Eat plenty of protein at every meal

You can temporarily speed up your metabolism for a few hours by eating. The term for this is the thermic effect of food (TEF). It results from the additional calories needed to process, absorb, and digest the nutrients in your food.

The largest increase in TEF comes from protein. Compared to 5 to 10% for carbohydrates and 0 to 3% for fats, 20 to 30% of the usable energy in dietary protein must be used for metabolism. It has also been demonstrated that eating protein increases your feeling of fullness and helps you avoid overeating. Consuming additional protein can also lessen the slowdown in metabolism that is frequently brought on by weight loss. This is due to protein's ability to halt muscle loss, a common side effect of dieting.