Can I increase my resting energy? A guide to boosting your metabolism

October 26, 2025 •

3 min read

Resting energy, also known as Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR), is responsible for up to 75% of your total daily calorie expenditure. While genetics play a significant role in determining your baseline RMR, certain lifestyle strategies can help you increase my resting energy and improve overall metabolic health.

Quick Summary

Lifestyle changes, including building muscle mass through strength training, incorporating high-intensity interval training, prioritizing sleep, and optimizing diet, can help elevate resting energy expenditure. These strategies enhance the body's calorie-burning capacity, supporting weight management and overall vitality.

Key Points

Muscle is key: Increase your muscle mass through strength training to burn more calories at rest.
High-intensity training: Incorporate HIIT for the EPOC "afterburn" effect, which elevates your metabolism for hours post-workout.
Protein power: Eating protein increases the thermic effect of food, boosting your metabolism during digestion.
Stay hydrated: Drinking water, especially cold water, can temporarily increase your metabolic rate.
Prioritize sleep: Consistent, quality sleep helps regulate the hormones that control your metabolism and appetite.
Manage stress: High stress levels can increase cortisol and negatively affect your metabolism.
Avoid severe calorie restriction: Drastically cutting calories can trigger a metabolic slowdown as your body enters survival mode.
Increase daily movement: Simple activities like walking and standing add to your overall calorie burn throughout the day.

Understanding Resting Energy Expenditure (REE)

Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) is the number of calories your body burns at rest to perform essential functions like breathing, circulating blood, and regulating body temperature. It accounts for the majority of your daily energy expenditure. While your REE is influenced by several factors beyond your control, such as age, sex, and genetics, you can influence it through intentional lifestyle adjustments.

The Power of Muscle: Strength Training

One of the most effective ways to increase your resting energy is by increasing your muscle mass. Muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat tissue, meaning it burns more calories at rest. Incorporating strength or resistance training into your routine is crucial for building and maintaining this metabolically active tissue.

Lift heavy weights: Focus on compound movements like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses, which engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously for maximum impact.
Include resistance bands: For those who prefer home workouts or have limited access to equipment, resistance bands offer an excellent way to build muscle.
Aim for consistency: Experts suggest targeting major muscle groups at least twice a week for optimal results.

Boost Your Metabolism with High-Intensity Exercise

While strength training builds muscle, High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) provides a short-term, but powerful, boost to your metabolism through a phenomenon known as Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). This "afterburn" effect means your body continues to burn extra calories even after your workout is over.

Structure your workout: Alternate short bursts of intense exercise (e.g., sprinting, jump squats) with brief recovery periods.
Increase workout intensity: The higher the intensity of your workout, the more significant the EPOC effect.
Try different variations: Mix and match exercises like jump rope, squats, and planks to keep your body guessing and maximize calorie burn.

The Role of Diet in Increasing Resting Energy

Your diet is a key component in supporting a higher metabolic rate. The right nutritional choices can optimize your body's energy-burning processes.

Prioritize protein: Eating adequate protein increases the thermic effect of food (TEF), as it requires more energy to digest than carbohydrates or fat. This can temporarily boost your metabolism.
Stay hydrated with water: Drinking water, especially cold water, can temporarily increase your metabolic rate as your body expends energy to warm it up. Dehydration, even mild, can slow down your metabolism.
Don't under-eat: Consistently restricting calories too severely can cause your body to enter "starvation mode," which slows your metabolism to conserve energy.

Optimize Your Lifestyle for a Healthier Metabolism

Beyond structured diet and exercise, several lifestyle habits can significantly influence your resting energy.

Prioritize sleep: Inadequate sleep can disrupt hormonal balance, including those that regulate appetite and metabolism. Aim for 7–9 hours of quality sleep per night to help your body function efficiently.
Reduce stress: Chronic stress can lead to the release of cortisol, a hormone that can slow down your metabolism. Incorporate stress-reducing activities like yoga, meditation, or deep breathing into your routine.
Increase Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT): NEAT refers to the calories burned from daily activities outside of structured exercise, such as fidgeting, standing, and walking. Simple changes like taking the stairs, standing more, or walking during phone calls can make a difference.

Comparison: Increasing REE vs. Reducing Calorie Intake


Feature	Focusing on Increasing REE	Focusing on Calorie Restriction
Primary Goal	Elevate the body's baseline calorie burn.	Reduce daily calorie consumption.
Mechanism	Build metabolically active tissue (muscle) and utilize EPOC effect.	Create a calorie deficit through diet alone.
Long-Term Risk	Lower risk of metabolic slowdown.	Higher risk of metabolic adaptation and weight regain.
Energy Levels	Often leads to increased energy and vitality.	May cause fatigue and nutrient deficiencies if done improperly.
Muscle Mass	Helps preserve and build muscle mass.	Can lead to a loss of both fat and muscle mass.
Sustainability	Creates a sustainable, long-term metabolic advantage.	Can be harder to maintain and may trigger weight cycling.

Conclusion: Making a Sustained Impact on Your Resting Energy

While you can't completely overhaul your genetic predisposition, you can absolutely and meaningfully influence your resting energy through consistent and deliberate lifestyle choices. By building lean muscle mass, incorporating high-intensity workouts, consuming enough protein, staying hydrated, and prioritizing sleep and stress management, you can create a higher metabolic baseline. This provides a powerful, sustainable advantage for long-term weight management and overall health, moving beyond the limitations of simple calorie counting. Remember that small, consistent changes over time are the most effective strategy for boosting your metabolism.

Frequently Asked Questions

While compounds like capsaicin in chili peppers can slightly boost metabolism, the effect is typically very small and temporary. Relying on spicy food alone for a significant metabolic increase is not an effective strategy.

Muscle is more metabolically active than fat. Estimates suggest that one pound of muscle burns approximately six calories per day at rest, compared to about four calories burned by one pound of fat. While the difference per pound is not huge, gaining significant muscle mass can make a noticeable difference.

The idea that eating smaller, more frequent meals significantly boosts metabolism is a common myth. While eating food requires energy for digestion (TEF), the total energy spent is primarily based on the overall caloric intake, not the number of meals. However, eating regularly can help prevent overeating and regulate hunger.

Yes, metabolism does tend to slow with age. This is partly due to natural decreases in muscle mass. However, by engaging in regular strength training and staying active, you can counteract this decline and help maintain a healthy metabolic rate.

Yes, caffeine in coffee can temporarily increase your metabolic rate and promote fat burning. However, this effect can diminish over time as your body builds a tolerance. For best results, consume black coffee without added sugar or cream.

Yes, severely restricting your calories can be counterproductive. When your body senses a prolonged, extreme calorie deficit, it can slow down your metabolism to conserve energy, an effect known as metabolic adaptation or starvation mode. This can make long-term weight management more difficult.

The most accurate way to measure your RMR is through indirect calorimetry, which is performed in a lab setting where your oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production are measured. While online calculators can provide an estimate, they are far less precise.