Metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories. Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the number of calories you would burn if you did nothing all day (or the amount of calories your body needs to maintain itself). I am going to give you some basic tips to keep your metabolism active and ramped up. Firstly, remember that drinking cold water and eating spicy foods will speed up your metabolism a little. To significantly speed up your metabolism, you need to put certain day-to-day habits in place.

Do not skip meals: You should be eating between 4 and 6 small meals a day. Eating regularly keeps your metabolism humming during the day. Starving yourself or severely cutting your calories will only slow your metabolism.

Regular exercise: Aim to do a mixture of cardio and weight training for 3 days a week. Building muscle mass will speed up your metabolism because your body has to work harder to maintain muscle. The more intense the exercise, the more calories you will burn during and after your workout. So, high intensity interval cardio and circuit weight training will produce greater fat burning and calorie burning. Breaking up your workouts also works well to speed up your metabolism (i.e. two, 20 minute workouts instead of one 40 minute workout).

Eat protein with your meals: Your body has to work harder to digest protein. This burns more calories and also helps you eat less during the day. Protein is also critical to repair and build muscle after a tough strength workout.

Eat good carbs like fresh fruits and veggies: Again, your body has to work harder to digest these foods and you feel fuller for a longer period of time. Eating fresh fruits can help you cut out your sweet cravings, as you receive the sweetness of the fructose in the fruit.

Get enough: sleep and stay away from long-term stress. There are two hormones secreted by the stomach which stimulate your brain to tell your body to stop eating. The hormone Leptin tells your brain to stop eating whilst Ghrelin signals to the body to keep eating. Studies have found that people who sleep less have lower leptin levels but higher ghrelin levels, which may link to their increased eating habits!