12 Surprising Metabolism-Boosting Foods You Should Eat Every Single Week

Metabolism is one of the key factors in maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle.

The Mayo Clinic explains that your metabolism is "the process by which your body converts what you eat and drink into energy."

Even when you aren't being outwardly active, your body needs energy to function — breathing, growing and repairing cells, circulating blood, and adjusting hormone levels all take energy.

Your base metabolism is how much energy your body uses during rest.

So how does food play into your metabolism?

The foods and drinks you consume contain calories, which release energy into your body when combined with oxygen.

One way our bodies use energy is to process the food we eat.

When we eat metabolism-boosting foods, it means that they require more energy from the body to digest and process them.

Calcium-rich foods like cheese and ice cream get a bad rep, but if you choose the right ones, they can actually help you burn calories.

Greek yogurt has a lot of health benefits, including a good amount of protein. This will keep you full for a long time as your body spends a lot of effort breaking it down.

The best kind of greek yogurt to have is the plain, unsweetened kind.

Iron-rich foods like spinach are wonderful when it comes to boosting your metabolism.

Iron is necessary for the body because it helps carry oxygen to your muscles, which allows them to burn fat more productively.

Protein — especially lean protein — will keep you full much longer than carbohydrates and fats.

Bodies digest protein more slowly than fats and carbohydrates, which means that you won't feel like snacking as often.

Additionally, Health magazine explains that your body has to expend more energy breaking down protein, which means that it has to work harder (and expend more calories).

Many people believe that eating celery will burn calories, but that's not entirely true.

What celery will do is increase your metabolism, helping you burn calories in the long run.

The BBC explains that all the water and fiber in celery make it a food that takes a long time to process, burning more calories along the way.

Eggs, which are chock-full of protein and vitamin D, are great for boosting your metabolism.

Eggs can also help repair your muscles, which lets you build more muscle mass, making it easier for you to burn calories when working out.

Kimchi and other fermented foods are high in probiotics, which support gut health, decrease bloating, and promote digestion.

A small study published in Nutrition Research found that people who ate kimchi had improved cholesterol levels, more weight loss, and faster carbohydrate metabolism.

Fish, which is high in omega-3 fatty acids, can also boost your metabolism.

Fox News reports that fish like salmon, tuna, mackerel, and trout contain a hormone called "leptin" that regulates metabolism.

Avocados, like fish, are high in omega-3 fatty acids.

Avocados can stabilize your blood sugar levels and get your metabolism going, especially when eaten first thing in the morning (avocado toast, anyone?).

According to Science Daily, eating avocados may stave off metabolic syndrome, which negatively affects the body.

Have you ever wondered why chili peppers make you sweat?

Chilis contain a chemical compound called capsacin, which jumpstarts your metabolism.

Because spicy foods increase your heart rate, The New York Times reports that chili peppers can increase your metabolism.

Green tea has a lot of antioxidants, and its active ingredient is catechin.

Health explains that catechin may improve fat oxidation and digestion.

A study in Physiology & Behavior found that coffee and tea are thermogenic agents, which can help prevent obesity.

Both green tea and coffee contain caffeine, which can give your metabolism a mild boost — but you have to make sure to drink it without cream or sugar.

The New York Times reported that dairy products can help accelerate weight loss and alleviate fat gain.

Calcium is known to regulate fat cell metabolism, and there have been multiple laboratory studies that support the claim that calcium (especially calcium that comes from dairy) provides weight benefits.

Whole grains, when compared to processed grains, provide many more health benefits.

Not only are whole grains rich in fiber, they're also great for boosting metabolic rates — this is because they take extra effort to break down.

According to a study conducted at Tufts University, eating whole grains can increase calorie loss and metabolism.

In addition to eating foods that speed up your metabolism, there are a variety of other things you can do to boost your metabolism.

The Mayo Clinic explains that building muscle is a great way to speed up your metabolism. According to Health, the average thirtysomething woman who does strength training twice a week for four months (in 30 to 40 minute sessions) can increase her resting metabolism by 100 calories a day.

Drinking cold water can also speed up your metabolism because it requires your body to expend energy heating it up.

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