If you’re searching for a natural metabolism booster that doesn’t require intense physical effort, start by identifying your metabolism type. This crucial insight allows you to personalize your diet, nutrient intake, and lifestyle to enhance weight management, balance hormones like insulin and ghrelin, and improve your overall metabolic health. For example, individuals with a slower metabolism often benefit from a higher intake of protein, healthy fats, and fiber-rich vegetables to help stabilize blood sugar, support appetite control, and avoid unnecessary calorie intake. Tailoring your nutrition to your body’s metabolic tendencies is one of the most effective ways to boost energy levels and support your metabolism naturally—without relying solely on exercise.

Tip #1 Determine your Metabolism Type

Tip #2 Choose an eating window that supports your body

One of the most underrated natural metabolism boosters is strategically timed eating, often referred to as intermittent fasting. I frequently hear this question from clients: is intermittent fasting actually good for me? My answer is yes—with the right approach. Intermittent fasting allows the body time to reduce inflammation, stabilize blood glucose levels, and prioritize cellular repair instead of focusing solely on digestion.

However, it’s especially important for women over 35 to use fasting protocols carefully. When the body senses prolonged calorie restriction, particularly in women, it can trigger hormonal adaptations that resist fat loss and reduce resting metabolic rate. This is an evolutionary response designed to protect fertility and preserve energy stores. Hormones like insulin, leptin, and ghrelin can become disrupted, leading to increased hunger, mood swings, and impaired nutrient regulation.

There is a great book by Dave Asprey called “Fast This Way: How to Lose Weight, Get Smarter, and Live Your Longest, Healthiest Life with the Bulletproof Guide to Fasting.” In this book, he goes over all of the amazing benefits of intermittent fasting and even provides tips that are specifically for women!

But the bottom line is this: we can get amazing benefits from intermittent fasting, it just has to be done the right way so that it naturally supports our metabolism, prevents our body from shutting down and thinking that it is starving, and also maximizes our weight loss potential.

Tip #3 Listen to your hunger cues

There is a phenomenon referred to as leptin resistance, which is something that can significantly affect our metabolism. Simply put, leptin and ghrelin are two hormones that regulate our hunger cues.

You know that growling sensation that you get in your stomach when you’re hungry? Yep, that’s due to the hormone ghrelin. So what happens when we feel fullness? Well, that’s because of the hormone leptin.

But remember, as women, our bodies want to stay nice and chunky! So when we have diets that are high in sugar or processed foods, and we start to develop insulin resistance, our hunger hormones get out of whack. (if you want to know more information about insulin resistance, check out the blog post “Identify Insulin Resistance and Uncover 11 Secrets to Reverse it Naturally”)

Leptin resistance is when leptin is unable to bind to the receptors in the brain that tell us that we are full (because insulin is hogging that receptor). And this definitely affects our metabolism and hunger cues! So by correcting insulin resistance, and listening to our hunger cues, we can maintain our metabolism much more easily. (for the full information about hunger cues and leptin resistance, read the blog post here)

Tip #4 Do the home pulse test

Our body does not function optimally when we have high levels of inflammation, and one of the ways that our bodies become inflamed, is as a reaction to the food that we eat. Each one of us is wired differently and has different sensitivities to the foods that we eat.

Research has shown that all of us have some type of reaction to diets that are high in sugar and processed foods, but there are other things that can cause food sensitivities as well. And really all that this means is that there are certain foods that we eat that irritate our body and increase inflammation. This can make us feel groggy, run down, bloated, and even give us body aches!

By decreasing inflammation, we allow our bodies to function optimally and maintain a healthy metabolic rate. So if you want to boost metabolism, one way to do it is to keep inflammation down in your body by controlling the foods that you eat and avoiding ones that cause sensitivity.

You can try this home sensitivity test or perform home lab testing without a doctors order.

Here’s how the home pulse-sensitivity test works

Tip #5 Stay hydrated to Boost Metabolism

Staying hydrated is one of the simplest ways to learn how to boost your metabolism without exercise. Water is vital for digestion, nutrient absorption, and maintaining your body’s temperature—all key processes in energy metabolism. Research shows that drinking cold water increases your resting metabolic rate slightly due to the calorie-burning process of warming the water internally. Water also helps reduce appetite, stabilize glucose levels, and support tissue repair and enzyme activity. If you find it hard to remember to drink water, try setting hourly reminders or keeping a refillable bottle nearby.

