How to Safely Raise Your Metabolism

Eat every few hours throughout the day to keep your metabolism elevated. When you go for too long without food, your body goes into starvation mode and conserves calories in case food becomes scarce. Breakfast is especially important since you naturally fast every night when you sleep. Have some protein and carbs, such as almond milk with whole-grain toast within an hour after waking up and do the same two to four hours later. Continue to eat organic fruits, veggies, beans, grains and lean meats throughout the day. To make sure you're not overindulging, only eat when you're physiologically hungry and stop when you're full.

Do interval training, which can increase your metabolism for one and a half to 24 hours after exercise, according to sports physiologist Dr. Michael Bracko. Choose any cardiovascular exercise such as running, cycling or the elliptical machine and warm up for five minutes. Go all out for one minute, then return to a moderately challenging pace for two minutes. Repeat the cycle for 20 minutes and cool down for five minutes at the end. Do this workout three times each week to increase your cardiovascular fitness and regularly, consistently raise your metabolism.

Lift weights three times each week. Resistance training increases the amount of lean muscle mass you have -- and the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be. In each session, do lunges or squats for your legs, seated rows and lat pulldowns for your back and chest presses and planks for your chest muscles. Do lateral raises for your shoulders, biceps curls, triceps extensions and crunches for your abs. Choose a weight that allows you to do no more than 10 to 15 repetitions with perfect form. The muscle you build will keep your metabolism elevated 24 hours a day, every day, even when you're sitting on the couch.