We all know that those who have a fast metabolism can eat whatever they want and never put on weight. We consider those people lucky to have been born with such a metabolism, but we are actually secretly jealous. What most of us don’t know, however, is that there are plenty of easy, safe and natural methods to speed up metabolism, even other than working out. Let’s take a look at five ways to do this.

1 – Get Enough Sleep

It cannot be stressed enough how important sleep is in order to be healthy overall. It reduces your cortisol levels, which is your stress hormone, and makes you feel happier, with controlled moods. Additionally, it has been proven to speed up your metabolism.

“Researchers have found a link between metabolism and sleep, and not getting enough of it may seriously slow metabolism.” – Greatist

Do be aware, however, that you shouldn’t get too much sleep either. If you sleep too much, your metabolism will start to slow down again. Getting around 8 hours sleep a night is enough, perhaps with a single power nap during the day.

2 – Drink Lots of Water

Water is the building block of life and at least 75% of our bodies are actually made up of water. By drinking plenty of water, you flush out various toxins from your body, including those that can slow down your metabolism. But do not replace water with other drinks.

“Your body needs water to process calories. If you are even mildly dehydrated, your metabolism may slow down.” – Web MD

If you really don’t like water on its own, choose an unsweetened beverage. You should have a glass of water before any snack or meal. You can also substitute some of the water with juicy fruits and vegetables, like watermelon, apple or cucumber.

3 – Have Protein for Lunch

Our bodies also need protein in order to build and maintain muscle tissue and to keep our metabolism going. The best time of the day to consume protein, however, is not at night, but rather during lunch.

“Cramming protein into every meal helps build and maintain lean muscle mass. Muscle burns more calories than fat does, even at rest.” – Active

Indeed, this does mean you also have to engage in good workouts once a day, to really get the best effects.

4 – Eat Breakfast

It is for good reason that breakfast is classed as the most important meal of the day. When you wake up, your body had been fasting. Hence, if you don’t eat, it will continue to fast, putting you in starvation mode, which means your metabolism will slow down.

“Your metabolism slows while you sleep, and it doesn’t rev back up until you eat again.” – Red Book Mag

5 – Eat Chewy Foods

Finally, you should eat foods that require a bit of effort to consume. So called “chewy foods” take longer to eat, which means the leptin hormone has more time to tell you that you are full.

“To maximize the chew factor, choose food in its most “whole” state – apples instead of applesauce, for instance.” – Prevention