Have you ever experienced a sluggish metabolism or generally have trouble losing weight (and keeping it)? Official stats say that around 60% of people in the Western world have a sluggish metabolism--and we all know what that equals to weight gain/obesity, digestive problems, and even diabetes.

If you want to restart your metabolism and make it function at its peak, here are some tips that will help:

Add Some Weight Training In Your Routine. Weight training, even though it may appear to be as a mere strength exercise regime, is according to fitness experts a great way to restart your metabolism. A new study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention though has found that only 19% of women who exercise weight train more than two times a week. However, as we age and keep on losing muscle while we tend to gain more fat, regular weight-training is essential for boosting our metabolism and keep body fat at bay.

Avoid Strict Diets & Fasting. A common mistake that females tend to do more than males, is following too restricting diets and fasting periods, in an effort to lose weight fast. However, skipping meals and avoiding certain foods does more harm than good. When your body is deprived of energy and nutrients as a result of a restricted diet or fast, it switches into a starvation mode and your metabolic speed simply drops. And when that happens, your body will “eat” energy from your muscles instead of your body fat, which is the opposite of what you want to achieve.

Go For Detoxing Drinks. Detoxing on a regular or semi-regular basis is a great way to rejuvenate and restart your metabolism. All these accumulated toxins slow down your metabolic rates and prevent your metabolism from breaking down all the stuff that is bad for us. Next time you reach for a fizzy drink or fruit juice with added sugar, stop and go for something natural and detoxing instead. Take some hot lemon water or our exclusive detoxing herbal tea blend with your breakfast, to kickstart your metabolism and keep it optimal throughout the day.

Ditch Alcohol and Sugar. The biggest two enemies of an optimal and fast metabolism are without doubt alcohol and sugar. Excessive alcohol intake according to studies, forces your system aim to get rid of it and prioritize its metabolism over actually getting rid of stored body fat. A little wine on weekly basis doesn’t hurt but having over 6 alcoholic beverages once or twice a week will have that damaging effect. Your metabolism simply won’t be able to process alcohol and get rid of fat at the same time. And if you are consuming large amounts of sugar every day, your body will raise its natural insulin levels and all the energy from the sugars and carbs you take will be stored as topical fat.

Get Enough Sleep. Our system functions, including metabolism, need adequate sleep to restart and function optimally throughout the day. Research shows that around 30% of adults in Western countries sleep only 5-6 hours every night, which is quite unfortunate. Lack of sleep, in particular, disturbs your system’s ability to metabolize food adequately throughout the day and clearly enough, leads to faster weight gain instead of weight loss. Thus, if you find that despite exercising and dieting, you still can’t lose weight, perhaps your poor sleep patterns are to blame.