Movement (NEAT)
NEAT is a neater way of saying “Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis.” It’s a quick term that references all the calories you burn just by moving throughout the day. We’re talking walking, standing, fidgeting, and chores.
NEAT can vary by hundreds of calories per day between individuals. Picture the friend who’s always bouncing a knee, walking while talking on the phone, the “I’ll get it!” guy. His high amount of movement each day has a big impact on how many calories his body uses.
The chill, slow friend who seems to be in a constant recline position burns far fewer calories daily. Even if these two completed the same HIIT workout that morning, their total energy expenditure at the end of the day looks drastically different.
Try this: Track your steps and aim for 8,000-12,000 steps each day. Take walk breaks, use the stairs, stand more often. Think team Tigger vs. team Eeyore.
Eat Enough Protein
Protein is the king of macronutrients on your fat-loss journey. It preserves muscle during fat loss (and, as a result, preserves your metabolism). It reduces hunger hormones (keeping overeating at bay). And it has the highest thermic effect on food (that means your body burns a lot of calories to simply digest protein).
Eating enough protein is a simple step you can take to increase your daily calorie burn. Plus, it’s great for us middle-aged ladies’ hormonal balance!
Try this: Every day, eat 0.7-1.0g per pound of your goal bodyweight. So, if your goal bodyweight is 140 pounds, shoot for around 120 grams of protein daily. Here’s what that can look like.
Improve Your Sleep
Did you know that sleep is one of the biggest factors determining your metabolism (and fat loss)? Isn’t that just the news you needed to hear?
You’re doing your body good by catching more Z’s. Poor sleep lowers your metabolism, insulin sensitivity, and leptin (your satiety hormone). And it increases ghrelin (your hunger hormone), boosting cravings for high-calorie foods.
Your body was made to sleep. And almost every human needs at least 7.5 hours each night.
Try this: Clock 7-9 hours of sleep each night. If you struggle with sleep, try these expert-backed hacks.
Add High-Intensity Intervals
High Intensity Interval Training (or HIIT) temporarily increases post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). Let’s break that down.
EPOC is like your bonus burn. It’s the heart pounding and hard breathing you’re still doing when you plop down after a hard workout. Your body is using this time to repair your muscles and return your body to its normal pace. As your body does all its “cleanup” work, it keeps burning energy (calories) even though you’re resting and done with your workout.
While your total daily movement (NEAT) and strength training matter more for your metabolism, HIIT workouts are a bonus booster you can add to your weekly routine.
Try this: Instead of “cardio days,” complete 1-2 HIIT workouts each week.
What Does Not Reboot Metabolism?
- Chronic dieting: Very low-calorie dieting for long periods can reduce muscle mass, reduce thyroid function, lower NEAT, and, therefore, drop your resting metabolic rate. If you’ve been dieting hard for months, gradually increase your calories using a strategy called “Reverse Dieting.”
- Detox teas: These drinks work as a mild laxative or diuretic, which may cause temporary water loss (not fat loss). They don’t increase your resting metabolic rate, build muscle, or improve fat burning. Any drop on the scale typically returns once you rehydrate.
- Fat-burning supplements: Most over-the-counter fat burners rely on stimulants like caffeine. While caffeine can slightly increase energy expenditure short-term, the effect is small, temporary, and your tolerance to the supplement builds quickly. These supplements won’t create any magical, long-term change like good nutrition and physical activity can.
- Eating tiny meals every 2 hours: Grazing all day doesn’t stoke your metabolism like we once thought. Now that we understand blood sugar and its impact on fat storage, we know that eating three solid meals a day promotes the most fat loss.
This Month, Reboot Your Metabolism Like This…
Here’s the highest impact routine to boost your metabolism this Spring:
- Lift 3-4 times each week
- Complete 1-2 HIIT workouts each week
- Hit 8-10K steps each day
- Eat at least 100 grams of protein each day
- Sleep 7-9 hours each night
These are the steps I personally take to give my metabolism a little kick in the pants! Try them for a month, and feel the difference.
For more real-life tips, proven and effective, that lead to better health and long-term fat loss, check out my program LEAN. Together, we’ll repair your metabolism, renew your energy, and free your body from unwanted, excess weight. Let’s do this together!
