If you’ve been feeling sluggish, having frequent food cravings, or noticed weight regain, chances are your metabolism has slowed down. Don’t worry—you can get your metabolism back on track with several science-backed lifestyle interventions.
How does your metabolism work?
Your metabolism includes 3 types of bodily processes that convert food into energy and burn calories for vital activities.
- Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the energy your body needs to maintain vital biological processes like breathing, recovering, repairing cells, and pumping blood.
- Activity-induced thermogenesis (AIT) includes calories spent on any activity during the day. In turn, it is divided into:
- Exercise activity thermogenesis (EAT)—the energy you spend during the training
- Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT)—the energy expended in daily living tasks.
- Diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) refers to roughly 10% of the overall energy your body spends on food digestion.
Inefficient metabolic function hinders weight loss and may lead to weight regain. Even worse, you might experience health problems like fatigue, digestive issues, dry skin, and hormone imbalances.
Factors that slow metabolism
Your metabolism is determined by several biological factors such as age, sex, body type, and hormonal levels. Although it’s true that metabolism slows down with age, the significance of this factor shouldn’t be overestimated.
According to recent studies, the basal metabolic rate remains relatively stable at the age of 20-60. The visible decline begins after the age of 60, leading to a 26% drop by the age of 90.
If you are below the age of 60, your metabolic rate depends more on these lifestyle factors:
- Unhealthy diet patterns. If you have a history of following low-calorie diets, your body likely has adapted and become less effective in burning calories. Rapid weight loss often leads to the so-called ‘yo-yo effect’ when people regain all or even more weight than they lost.
- Poor gut health. Gut bacteria play a crucial role in nutrient absorption.
- Inflammation. Chronic inflammation makes your body more likely to store body fat.
- Sleep deprivation. Sleeping less than 7 hours at night increases insulin resistance, which is associated with fat storage and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. A systematic review of 36 publications showed that sleep-deprived individuals have a higher risk of concurrent and future obesity.
- Chronic stress. Chronic stress leads to persistently high levels of insulin and cortisol. Such hormonal imbalance results in increased appetite, excess abdominal fat storage, and increased insulin resistance in the long term.
How to reset your metabolism
While there are no magic quick fixes to accelerate your metabolic rate, the first improvements won’t take long to come. After a few weeks of adopting a new lifestyle, you will see that a healthier metabolism makes it easier to burn calories, facilitates weight management, and ensures stable energy levels. However, you should expect a full metabolic reset at least after 3 months of consistent effort.
Regular exercise, a well-balanced diet, and a healthy sleeping routine are the 3 pillars of a successful metabolic reset.
Regular exercise: REHIT
Regular exercise will increase your daily energy expenditure and boost metabolism. Many studies show that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is the most effective in accelerating metabolic processes. A 20-minute interval training accelerates your metabolism for hours after training due to the excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). Additionally, HIIT increases human growth hormone levels and insulin sensitivity promoting further fat loss.
Reduced Exertion HIIT (REHIT) is CAROL Bike’s signature workout which delivers superior HIIT benefits in just 5 minutes. REHIT is considered the shortest, most effective workout and consists of just 2x all-out 20-second sprints that work like flipping a metabolic switch. During the sprints, your muscles are forced to mobilize about 25-30% of muscular glycogen—your emergency energy reserve—releasing key signaling molecules (AMPK and PGC-1a), triggering metabolic adaptations.
There’s profound research around the science of REHIT. For example, research by ACE (American Council on Exercise) shows you’ll burn more calories on a 15-minute CAROL Bike ride, than a 30-minute run. REHIT also stabilizes blood sugar levels, reducing food cravings. At the end of an 8-week study, participants’ blood sugar was down by 2%.
You will need at least 3x REHIT workouts weekly for a successful metabolic reset. With CAROL Bike, it will take just 15 minutes weekly. This short, scientifically proven workout will fit easily into your day.
CAROL burns over twice as many calories, minute-per-minute vs. traditional exercise, largely thanks to afterburn.
Strength training
Resistance training is an effective way of burning calories during and after a workout. According to research, the EPOC effect of resistance training is similar to HIIT exceeding steady-state cardiovascular exercise.
More importantly, strength training promotes the growth of muscle tissue increasing your resting metabolic rate. Some research suggests that muscle mass accounts for roughly 20% of daily energy expenditure while fat cells burn only about 5%. Increasing your lean muscle mass is crucial for improving metabolic health.
