7 Easy Ways to Kick-Start Your Metabolism

Include Intervals

Cyclists who pedaled at an all-out effort with high resistance for a total of five 30-second sprints (that's just 2.5 minutes!) burned a whopping 200 calories, according to recent Colorado State University research.

Don't forget to recover between intervals: Here participants recouped with four minutes of slow pedaling with low resistance after each burst.

"Changing the intensity forces your muscles to work harder," says Andia Winslow, a personal trainer in New York City.

drinking water

Guzzle H20

It will keep your metab humming when you're just bumming around. In a University of Utah study, participants who downed eight to 12 glasses of water a day burned more calories at rest than those who drank four.

Water not your cup of tea? Freeze bits of peeled citrus fruit and use them in place of ice cubes.

woman eating snack

Snack Post-Workout

Exercisers who drank a 250-calorie shake with 24 grams of protein and 36 grams of carbs after strength training lost about four pounds more fat and created one and a half pounds more lean muscle in six months than those who didn't drink the shake, Westcott says.

His research links the protein-carb hit with muscle building and fat loss, but it doesn’t have to be a shake. A banana with peanut butter works too—just nosh within 30 minutes after working out (and include those calories in your overall tally).

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