Metabolism is the rate at which our body burns the calories of energy. The speed of metabolism varies from person to person and depends on variety of factors, including age, gender, body fat, muscle mass, activity levels, and genetics.

We do not have any control over the genetic aspects of our metabolism, but there are some other ways to help speed up the rate at which the body processes calories.

Here are a few ways in which we can boost our metabolism.

Eat at regular times

The body readily responds to regularity that is why eating at consistent times every day will help maintain metabolic balance.

If a person binges on food for few days and then stops eating for long periods, the body may burn calories more slowly and draw energy from the stored fat cells.

When a person eats at regular times, it reduces the tendency to minimize metabolic speed and depend on fat cells.

A person ideally needs to eat several small meals or snacks 3 or 4 hours apart to maintain proper metabolism.

Maintain right calorie intake

People have a tendency to skip meals to lose weight. This can have a negative impact on metabolic rate and similarly, eating meals that are not filling can also have the same effect.

When you eat too few calories it causes the metabolism to slow down so the body can conserve its energy.

Women need between 1600 – 2400 calories and men between 2000 – 3000 calories per day, depending on their physical activity levels.

Drink green tea

Some research sources indicate that green tea extract plays a role in promoting fat metabolism. Green tea is any day a better alternative to sugary beverages and helps ensure that a person is well hydrated during the day.

Though the metabolic benefits of green tea are not yet clear, anywhere between 1-2 full cups a day can be a healthy addition to the diet.

Do resistance training

Regular exercise is one way of boosting metabolism and especially resistance training that builds muscle may increase metabolism.

This is because muscle mass has a higher metabolic rate than fat storage, which indicates that muscle mass uses more energy to preserve itself.

Drink enough of water

Staying hydrated helps the body to function at its optimum. That is why drinking water regularly and the right quantity is best for metabolism. It also helps in losing weight.

Try and Reduce stress

Our hormone levels are influenced by the amount of stress we have, and it can cause the body to produce more cortisol than usual. Cortisol hormones help regulate appetitie, so it causes eating disorders. This also disturbs metabolism.

Get good sleep

When you have too little sleep daily, then the body responds by releasing certain hormones that can make you feel hungry and it also can release leptin that makes you feel full. All these can upset the metabolism. So quality sleep for 7-8 hours is medically recommended for better metabolism.