I don’t want to get all scientific and put everyone to sleep here, so I’ll make this straightforward and basic: your metabolism is the number of calories your body burns doing nothing in a single day. 

We all inherit our baseline metabolism; it’s genetic. It also relates to our gender and our age, and as you know and as much as we may wish otherwise, we can’t change our age.

Once we accept the fact that our metabolism slows down with age, we can actually start to do something about it (and yes, men burn more calories than women. That’s another hard fact that we need to just accept). 

Here’s an example of how my metabolism has changed over the last few years. In 2009, a colleague of mine had it tested and her resting metabolic rate was 1786. In 2013, she had it retested, and it was 1714. That means her metabolism dropped 72 calories a day – A DAY! – in only four years. Scary!  As we age, we burn fewer calories while at rest.

The good news is, there are ways to increase your metabolism. Check it out. 

Metabolism Booster #1: Exercise 

Exercise and building muscle are incredible ways to boost your metabolism. Each pound of muscle burns 6 extra calories per day. And while 6 calories per day doesn’t sound like much, if you add 5 lbs of muscle to your frame, that equals 30 calories per day. Now that’s a few Hershey’s Kisses! 

Don’t worry about getting bulky. That’s a whole other (mythical) conversation that you don’t need to worry about. 

Besides muscle building, another great way to increase your metabolism via exercise is to step up the intensity. This doesn’t mean that you need to go do box jumps if you have bad knees. It’s about increasing the intensity that you can do. So, if you’re a walker, integrate 30- second sprint-walks into your workout. Walk as fast as you can, and then go back down to your normal pace. Repeat these intervals. 

Metabolism Booster #2: Drink More Water 

Water helps speed up the metabolism. Would you believe that “researchers estimate that over the course of a year, a person who increases his water consumption by 1.5 liters a day would burn an extra 17,400 calories, for a weight loss of approximately five pounds”? It’s true! 

Metabolism Booster #3: Eat Every 3-4 Hours 

There are conflicting studies about the validity of eating every 3-4 hours when it comes to weight loss. Some say there’s no difference in your metabolism if you eat 1500 calories in one meal or if you spread them out through the day. 

Personally, I find that eating every 3-4 hours keeps my blood sugar regulated. I don’t enjoy the feeling of my blood sugar spiking and falling throughout the day; it makes me grouchy and uncomfortable. 

Metabolism Booster #4: Increase Your Protein Consumption 

Your body takes longer to digest protein than it does other foods, like carbohydrates. When you choose a chicken breast over McDonald’s French fries, you get a double-bonus: not only are there fewer calories in the chicken, but your body takes longer to burn them. 

Of course, I would never tell you not to eat French fries because as you know… I’m the Queen of Planned Indulgences. 

Metabolism Booster #5: Get Lots of Sleep 

One would think that lying in your bed, sound asleep doing nothing for 8 hours would slow down your metabolism. In fact, there are studies that show that getting the right amount of sleep will increase your metabolism and help you eat the right amount of foods at the right time. 

The one BIG DON’T: do not undercut your calories. Everyone has heard about Starvation Mode, and it’s real. The bottom line is that your body will slow down your metabolism to conserve its resources because it doesn’t know when you are going to get your next meal. Not only that, but your body will eat your muscles for fuel. And guess what? Your heart is a muscle. Yup.