Metabolism is the conversion of food into energy that your body can use. If it’s high, you burn calories quickly and are probably on the slender side. If it’s low, the opposite is probably true. Your rate of metabolism is largely genetic, and you may feel as though you can’t do anything about it, especially if it’s low. However, there are things you can do to increase it, and here are three that I consider to be the basics for anyone ready to do something now.

Start with exercising, because it’s the foundation for building muscle. Exercising causes your body’s cells to produce heat, which is a process called thermogenesis and requires a higher energy expenditure than if you were relaxing. However, even at rest, muscles require more energy to maintain than fat does, which means they burn more calories than fat. Therefore, the more you increase your muscle mass, the more you raise your basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the rate at which you expend energy at rest merely to maintain vital bodily functions.

The next thing you can do is increase the amount of protein you eat. That means eating more foods such as fish, meat, legumes, eggs, and nuts. When you eat protein, it requires significantly more energy to digest that fat or carbohydrates. Plus, protein helps you retain muscle, which, as already explained, raises your BMR. Perhaps you're noticing how all of this interconnects.

But arguably the simplest thing you can start doing right now is to drink more water, specifically cold water. Let’s go back to that word “thermogenesis.” Every time you drink a glass of cold water, your body needs to spend energy heating it up to body temperature. Simply by drinking plenty of cold water throughout your day, you’ll bump up your metabolism periodically and increase your total calorie expenditure for the day.

Those aren’t the only ways to increase your metabolism. You could also sleep more and cut your intake of alcohol, among other methods. But, just to get the ball rolling, a simple formula is to get more exercise, more protein, and more water. And never ever believe you have no control.

Sayonara until next time.