Metabolism plays a very important role in fat burning and weight loss. It is also a very difficult process to measure accurately as there are so many factors which can affect its mechanism. However, there are few common factors which can be modified to positively increase your metabolism.

1. Timely Meals

When your meal timings are inconsistent, body gets a confusing signal and it goes into a mode where it conserves food by reducing your rate of metabolism.So, try to eat your meals every day at a regular time and intervals.

2. Sleep

Lack of proper sleep disrupts your hormonal balance which leaves you with a feeling of hunger and craving for starchy and fatty food. As allbodies has its own requirement of sleep, it is necessary to find out your own pattern and hours of sleep. Again, it all depends on various factors such as nature of your work, exercise, stress etc. Normally when you get enough sleep, you tend to wake up with less gorgy feeling, and fresher and awake.

3. Rigid Diets

If you follow a rigid or strict diet regimen, your body automatically goes into starvation mode which acts like putting brakes on your metabolism. It is an evolutionary way of keeping you alive. When dieting, take care to incorporate a balanced diet which includes all the macro (Protein, Carbohydrates and Fats) and Micro (Vitamins & Minerals) nutrients. This will help to stabilize and sustain your metabolism.

4. Strength Training

There is a common misconception that doing cardio exercise is enough to raise your metabolism. Strength exercises which helps in building muscle mass play an active role in increasing your metabolism. Strength training creates resistance which then creates micro tears in the muscle tissues. As the body engages in the repair and building of these tissues, higher calories are required.

5. Sedentary Workstyle

You might spend an hour exercising, however if your work style is basically sedentary such as sitting, it might not help to take added advantage of your daily exercise regimen. To overcome this, you need to move around for couple of minutes every hour so which helps to raise your metabolism.

6. What you Drink

All your cellular functions in your body needs water. If your body is not hydrated, it would lead to slower body functions and fewer calories are burnt.Drink at least 2 liters of water a day; and more during hot and humid weather when you sweat more. When you consume too much alcohol, it slows down your metabolism as its work then involves breaking down the alcohol rather than burning fat.

7. Calcium

Calcium not only builds strong bones but also plays a key role in fat metabolism. Studies has shown that women who consumed calcium rich diets gained more muscle mass and lost more fat than those who had diets poor in calcium.

8. Stress

We’ve saved the best for last. Stress is probably the number-one factor impacting metabolism. Stress increases the production of cortisol, a hormone that causes comfort food craving and increases appetite.It also slows our digestion and affect the quality of sleep which then slows the metabolism.