Whether you decide to follow the latest diet fad or get a Brazilian butt lift, you may find the inability to lose weight frustrating, especially if you follow a strict diet and exercise regimen. An estimated 45 million Americans try dieting each year and spend $33 billion annually on weight loss products, according to the Boston Medical Center.

While going on a diet or purchasing the latest weight-loss products might seem like a quick way to shed pounds, you might not get the results you hoped for if you don't take your metabolism into account. Dieters might count fats, carbs, and calories meticulously, but in order to lose weight successfully, you have to understand your metabolism and what it does for your body.

Metabolism And Weight Loss

Metabolism is known scientifically as all of the chemical reactions that occur within the body, but the term sometimes is used to refer to the essential process of converting ingested food into energy. Metabolism is the process behind responsible all your movements, your thought process, and how you grow. The constant process is inextricably linked with life; once metabolism stops, so will the living organism, says Discovery Health. A two-part process, metabolism is influenced by the way you eat. Anabolism, one part of metabolism, is the process in which energy is created and stored; smaller molecules come together to create bigger molecules, eventually building up to organs and tissues. Catabolism, the second process of metabolism, provides the energy required for cellular activity by breaking down carbohydrates and fats to release the energy, says Kidshealth.org.

As the endocrine system controls the rate and direction of metabolism, what you consume and your level of physical activity will overall influence the speed of your metabolism and how much you weight you gain. The belief that your metabolism is to blame for increased fat is not correct. Eating more calories than you can burn is the primary cause. The best way to control how many calories you burn is through your level of physical activity, according to the Mayo Clinic. What appears to be a faster metabolism in others is more often a more active lifestyle, that leads to weight loss or maintaining a steady weight.

How To Calculate Your Metabolic Weight At Home

To effectively lose weight and speed up your metabolism, you must first know your basal metabolic rate (BMR), commonly known as your metabolic rate. An individual's BMR is the amount of calories the body burns at rest while they are in an awake state of mind, as defined by the American Council on Exercise (ACE).

The use of hand-held devices or a visit to your healthcare practitioner could determine your BMR, but you can easily determine your BMR with the Harris Benedict Equation below:

  • BMR Calculation for Women: 655 + (4.35 × weight in pounds) + (4.7 × height in inches) – (4.7 × age in years)
  • BMR Calculation for Men: 66 + (6.23 × weight in pounds) + (12.7 × height in inches) – (6.76 × age in years)

To skip the math equation, you can also visit Shapeup.org, a website dedicated to raise public awareness on how to maintain a healthy body weight by living an active lifestyle.

Daily Habits That Boost Your Metabolism

Once you understand how your dieting and exercise habits influence the speed of your body's metabolism, along with your metabolic weight, you can practice these seven daily habits to influence the rate of your metabolism for even greater weight loss results.

1. Guzzle A Cold Glass Of H2O

Drinking an ice cold glass of water with greater frequency can boost your metabolism. In a study conducted at the University of Utah, researchers found that drinking eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day can be effective to promote a fast metabolism. The participants of the study were given four, eight or twelve 8-ounce glasses of water a day. On the fifth day before they began their day, they were connected to a machine that would determine how many calories they burned per minute while they were resting, along with monitoring urine concentration and blood indicators to decipher their hydration levels. The results of the study showed those who consumed four glasses of water a day as opposed to eight were significantly more dehydrated and reported lower, or slower metabolic rates. Researchers suggest that eight to twelve 8 ounce glasses of water daily will prompt higher metabolic rates in individuals.

2. Sip A Cup Of Tea

Tea, often used in many diet fads is scientifically proven to boost your metabolism while trimming your waist line. In a study published in the Journal of Medicine Investigation, researchers tested the effects of oolong tea on energy metabolism in 11 healthy Japanese females who either consumed water, oolong tea, or green tea. In comparison to water and green tea, oolong tea increased energy metabolism by 10 percent which increases the overall metabolic rate. The polyphenols — compounds found in tea — are said to be responsible for the enhancement of the females' metabolism.

3. Eat Every Three Hours

The more often you eat, the faster your metabolism will be. However, eating more often does not mean you can consume heavy foods with high calorie intakes in greater frequency. Instead, your calorie intake is divided into three meals a day with two healthy snacks in between your meals. Dr. Oz recommends dieters to eat within an hour of waking up to inhibit the body from going into starvation mode. To keep your metabolism up and running, he suggests to adhere to the schedule below:

  • 6-8 a.m.: Breakfast
  • 10 a.m.: Snack
  • 12-2 p.m.: Lunch
  • 3-5 p.m.: Snack
  • 5-7 p.m.: Dinner
  • Don't eat after 8 p.m.

4. Increase Your Omega-3 Intake

The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil have been shown to increase the speed of your metabolism exponentially. According to a report from the University of Ontario, researchers found the consumption of oily fish with omega-3 can increase the fat-burning enzymes in the body and lower levels of stored fat, says Elle UK. The supplement can help you burn an extra 400 calories a day, or 25 percent of your daily calorie intake.

5. Eat Organic When You Can

Going organic can be costly and leave a dent on your wallet, but it can speed up your metabolism. The antibiotics and growth hormones found in conventionally farmed foods could hamper your immune system and slow down metabolism. The amount of pesticides in non-organic foods can cause a above normal dip in metabolism in dieters who begin to lose weight, says Prevention.com.

6. Exercise To Gain Muscle Weight

Muscle is typically more dense than fat and uses more energy as a result. The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK states that those who have a higher muscle to fat ratio tend to have a higher BMR because of the fact it requires more energy to maintain. For every pound of muscle, the body burns 50 calories to maintain a person's BMR. Exercising to build muscle will help boost your metabolism as you get your body in shape.

7. Get More Zzzs

Late night snacking is clearly not recommended, but staying up late in and of itself directly affects the speed of your metabolism. In a study published in Lancet, researchers studied the effects of chronic sleep debt on metabolic and endocrine functions on 11 young men who were restricted to four hours of sleep a night for six nights. The results of the study showed sleep debt negatively impacts carbohydrate metabolism and endocrine function. Researchers concluded that seven to eight hours of sleep a night for adults will help keep your metabolic rate at a healthy, steady pace.

To try more ways to boost your metabolism, try Dr. Oz's 3-Phase Plan To Fix Your Metabolism For Good.