Tip #6 Build more lean muscle (basal metabolic rate)

You may have heard the term basal metabolic rate. This is the rate at which your body burns calories if you do nothing except lie on the couch for 24 hours. (If you would like to do your own calculations, click here: basal metabolic rate calculator)

Now, I’m not a fan of counting calories when it comes to health and wellness. However when you have more lean muscle, your bones and joints are better supported for every day activity, and you naturally boost metabolism!

Studies show that 1 pound of fat burns between 2-5 cal per hour, but 1 pound of muscle burns 7-9 cal per hour. This means that just having 1 extra pound of muscle burns can burn an extra 200 calories per day! When you increase the amount of lean muscle mass that you have, you’re increasing the overall amount of calories that your body needs to spend for energy and to function optimally. And you also boost metabolism while lifting weights!

Tip #7 Biohack your body

So what the heck is “biohacking?” Well, biohacking is a term that really just means doing things that optimize your body. Each one of us is different, so there are at-home-biohacking tests that you can do to learn more about your individual health. And if you want to try some of these on yourself, Dave Asprey has a great post that lists home testing!

Other things optimize the body in general and can be used by everyone to “bio hack” performance! I tend to use the “lazy girl” method when it comes to metabolism….which means I want the biggest impact with the least amount of effort!

One biohacking trick that I love is to perform 30 minutes of HIIT training just three times per week. The reason I love this is because it not only uses energy while you’re doing the activity, but it boosts your metabolic rate for the next 24 to 48 hours. This is different than other exercises, like going for a long slow run, in which you only have an increase in metabolism while you’re doing that specific activity.

Tip #8 Stabilize glucose and insulin

For your body and metabolism to function properly, you need to be able to convert what you eat into a usable form of energy. There’s a bunch of science behind this and I have a great blog article and video that goes over everything in depth, if you want to read “Identify Insulin Resistance and Uncover 11 Secrets to Reverse it Naturally.”

But basically, when you are stabilizing the way that your body takes what you eat and converts it into usable energy, your body is able to maintain metabolism. However, if you constantly flood your body with sugar, processed foods, and large meals all hours of the day, you overload your body and can break the way that your body converts food into energy. And this will significantly slow your metabolism, cause you to be more hungry, and increase weight gain.

So if you want to boost metabolism, focus on stabilizing the way that your body uses energy and stabilize your glucose levels during the day.

Tip #9 Focus on Sleep to boost metabolism

Sleep seems like such a simple habit that you may not think about it when you consider your metabolism. However, research shows that just one night of poor sleep can cause your metabolism to slow down and actually cause your body to gain weight.

Sleep provides a time to heal and regenerate, to solidify memories, and to prepare you for the next day. Some days are so busy that you just crash into bed. But if you don’t give your body a chance to unwind, your sleep can be disruptive.

By having a consistent bedtime routine, and allowing yourself the chance to relax and unwind from the day, you are training your body for restful sleep.

Some ways to promote a healthy sleep routine to boost metabolism include focusing on consistently getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night, going to bed around the same time every evening and waking up the same time every morning, and having a good nighttime routine.

Tip #10 Relax and unwind

Chronic stress interferes with almost every part of metabolism, and managing it is crucial when looking at how to boost your metabolism without exercise. Elevated cortisol disrupts appetite regulation, promotes abdominal fat gain, and impacts sleep and insulin sensitivity. Simple daily rituals like meditation, journaling, or even mindful cooking with antioxidant-rich ingredients can reset your nervous system. Reducing pressure on your mind and body helps restore hormonal harmony and supports a healthy microbiome. These lifestyle changes create the foundation for more consistent energy and long-term metabolic wellness.

So there you have it! 10 ways to boost metabolism naturally

I hope you have found some great information and tips that you can start using today to boost metabolism! As you read through these 10 ways to naturally boost metabolism, if one of these tips jumped out and you thought “hey! That’s me!” don’t be afraid to give it a try. The key is finding something that works for YOU. If you are looking for a complete resource for fixing a broken metabolism, click here to get your FREE copy of the eBook “The Best Way for Women over 40 to Reset Metabolism.”