Many people go on a dieting or a weight loss spree without really understanding what is causing them to put on weight. At times you may be eating all the right foods and doing your regular exercise, but despite this you may find the pounds creeping up and the inches creeping in and before you realise it, you are a little plumper that you used to be.

Weight gain often is a result of a sluggish metabolism. So the secret to easy weight loss then is to kick start your metabolism, or in other words increase the rate at which you body burns energy. There are many methods to use, and each one promises to do the job. You’ve got to see which one will work for you. But first you need to understand what metabolism means. Metabolism is the process in which the body breaks down food to obtain energy and utilize this energy to sustain the natural biological processes of the body and the activities that you do in your daily life.

Age, gender, lifestyle, eating habits or diet, body type/size and composition are some of the factors that govern our metabolism.

The biological factor:

Biologically, men have a higher metabolic rate as compared to women as they have more muscle, a body that has more muscle than fat has a higher metabolic rate, as muscle burns up energy faster. Age is another factor influencing metabolism. Metabolism tends to drop as age advances. Food habits play a vital role in your body’s metabolism, as does lifestyle. Sedentary people have a lower metabolic rate as compared to athletes or people who carry out hard physical labor. If you are ill, or have been prescribed long term medication- that also will affect your metabolic rate.

Let’s see how we can change some factors in order to acquire the metabolism we need. Most people will want to step up their metabolism.

Diets, eating habits and lifestyle:

Age and gender are two factors that we cannot alter, so we leave those and alter the ones we can. We can most certainly alter our lifestyles, so let us look at food and eating habits and the energy we need. Our source of energy is the food we eat. Our body needs some energy for itself, to keep itself alive and healthy, to keep the heart beating, the blood flowing, respiration going, digest food eaten, build and repair body tissues, eliminate toxins and waste material, maintain ideal body temperature etc. other than this, we need energy to go about our daily lives such as moving, walking, eating, speaking, using a computer, driving a car, or whatever it is that we do in our daily lives.

Different types of foods have different kinds of nutrients. The way the body processes these foods is also different. Most importantly, the amount of energy the body needs to process these foods also varies. For example, sugar is most easily absorbed in the body so it does not spend too much energy digesting sugar. On the other hand, the body needs more energy to digest leafy vegetables, raw salads and fruit.

We gain weight when we do not spend as many calories as we have consumed. So we need our bodies to work hard in order to burn up those extra calories.

One simple way to do this is to eat foods that have fewer calories; but need more energy to be digested by the by the body. That means the body has to utilize its stored energy to digest this food. Which means it will mobilize the fats, because the body stores energy in the form of fats and that is what we want to lose!

Eat foods that have high fiber content. Fiber fills you up, but doesn’t have the calories. Eat lots of green leafy vegetables and fruits like melons, cantaloupes, citrus fruits, pineapples, etc.

Change eating habits:

Another trick that works is to eat small snacks /portions at frequent intervals. Maybe after every 3 hours. This works because you don’t really wait to get so hungry that your over eat at meals, also by reducing the amount you eat at every meal, will over a period of time reduce the capacity your stomach can take in at one time, so you start feeling full faster by eating lesser amounts of food.

As a habit, eat a bowl-full of salad before you eat anything else. Eat a fruit at breakfast time and instead of snacks. Never ever go hungry, because when you go hungry, the body senses a lack and will drop down its metabolism in order to conserve energy. (In my opinion, just looking at pictures of fresh green salads and fruits will attract those foods into your diet over time.)

Exercise in any form is another way to boost your metabolism. There are many options to choose from, walk, run, jog, cycle, aerobics, yoga, dance, play a game like football, basketball, tennis, squash, swim. Take your pick; include exercise in your daily routine. If you feel exercise is too much, then take the stairs instead of the elevator, wash your car, do the laundry, mow the lawn, lose the remote control to the television. There is no way to escape exercise. You have to become and remain physically active. Not crazily so, even walking about 30 minutes a day should do the trick.

Sip hot water, drink herbal or green tea. Reduce consumption of alcohol, fried and sweet food. Drink plenty of water. Get enough sleep.

Emotional factor:

Another factor not to be overlooked is the emotional cause of weight gain or sluggish metabolism. Many a time people feel stuck or sluggish  or go on binge eating because they are depressed, or sad or stuck in some low energy patterns. You have to treat the emotional and mental cause too in order to start feeling fresh and energetic. You might want to take up meditation, writing healthy positive affirmations or some other means to boost your mood.

Important note- leaner people may weigh more than fatter people, because muscle weighs more than fat. So do not go by what the scale tells you, go by the look you wish to achieve.