Lastly, strength training helps to maintain your NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) levels and burn more calories in daily activities. It is common for people who start regular exercise to decrease their daily physical activity as a compensatory behavioral adaptation. However, 2015 research shows that physical activity levels reduce in response to aerobic exercise but not in response to resistance exercise, especially in elderly people. This can be explained by an increase in the body’s functional capacity for activities such as lifting, carrying, walking upstairs, etc.
More physical activity in daily living
Daily activities falling into the NEAT category are often underestimated, though they have a strong impact on the number of calories you burn each day. While it may be hard for most people to significantly increase their weekly training volume, moving more in your daily life is a simple and accessible metabolism booster.
At the same time, when people start a regular exercise program, it is common for their NEAT to decrease. Some may feel tired after a workout, while others think they don’t need to move the rest of the day if they already exercised. According to the research in Obesity Reviews, a decrease in non-exercise activity can be one of the reasons people don’t lose weight even though they exercise regularly.
That’s why it’s important to take more opportunities to move throughout the day, be it walking, doing household chores, or carrying groceries. Adopting a more active lifestyle with these types of exercise snacks can increase the share of NEAT from 6-10% of total daily calorie burn in sedentary people to 50% in active people.
Well-balanced diet
A well-balanced diet is a fast track to jumpstart your metabolism. It’s important to ensure your calorie intake is adequate to your needs. Calorie deficit is a signal for your body to conserve energy and slow metabolic processes.
Secondly, your diet should include diverse and quality energy sources such as protein, fiber, unsaturated fats, slow carbs, and probiotics. Fast carbs like pastries and sweets lead to blood sugar spikes resulting in food cravings, bouts of fatigue, and weight gain.
Your body needs plenty of water to metabolize stored fats so don’t forget to stay hydrated. Simply drinking 2 cups of water increases your metabolic rate by 30% for the next 30 minutes, according to research.
Remember, the saying ‘breakfast is everything’ is true—this meal is the most important to maintain your energy levels. If you prefer morning exercise, eating breakfast before working out may increase your metabolism.
Good night sleep
Sleep plays a vital role in regulating metabolism, body composition, and appetite. Lack of sleep disrupts your hormonal balance and increases food cravings during the day, especially for simple carbs. Sleep deprivation is one of the risk factors for obesity among young adults. Some studies also associate sleep loss with muscle atrophy.
Aim at getting at least 8 hours of sleep every night and keep your sleeping schedule consistent.
A 7-day plan to reset your metabolism
One week is a suitable time to introduce new habits into your daily routine and switch to a healthier lifestyle. Follow this metabolic reset program for a few weeks to see the difference.
Sunday
- Plan your meals for the rest of the week. Make sure every meal has at least 25-30% of protein.
- Drink at least 1 liter of water.
- Go to bed before 11pm to get at least 8 hours of sleep.
Monday
- Do a 5-minute REHIT session in the morning.
- Get breakfast before exercise to speed up your metabolism.
- Go to bed at the same time to keep your sleeping schedule consistent.
Tuesday
- Look for opportunities to move more—use stairs instead of an elevator, walk to work, or stand at your desk.
- Eat your meals at regular times.
- Go to bed at the same time to keep your sleeping schedule consistent.
Wednesday
- Do a 5-minute REHIT session in the morning.
- Meditate in the evening to reduce stress levels and improve the quality of sleep.
- Eat probiotic-rich food like yogurt, pickles, or kombucha to improve your gut health.
Thursday
- Start your day with a cup of coffee—studies show that caffeine can increase resting metabolic rate by 3–11%.
- Do a 1-hour strength training workout.
- Skip the dessert to cut on the simple carbs and reduce food cravings.
Friday
- Do a 5-minute REHIT session in the morning.
- Eat more fruits and vegetables—fiber is beneficial for your gut health.
- Remember to stay well hydrated.
Saturday
- Take a long walk in the park or do another physical activity outdoors.
- Do some home chores like cleaning or gardening.
Conclusion
A healthy metabolism will fuel you with more energy for daily tasks and help you maintain the desired body weight. Following this 7-day program will not only accelerate your metabolic rate but also help you set up long-lasting lifestyle habits for better health and well-being.
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