Fast Metabolism Symptoms 2024: 5 Signs You Should Know 

Having a fast metabolism is generally considered to be a sign of good overall health and wellness, but how can you know what state is in? And are there things you can do to speed it up and promote your digestion? 

With all the available information out there, it might be difficult to understand what’s best for your body. Paying better attention to your current lifestyle habits and changing them to work for you instead of against you is a great first step. Here’s how to do just that.

How To Know If You Have A Fast Metabolism?

Having a fast metabolism can sometimes also be a sign of an underlying thyroid condition^[1], so always make sure to get a complete checkup, together with testing your hormone levels, in case you’re not feeling well overall.  

However, if that’s not the case, to figure out if your metabolism is fast or not, there are plenty of signs to look for. Here are five of the most common ones to pay attention to:

Weight Loss 

One of the most common signs of fast metabolism is weight loss or difficulty gaining weight, or even maintaining, weight on your current diet regimen. It means your body burns calories easier and faster as it’s able to break down the food you’re intaking more efficiently. 

If you’re not intentionally trying to lose weight, work through a gut cleanse, or cut down on your calories, seeing a drop on your scale is a definite sign of having a fast metabolism. 

Excessive Sweating 

If you’re suddenly feeling hotter during your workouts and sweat with less strain, it’s likely your metabolism has begun working at a much faster and more powerful rate. Unless you’re dealing with specific sweating-related issues^[2], you’re simply experiencing a higher basal body temperature^[3], and with it, quick metabolic reactions occur within the body.

This way, your body is burning more calories and it’s able to optimize your bodily functions with much more efficiency than it would if your metabolism was slower. 

Increased Hunger and Appetite

If you’re feeling hungrier than usual and your appetite seems to be through the roof, it might be a sign of a fast metabolism. Since your body is running through the calories you ingest very quickly, it’s also asking for new ones to increase your energy levels.

Running out of fuel makes your body work harder to do even the most basic of functions and that’s when it sends signals to the brain to wake up your hunger hormones and let you know you need more food. You might notice an uptick in your appetite when you’ve picked up a new fitness activity or suddenly started to walk more than usual. That’s a great showcase of your metabolism speeding up.

Sometimes, increased hunger can be a sign of an underlying condition (such as stress, pregnancy, menopause, etc), but in most cases, if you’ve increased your workouts and you’re having a generally faster-paced lifestyle, it’s your metabolism kicking into fourth gear.  

Increased Energy 

If you’re generally feeling more energetic and hyperactive, it might be a good sign of a fast metabolism. As your body is breaking down food at a much faster pace, you’re having more energy at your disposal to use as fuel. This can, in turn, showcase a will or an impulse to use that energy in any way, shape, or form. 

Slow Metabolism

On the other hand, those with a slower metabolism are generally more sluggish and slow, since their bodies are unable to use the energy fuel with such great efficiency. 

Having a sudden increase in energy can also be a sign of other conditions, such as high stress, anxiety, or an overactive thyroid, so make sure to rule those out first. 

Irritability and Difficulty Sleeping

Not all signs of having a fast metabolism are great. With an increase in energy, it’s not uncommon to experience feelings of irritability and restlessness, which can furthermore cause issues and difficulties with falling asleep or staying asleep. That’s why it’s crucial to create a healthy self-care and sleeping routine which will allow your body to unwind and relax to counterbalance the high-sprung energy sensations. 

Since these signs can also be associated with a plethora of other medical issues^[4], it’s important to get a checkup and make sure there isn’t something more going on. 

What Is Metabolism?

Now that we’ve explored the most common signs of having a fast metabolism, it’s important to explain what metabolism is in the first place. 

Metabolism^[5] is identified as literally all the chemical processes in the human body. Everything your body is doing to stay alive combined with any form of physical strain you throw at it. Its speed is also known as metabolic rate, which is the rate at which your body burns calories in a given amount of time. 

Metabolism consists of: 

• Basal metabolic rate (BMR) – the minimum amount of energy your body needs to stay alive. It’s the minimum amount of calories your body burns by literally not doing any physical activity – just breathing, heart pumping, brain ticking, and maintaining your body temperature.
• Thermic effect of food (TEF) – the number of calories your body burns while it’s digesting and processing food.
• Thermic effect of exercise (TEE) – the number of calories your body burns during exercise.
• Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) – is the number of calories your body burns while doing activities other than exercise. This includes moving around, fidgeting, changing your posture, and standing.

How To Speed Up Your Metabolism?

Although your metabolism depends on a lot of factors such as your age, gender, the amount of physical activity, nutrition, muscle mass, outside temperature, as well as a variety of medical conditions, there are some ways to speed up your metabolism to increase your overall health and longevity. These include:

• Increasing physical activity – whether you’re joining a regular gym class or hitting 10k steps a day when you’re moving your body, you’re burning more calories and therefore, increasing your metabolic rate and getting healthy weight. 
• High-intensity interval training^[6] – also known as HIIT, this type of training specifically takes your metabolic rate to a whole new level. 
• Strength training and eating more protein – having more muscle mass makes your body burn extra calories to preserve it. 
• Increasing your water intake – an effect known as water-induced thermogenesis.^[7]
• Healthy diet: Eating more fiber-rich foods^[8] – can help digest food more efficiently and lose weight effectively.
• Improving your sleep performance – during sleep, we rest, digest, and repair. The better our sleep quality, the better and faster our digestion, and with it, our metabolism. 
• Drinking caffeinated beverages – coffee and tea are great beverages to add to your diet and temporarily increase your metabolism to have a more efficient workout or even a breakdown of food. 
• Eating spicy foods – just like caffeine, spicy foods can temporarily increase your metabolic rate. They bring your heart rate up and increase your body temperature, making you burn more calories. 

Fast metabolism symptoms are considered to be a sign of good health and it should be our priority to make changes in our daily routine to include actions that can help us do so. Take it one step at a time and soon, you’ll be more efficient in burning calories than you’ve ever been before.

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