5 "Boring" Habits That Actually Improve Your Metabolism

Most of us want to improve our metabolism. But what does that really mean? Metabolism refers to the collection of processes that happen internally to turn the food you eat into energy you store or use. If you're having trouble balancing blood sugar, lowering cholesterol, gaining muscle, or losing fat, your metabolism could use more support.

A short walk right after you eat is one of the simplest ways to support healthy blood sugar levels. In a randomized trial1, researchers had healthy adults walk for 10 minutes immediately after drinking a glucose solution and compared their blood sugar response to a longer 30-minute walk taken later. The immediate 10-minute walk led to a notably lower peak blood sugar level than resting did.

A separate review pooling eight studies and 116 participants2 found that walking after a meal reduced post-meal blood sugar spikes more effectively than walking before eating.

Fiber does a lot of behind-the-scenes work for your metabolism. Fiber intake3 is closely tied to insulin sensitivity, meaning how efficiently your body uses the hormone that shuttles sugar out of your bloodstream and into your cells for energy.

Fiber also helps regulate appetite by slowing digestion and promoting feelings of fullness, which can help you feel satisfied for longer after meals.* Getting enough fiber may also be helpful for weight management as part of an overall healthy eating pattern.

The goal is to get 30+ grams of fiber a day from foods like beans, berries, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. Follow this cheat sheet to help you get started.

Habitual eating patterns have their perks. You don't have to come up with a brand-new meal plan every week to eat well. In fact, having a handful of go-to meals you know how to make, enjoy eating, and can pull together without much thought can make healthy eating a whole lot easier.

Maybe it's overnight oats for breakfast (like me), a grain bowl you can customize with whatever's in the fridge for lunch, or two or three simple dinners you rotate throughout the week. Find what works for your schedule, budget, and taste buds, then don't be afraid to repeat it.

A regular sleep schedule helps keep your metabolism running smoothly, in part by keeping your body's internal clock, or circadian rhythm, in sync. This clock helps regulate the hormones involved in hunger, fullness, and blood sugar control.

When your sleep schedule is all over the place, those processes can get thrown off. Research4 suggests that circadian disruption can affect the hormones that regulate appetite, while other studies5 has linked insufficient and irregular sleep with metabolic dysfunction.

Try to keep your bedtime relatively consistent throughout the week, weekends included. It's a simple way to give your body a more predictable rhythm to work with.

Muscle is metabolically active tissue, meaning the more of it you have, the more energy your body burns even at rest. As we age, we naturally lose a small percentage of muscle mass each decade if we're inactive, and that loss comes with a dip in resting metabolic rate.

That's where strength training comes in. In a study of adults in their 50s and 60s6, 12 weeks of strength training increased resting metabolic rate by nearly 8%. A broader review7 found that resistance training can also improve the body's sensitivity to insulin and help reduce stored body fat.

If you're new to strength training, two to three sessions a week focused on major muscle groups is a solid, sustainable starting point.

None of these five habits are glamorous, and that's exactly the point. A short walk after meals, a solid fiber intake, predictable meals, a consistent bedtime, and a couple of strength sessions a week work together to support the systems that keep your metabolism running smoothly.