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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Increasing your muscle mass is an effective way to approach increasing meatbolism as mucle burns calories even while at rest, whereas fat does not. Muscle needs those calories you intake which is why muscular people sometimes seem to be able to eat just about anything without gaining weight. Your basal metabolic rate drops a little with age but building muscle will help to combat the infamous middle age spread.

Other factors, particularly stress also come into play. Studies have shown that people who suffer stress can sometimes also lose efficiency in their metabolism so stress busting activities like yoga and aerobic exercise can be vital to these folk in more ways than one. Happily regular exercise of course also has its direct effect on weight loss.

Tips for raising your basal metabolic rate:

Eat your breakfast! Starting the day with a meal wakes up your metabolism, high fibre carbs are best as they take longer to digest so stop you feeling hungry for longer.

Increase your body temperature, your metabolic rate rises significantly with body temperature though perhaps confusingly we also tend to use up more calories if we are a little cold!

Reduce stress, it interferes with your ability to effectively burn calories. Any stress busting activities are good, walking or yoga for example. Long term stress can cause weight gain and lead to various other health problems.

Weight training can help you build muscle tissue which needs to burn calories even at rest.

Eat small regular meals, regular eating helps to raise metabolism as your body needs to work on digestion. Skipping meals on the other hand can actually reduce your metabolic rate as the body thinks it needs to survive a food shortage. Protein consumes more calories in digestion than other foods so make lean protein like chicken or fish a healthy  share of your intake.

Spice up your food, several studies have shown that capsaicin found in chilli peppers gives a temporary boost to our metabolisms, enough to make a difference if you make it a habit.

Exercise at morning as there is some evidence that morning exertion raises the metabolic rate 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.

Get enough sleep. If your body is exhausted it is not going to be able to bun calories efficiently 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.

Drink green tea, there is now a lot of evidence it helps to raise metabolism and burn calories. Also many folk swear by the power of acai berry to help with raising metabolism and losing weight. Its available as a juice or in capsule form as well as in berry form.