How to boost your metabolism

Your metabolism is the process of your body converting nutrients from your food into energy, then using this energy to help carry out everyday functions such as breathing, digestion and tissue repair.

Like most of your body, your metabolism needs energy to function properly. It extracts this energy in the form of kilojoules (also known as calories) from the food you eat and drink.

If you consume more kilojoules than your metabolism needs, your body will store this excess energy mostly as fat, which can lead to weight gain over time.

Your metabolic rate is the pace at which your metabolism burns energy. It's broken into 3 main types:

• basal metabolic rate: The energy you use at rest
• the thermic effect of food: The energy you use to digest and process food
• energy used during physical activity: The energy you burn during movement and exercise.

Since the average person burns between 50 and 80% of their energy at rest, supporting your basal metabolic rate (BMR) can help maintain a higher metabolism.¹ The higher your BMR, the more energy you burn.

Things that influence your BMR include your:

• body composition (such as your size and the amount of lean muscle tissue you have)
• age (your BMR typically decreases as you get older)
• sex (men typically have higher BMRs than women)
• genetics and ethnicity.

Other factors like diet, temperature, illness and hormones can come into play too.²

While you can't change things like genetics, you can boost your metabolism with some lifestyle adjustments.

When you quickly lose weight through things like rapid calorie reduction and fasting, your body can respond by slowing down your metabolism as a way to conserve energy. So, avoiding extreme fad diets is a good idea if you're trying to maintain or boost your BMR.

Increasing your level of physical activity can help boost your metabolism. Australian guidelines recommend that adults do:

• 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate activity per week
• 1.25 to 2.5 hours of vigorous activity per week
• or a combination of both.³

Building more muscle can help boost your BMR. This is because lean muscle mass requires more energy to maintain, so having more muscles helps you burn more kilojoules while you're resting.

You can build muscle with a strength-training program that focuses on different parts of your body, including upper, lower and core body strength.

Australian guidelines recommend that adults do strength work at least 2 days a week.³ Exercises could include things like lifting weights, lunges, squats, planks and glute bridges.

If you're new to exercise or have an existing health condition, please check with your GP before embarking on any exercise program. If you experience any pain while exercising, stop what you're doing and speak with your GP or a healthcare professional.

Regardless of whether or not you're trying to lose weight, you should always focus on a healthy, balanced diet that prioritises nutrients like protein, fibre, healthy carbohydrates and good fats while lowering saturated fat and added sugar.

Hormones play an important role in regulating your metabolism, so addressing any imbalances could help improve yours.

Metabolism-related hormone imbalances typically link to an over or underactive thyroid (a small gland in your neck that releases hormones and regulates many of the body's metabolic functions). Hormones such as insulin and cortisol also play a role. Talk to your doctor if you have any concerns.

Boosting your metabolism can improve your health and wellbeing, but it's always a good idea to talk to a doctor or Accredited Practising Dietitian before making any significant life changes. They can help you come up with a lifestyle and fitness plan and assess your metabolic needs.