9 Ways to Speed Up Your Metabolism and Shed Those Extra Pounds

Everyone would like to have a fast metabolism when it comes to losing body fat. However, this ability is closely related to the basal metabolic rate, which depends on the amount of muscle a person has, as well as hormone levels and individual insulin sensitivity.

Nevertheless, there are various strategies to accelerate metabolism, thus allowing for more calorie and fat burning. Below, we will show you nine methods to help you achieve your goals and lose weight as desired, always trusting professionals who can create tailored nutrition and training programs.

1. Cardio Exercise in the Morning on an Empty Stomach

Performing cardio exercises in the morning on an empty stomach is an excellent way to boost metabolism early in the day. Whether you're looking to gain muscle mass or need to lose excess fat, doing LISS (Low-Intensity Steady-State) or HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) cardio first thing in the morning will stimulate your metabolism for up to 6-8 hours afterward.

2. Weight Training

Weight training is another highly effective factor for increasing metabolism. Building muscle mass ensures an increase in basal metabolism and the ability to burn more calories at rest. Additionally, muscle mass influences other factors such as insulin sensitivity and heat dissipation due to thermogenesis, the ability to burn calories to produce heat instead of energy, known as the "metabolic advantage."

3. Regular Protein Intake

Proteins have a very complex structure. To utilize the amino acids that compose them, our body has to expend a considerable amount of energy. Proteins have 4 calories per gram, like carbohydrates, but they primarily serve a building function and only secondarily an energy function through gluconeogenesis. Therefore, they put the metabolism in a state of higher caloric expenditure, making regular protein intake several times a day keep the metabolism more active and working harder.

4. Stimulants and Thermogenics

Stimulants like caffeine and thermogenics act on the sympathetic nervous system and can burn more calories in the same amount of time by increasing heart rate and helping extract triglycerides from adipocytes to use as energy.

5. L-Carnitine for Fat Transport

Once triglycerides are extracted from adipocytes, they must be transported by L-carnitine to beta-oxidation, to be converted into energy that the body can use. Without sufficient L-carnitine, fatty acids won't achieve complete and effective oxidation. Hence, carnitine is a key element for optimal metabolism.

6. Insulin Sensitivity

Keep in mind that the active thyroid hormone is triiodothyronine (T3), which dictates the metabolic rate and all body transformations. It is produced from the conversion of thyroxine (T4) into T3, for which it is necessary to ingest carbohydrates to restore hepatic glycogen, crucial for this process.

7. Managing Insulin Levels

Another important element to consider for accelerating metabolism is insulin sensitivity, which should be maintained at a minimum through proper carbohydrate management or using Glucose Disposal Agents (GDAs). This process is one of the cornerstones for increasing muscle mass and reducing fat mass.

8. Quality Sleep

For a person's metabolism to be 100% effective, it is necessary to sleep a lot (ideally between 7 and 8 hours) and deeply. It is proven that people with sleep problems sabotage fat loss because they produce excess cortisol. For this reason, weight loss supplements that induce restorative sleep have been gaining increasing importance.

9. Avoid Overtraining Syndrome

Overtraining syndrome is one of the conditions to avoid maintaining optimal metabolism. Training too intensely, too long, and too frequently can slow down metabolism because the body exceeds its recovery capacity. Additionally, this syndrome can hinder improvements in muscle mass gain and fat loss but, above all, it risks sabotaging normal metabolism, causing problems in the immune system and sleep-wake cycle.