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Increase your metabolism: more fat burning at rest

We all dream of it: burning more fat without spending hours at the gym every day. The surprising thing is that your body is actually already doing that. Even when you’re sitting, sleeping, or simply relaxing, your body is actively burning calories. This is called your resting metabolism, also known as REE (Resting Energy Expenditure).

This should not be confused with basal metabolism. The latter is officially measured right after an 8-hour night’s sleep, while resting metabolism can also be measured during the day while you’re at rest.

You may also have heard of metabolic syndrome: a cluster of conditions such as increased waist circumference, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance. This article does not focus on metabolic syndrome itself, but rather on how you can boost your resting metabolism in a healthy way.

But what exactly determines how much energy your body burns at rest? And more importantly: how can you support it naturally?

Topics in this article

What is REE and why is it so important?

Your body constantly needs energy. Not just when you move or exercise, but also when you are in complete rest. Even when you’re sleeping or reading a book, hundreds of processes are consuming energy: your heart keeps beating, your brain remains active, your cells repair themselves, and your body temperature stays stable.

This constant energy expenditure at rest is called Resting Energy Expenditure (REE).

What does REE include?:

  • Your heartbeat
  • Your breathing
  • The functioning of your liver, kidneys, brain, and intestines
  • Cell renewal and repair
  • Maintaining a constant body temperature

In short: your body is working all the time, even when you don’t notice it. And that costs energy; quite a lot, in fact.

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How much energy do you burn at rest?

For most people, resting metabolism accounts for about 60 to 75%¹ of total daily energy expenditure. The remaining energy is burned through physical activity such as walking, moving, or exercising, and by digesting food, which is known as the thermic effect of food.

The majority of the calories your body burns each day go toward unconscious processes like breathing, heart rate, temperature regulation, and cell repair. That’s why resting metabolism is so interesting if you want to boost fat burning or better manage your weight.

If you can support this baseline expenditure and even increase it slightly, it can make a significant difference in the long run, without you having to make any extra effort.

What determines your resting burn rate?

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Not everyone has the same rate of resting metabolism. Some people burn more calories than others at rest, and that’s no coincidence. Your REE is influenced by various factors². Some, such as age and gender, are fixed. Others you can influence yourself.

Below you can see what can positively or negatively affect your resting burn rate:

Factors that increase REE:

1) More muscle mass = more calories burned, even at rest

2) Protein temporarily increases your energy expenditure and helps preserve muscle mass

3) Cold, capsaicin, or green tea stimulate thermogenesis

4) Training and muscle recovery temporarily boost your metabolism

5) Good sleep supports energy use and hormonal balance

6) Although many believe that intermittent fasting lowers resting metabolism, research shows that this is not necessarily the case with short-term complete fasting. In a study where participants went without food for 48 hours, their resting metabolism remained stable or even increased slightly, possibly due to a rise in noradrenaline (Zauner et al., 2000). Intermittent fasting does increase metabolic flexibility; a term for how efficiently your body switches between fuels such as glucose and fat.

Factors that decrease REE:

1) Loss of muscle mass from age 30 onwards; without maintenance, your REE declines

2) A sedentary lifestyle leads to muscle loss and a lower metabolism

3) Eating too little, as with crash diets, puts your body into “energy-saving mode”

4) Chronic stress and high cortisol slow down fat burning

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Why muscles use so much energy

Muscle tissue is active and energy-intensive. It constantly needs energy for repair, maintenance, and basic functions; even when you’re not training.

In contrast, fat tissue mainly serves as an energy reserve and consumes very little energy.

On average, 1 kg of muscle burns 10 to 15 kcal per day, while 1 kg of fat burns only 2 to 4 kcal. This may seem small, but across your whole body and over the long term, the difference is huge.

When losing weight, the goal is to lose fat mass, not muscle mass. However, this often happens with crash diets or extreme calorie restriction, leading to muscle loss. The result? Less muscle mass means a lower resting metabolism and a greater chance of regaining weight later.

Maintaining muscle mass during fat burning = essential

More muscle = higher REE = more fat burned at rest.

Thermogenesis: how your body uses heat to burn fat

Your body uses energy not only to move or maintain your muscles, but also to keep your body temperature stable. This process is called thermogenesis; literally “heat production.” And that heat production burns calories.

Every time your body actively has to generate heat, for example when you’re cold or eating spicy food, your energy expenditure automatically goes up, even without moving. This makes thermogenesis a fascinating tool for fat burning.

There are different forms of thermogenesis:

1. Cold

Cold exposure activates brown fat tissue, which burns energy to generate heat, increasing your energy use at rest

2. Food

Digesting and processing food costs energy. This is known as the thermic effect of food. Protein requires the most energy here.

3. Natural boosters

Certain substances like caffeine, ginger, green tea, and chili pepper stimulate the body to produce extra heat, increasing energy expenditure.

