What Does 'Boosting Your Metabolism' Actually Mean?
Boost your metabolism — but what does that really mean? Let’s break down how your body burns calories and how you can rev it up.
“Boost your metabolism.” We see these magic words plastered across supplement bottles and green juices all the time. But what does boosting your metabolism actually mean?
Understanding what drives your metabolism is important because once you know the factors at play, you can fine-tune them to support weight loss or weight gain, whatever your goals might be!
Here’s the mini-med school on metabolic rate:
Metabolism 101
Metabolism is basically how much fuel our body’s engine burns each day to keep running. Every action—breathing, moving, even digesting food—uses energy. But not all activities burn the same amount. Our body’s total daily caloric expenditure (TDEE) comes from several metabolic processes.
Here’s where our daily calories go:
- 60-70% goes to basal metabolic rate (BMR). These are the body’s vital functions, including breathing, circulation, temperature regulation, and cell growth. Think of this as the energy ‘just to keep the lights on.’ BMR is strongly influenced by height, weight, muscle mass, and gender.
- 5-15% goes to the thermic effect of food (TEF). This is the energy required to digest, absorb, and process our food and extract nutrients from what we eat. Protein requires the most calories to process, which is why eating a high protein diet can help with weight loss. For example, if you eat 100 calories of protein, about 20 calories are burned just during digestion—so it’s a net gain of 80!
- 10-30% goes to non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). This includes movements such as standing, fidgeting, casual movements, and household activities. While it varies from person to person, NEAT is a major way to increase calories burned without hitting the gym (although you still need to work out!).
- 0-30% goes to exercise activity thermogenesis (EAT). These are the calories expended during intentional physical activity or exercise. For most people, this number hovers around 10%, which is why you may have heard the phrase, “You can’t exercise your way to weight loss.” While that’s not entirely true, the idea comes from the fact that exercise typically represents a small portion of your daily energy expenditure compared to other processes.
Our Daily Caloric Expenditure, Visualized
How to Boost Your Metabolism
And now for the best part: How to boost your metabolism!
For the sake of brevity, I won’t go into the why and how of these interventions. But for more information, I’d recommend you check out Dr. Andy Galpin’s Perform Podcast—specifically, this episode on boosting your metabolism and burning fat.
No time to listen? Here are simple ways to increase metabolism:
- Sleep 7-9 hours every night.
- Have a small amount of caffeine.
- Eat protein (but don’t overeat just to get more).
- Take fish oil. Aim for 3 grams a day of EPA + DHA.
- Cardio > Weights. Both are great, but cardio is better.
- Build more muscle mass. More muscle = higher energy burn.
- Use a standing desk. It burns an extra 100-200 calories a day.
- Drink more water. Experts recommend about 11.5 cups a day.
