It’s a familiar scenario - you train three, four or five times a week and watch what you eat yet you feel you have less energy as well as carrying an extra few pounds.

Have you ever thought your metabolism, your calorie burning furnace, could be stuck on low? Especially if you’re older than 30 years, after which your metabolism begins to drop about one percent per year. You don’t have to take this lying down; you can fight back, as you can boost your metabolism in several ways.

Your metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories. It is broken down into three main burners;

Basal Metabolism
Sometimes called your resting metabolism, is the largest burner. It accounts for about 60 percent of the calories you expend each day. You burn these calories simply to exist, including when you’re sleeping.

Activity Metabolism
Is the second burner and makes up about 30 percent of your daily calorie burn. These are calories you burn during swimming, biking and running, as well as other activities such as sweeping the floor, walking upstairs or mowing the lawn.

Thermic Metabolism
Is the final burner and accounts for the calories you expend digesting food and since certain foods take more energy (calories) to digest, you’ll want to emphasise them whenever possible.

If you work it right a good metabolism boosting programme will turn on the heat on all three burners. Best of all, a few simple changes to your training routine and eating habits will have you on your way to becoming a leaner and faster athlete!

Run Fast
Adding speed sessions to your programme is one of the best ways to crank up your metabolism. Hard running burns lots of calories (activity metabolism) and comes with an after burn dividend (raised basal metabolism), but it has to be hard. Metabolism can remain elevated for at least a couple of hours after a session, assuming the session was somewhat ‘taxing’. These hard sessions are best completed once you’ve established a good period of longer slower base running but will incinerate calories and rev up your metabolism in the process. Some example workouts ( once a week) could be six to eight 400’s at your best one-mile pace; four or five 800’s at 5k race pace or three or four mile repetitions at 10k race pace.

Train Twice
It may sound somewhat over the top if you’re not a serious competitive racer, but twice day training can be very rewarding. It’ll raise your metabolism for extended periods of time thanks to two after burn peaks during the day not to mention the fact that you’ll burn more calories because of the extra exercise. Try to mix a morning swim session with either a run or bike session in the evening. Make sure you eat and drink steadily throughout the day to ensure you’re energised and hydrated.

Seek Protein
Protein generally takes longer to digest, meaning you’re burning more calories while your body is breaking it down. Try to eat some protein every meal and snack time. It doesn’t have to be a steak or chicken breast, it could be poached eggs for breakfast, or cottage cheese or low fact yoghurt instead of white breads. This will increase your thermic metabolism by up to a third during the day.

High Fibre All Year Round
Just like protein, high-fibre foods increase thermic metabolism because the fibre slows digestion, resulting in a higher calorie burn rate. Healthy high-fibre foods to eat throughout the day include beans, fresh fruits and vegetables and whole-grain breads and pastas.
Stay Fluid
Dehydration slows your thermic metabolism because your stomach needs water to digest food. It also causes fatigue, which will definitely hamper your activity metabolism. Try for at least eight glasses of water a day.

Eat Early and Often
Skipping breakfast further decreases your thermic metabolism which is already low because you haven’t eaten since the night before. It also tends to slow your activity metabolism because you have less energy, making you more likely to use a lift instead of stairs. A good breakfast should include protein, carbohydrates and some fat, and contain enough calories to keep hunger at bay until your mid morning snack.

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