#302 How to Improve Your Metabolism for Better Health, Energy & Weight Loss with Dr Adam Collins
18th Jun 2025
Have you ever wondered if some people simply have a fast metabolism?
You know the kind of people that seem to be able to eat anything and still maintain a healthy weight? Does your metabolism slow as you age? What about the effect of the menopause? And are intermittent fasting and certain supplements evidence based ways to speed up your metabolism?
These are the questions I put to Dr Adam Collins, researcher at University of Surrey where I completed my Nutritional Medicine Masters. Dr Collins is a well-known expert in metabolism and nutrition science. He's done a lot of research on energy expenditure, intermittent fasting, and how different diets affect metabolism.
Topics we cover include …
🔬 What is metabolism?
🐢 Can you actually have a “slow” metabolism?
📉 Metabolism and aging
❄️ Cold exposure for metabolism
😰 Stress and metabolic dysfunction
🔁 What is metabolic flexibility?
❤️ Why it matters (beyond weight)
⚡ Carbs vs fat—who fuels what?
🧠 How to boost metabolic flexibility
Episode guests
Dr Adam Collins is a leading authority in the field of nutrition and metabolism, with over 25 years of experience in higher education and research. He holds a BSc, MSc, and PhD in Nutrition and Metabolism, and currently serves as Associate Professor of Nutrition at the University of Surrey. In addition to his academic role, he directs both the BSc Nutrition and MSc Human Nutrition programmes—having launched the latter in 2014—and has educated and inspired more than 4,000 students throughout his career.
Adam’s research focuses on some of today’s most talked-about health topics, including body composition, energy balance, intermittent fasting, meal timing, and exercise nutrition. He supervises PhD students working on cutting-edge research in areas such as carbohydrate manipulation, weight loss modelling, and the science behind fasting.
A Registered Nutritionist for over two decades, Adam also runs his own private consultancy, nutriffic, offering personalised nutrition counselling as well as strategic advice to start-ups, health brands, and corporate wellness initiatives. He currently serves as Head of Nutrition for the innovative supplement company Form Nutrition.
Adam is deeply involved in shaping the future of the profession. Now a twice elected Trustee of the Association for Nutrition—the UK's professional body for nutritionists—and is Deputy Chair of the accreditation committee that sets and upholds national standards for nutrition degree programmes.
Widely published in peer-reviewed journals and a regular speaker at international conferences, Adam also co-edited Sports and Exercise Nutrition, a flagship textbook from The Nutrition Society (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011). He is a trusted expert for the media, offering commentary on everything from intermittent fasting to performance nutrition. His insights have been featured in national outlets, including The Conversation, and on television, helping the public make sense of complex topics related to metabolism and health.