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Fat burning is much more than just losing weight

Fat burning isn’t just about seeing a lower number on the scale. It’s a complex physiological process closely linked to your metabolic health. When the body breaks down fat, especially visceral (abdominal) fat, positive effects occur in various systems.

Reducing excess fat mass improves insulin sensitivity, lowers low-grade inflammation, and supports a healthy hormonal balance. Fat tissue also affects the gut barrier, fat metabolism, and even neurological processes, as it actively produces hormones and signaling molecules (such as leptin, resistin, and cytokines).

So you’re not just losing “weight”, you’re reducing metabolic load and improving your body’s physiological resilience. Approaching fat burning the right way is therefore not a cosmetic goal, but a strategic step toward lasting health.

How to support this process from within?

Burning fat without losing muscle requires a holistic approach:

Healthy nutrition

  • Focus on protein-rich meals to maintain muscle mass
  • Limit fast, added sugars and refined carbohydrates that promote fat storage
  • Include healthy fats and fiber for satiety and hormonal balance

Sufficient movement

  • Combine strength training (muscle building) with fasted cardio (fat burning).
  • Avoid overly long or intense cardio sessions that can promote muscle breakdown; high-intensity training can also cause muscle loss if calorie or protein intake is insufficient.

Adequate sleep and recovery

  • At least 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night.
  • Stress management (chronic stress → cortisol → fat storage).

All those metabolism terms: what’s the difference?

Let’s take a moment to look at the difference between commonly used terms like BMR, REE, NEAT, TDEE… They all relate to how much energy (or how many calories) your body burns in a day. But what’s what? Here’s a clear overview:

  • BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate): The number of calories your body burns in complete rest, just to keep functioning (breathing, heartbeat, cell renewal).
  • REE (Resting Energy Expenditure): Very similar to BMR, but measured less strictly, you don’t have to be fasting, for example.
  • NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis): All movement that isn’t exercise; walking to the kitchen, climbing the stairs, walking your dog.
  • EAT (Exercise Activity Thermogenesis): Calories burned during actual workouts or sports.
  • TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure): Your total daily burn (BMR/REE + NEAT + EAT + thermic effect of food).
  • AMR (Active Metabolic Rate): Often used as another term for TDEE.

In short: your resting burn is the base (BMR or REE), your daily movement makes the difference (NEAT and EAT), and together they form your total burn (TDEE/AMR).

Ready to activate your metabolism? Discover Metabolic Burn REE

Metabolic Burn REE was specially developed for anyone who wants to sustainably boost their resting metabolism.

The formula combines carefully selected ingredients that work together to:

  • stimulate fat burning
  • improve energy production in your cells
  • protect your muscles.

How does it work?

  • L-carnitine supports the transport of fat to your cells’ powerhouses, so fat is converted into energy rather than stored.
  • Nextida™ helps further activate your metabolism by stimulating thermogenesis: the process where your body burns calories to produce heat, even at rest.
  • Chromium contributes to the normal metabolism of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, ensuring your energy balance functions optimally.
  • SOD (Superoxide Dismutase) supports your body during this process by reducing oxidative stress and promoting recovery.

The result: your body is helped to use its fat reserves naturally and smartly, without touching your valuable muscle mass.

Insentials supplements increase metabolism

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Sources:

¹National Academies Press (US). (2023, 17 januari). Factors Affecting Energy Expenditure and Requirements. Dietary Reference Intakes For Energy - NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK591031/ 

²Ostrowska, J., & Szostak-Węgierek, D. (2025). The Influence of Lifestyle Factors on Resting Energy Expenditure and Its Role in Cardiometabolic Risk: A Cross-Sectional Study. Nutrients, 17(6), 1044. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17061044 

³Wang, Z., Ying, Z., Bosy-Westphal, A., Zhang, J., Schautz, B., Later, W., Heymsfield, S. B., & Müller, M. J. (2010). Specific metabolic rates of major organs and tissues across adulthood: evaluation by mechanistic model of resting energy expenditure. American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition, 92(6), 1369–1377. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.2010.29885

⁵An, S., Cho, S., & Yoon, J. C. (2023). Adipose Tissue and Metabolic Health. Diabetes & Metabolism Journal, 47(5), 595–611. https://doi.org/10.4093/dmj.2023.0011 

⁶Talenezhad, N., Mohammadi, M., Ramezani-Jolfaie, N., Mozaffari-Khosravi, H., & Salehi-Abargouei, A. (2020). Effects of l-carnitine supplementation on weight loss and body composition: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 37 randomized controlled clinical trials with dose-response analysis. Clinical Nutrition ESPEN, 37, 9–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnesp.2020.03.008 

⁷Office of Dietary Supplements - Chromium. (z.d.-b). https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Chromium-HealthProfessional/ 

⁸Therapeutic potentials of superoxide dismutase. (2018, 1 juni). PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29896077/