1. Get enough sleep. How much depends on the individual but if you are exhausted you body is less able to burn calories effectively so your metabolism is lowered. Being low on sleep also leads to other problems such as lack of motivation to do the walking or other exercise already mentioned.

2. Start the day with the right breakfast, it kick-starts your metabolism for the day. High fibre carbohydrates are great as they take longer to digest and prevent you feeling hungry for longer. Evidence suggests getting a large part of your calorie intake early in the day can help to tune your metabolisms to work efficiently.

3. Cardio exercise not only burns extra calories while you are working out but also raises your metabolism for a few hours afterwards. Getting exercise early raises metabolism well into the day. This point is still debated but most agree that exercise at night is definitely not good as it hinders good sleep (See above!).

4. Weight training helps to build muscle tissue which needs to burn calories even while at rest. It makes sense then to build up your muscle mass. Ever noticed how the more muscular people sometimes seem to be able to eat anything they please without gaining weight? Now you know.

5. Eating small regular meals helps to raise metabolism as your body needs to work on their digestion. Skipping meals on the other hand can actually reduce your metabolic rate. There have been many studies which show the body goes into survival mode and it actually slows down your metabolism in order to conserve energy.

6. Protein consumes more calories during digestion than carbs so make lean protein a good share of your intake. It can also keep you feeling more satisfied for longer. Eating fibre rich carbs burns more calories in digestion than low fibre ones so try to steer towards grains, fruit and vegetables as your preferred carbs.

7. Staying hydrated helps your body to work efficiently and it helps to flush out toxins too. There is also an added benefit in so much as water is a natural appetite suppressant. Don’t mistake hunger for thirst!

8. Try drinking green tea, there is a lot of evidence it raises metabolism and helps us burn calories efficiently in addition to its anti heart disease properties. Many also swear by acai berry to help with raising metabolism and losing weight. Acai comes as a juice or in capsules as well as in berry form.

9. Spicing up your food with hot chili peppers also seems to help speed up metabolism so try to include those in your diet too. Studies have shown that the capsaicin found in chilli peppers gives a temporary boost to our metabolisms, small but enough to make a difference over time.

10. Try to stay warm, increasing your body temperature raises your metabolic rate though perhaps somewhat puzzlingly we also tend to use up more calories when we are cold as we burn more to stay warm. Still, being warm beats being cold!

11. Free Bonus Tip: Stress interferes with your ability to burn calories efficiently so avoid it like the plague. Any stress combating activities are good even going for a walk. Besides long term stress can lead to all sorts of other health problems including weight gain.

OK so we lied about the 10 part, its actually 11, treat it as free bonus

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