Ever wondered why your skinny friend remains skinny even after eating a lot of food and you are still struggling to reduce weight even after hitting the gym and dieting for a long time? Well, the game is all about metabolism. Metabolism is a chemical procedure in which the food consumed by living organisms gets converted into the energy required by the body organs to function properly. There are several theories that justify the fluctuations made in the metabolic rates that influence the bodyweight of a person. In this article, you will get to know several interesting facts about metabolism that will help you to understand the concept in detail. Let’s scroll further to know the details. 
Types of Metabolism
Broadly, metabolism is divided into two categories; catabolism and anabolism.
Catabolism is a procedure of releasing energy by breaking down complex particles into smaller ones. Examples of such types of metabolism are breaking down of the starch to form glucose, protein is broken down into amino acids, etc.
Anabolism is a procedure of using the energy produced by smaller complex particles to form a large complex one. It is a process of using or requiring energy. Examples of such types of metabolism are the production of the growth hormones that promote the growth of an individual, the production of testosterone that helps in the development of the male sex characters like heavy voice, facial hair, etc.
1. Muscle Mass
According to the reports of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, more muscle mass in your body means a higher metabolism. It means that if a person has more muscle mass, the ability of the body to burn more calories or to rate of releasing the energy from the food intake increases. This is because each pound of muscle in your body burns more than six calories in a day. To increase the muscle mass in the body, it is important to go for strength training. It is believed that regular strength training for a year can increase the muscle mass of the person by more than five percent. One of the easiest ways to increase your muscle mass is hitting a nearby gym and getting the training under a certified and professional fitness trainer who can guide you well in increasing your muscle mass.
2. Health Conditions
Several medical conditions of the person also influence the metabolic rate. According to the reports of Harvard Medical School, various health conditions like PCOS, thyroid, blood pressure, diabetes, stress, epilepsy, and many more interfere with the metabolic rate of the person and thus affect the ability of a person to lose weight. Taking certain medications also affects the metabolic rate of the person. If your metabolic rate is getting affected by your health conditions, it is important to consult an experienced and certified doctor to find the best solution for this.
3. Age and Gender
The age of a person plays a very important role that affecting the metabolic rate. Young people tend to have more metabolic rate in comparison to mature and old people. This is because, at a young age, the person burns more calories because of the several changes that occur in the body due to the growing age. Once the person matures, the activity level of the person reduces and increased intake of calories results in a declining metabolic rate. Apart from this, the gender of a person also plays a major role that determining the metabolic rate. Men are more likely to have a good metabolic rate in comparison to women whose metabolic rates are affected by the hormonal changes in the body. As women age, menopause occurs that ultimately reducing the hormonal levels of women resulting in low metabolism and more weight.
4. Healthy Lifestyle
A person’s metabolic rate is influenced by several factors but it can be maintained by following a healthy lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle not only means following a good healthy diet and exercising regularly but it also means keeping your mind free from negative and toxic thoughts as stress and depression play a very important role in affecting the metabolic rate of the person. A person should be both mentally and physically fit to live a healthy life.
5. Protein Intake
It is believed that the intake of protein helps a lot in increasing the metabolic rate of a person. Protein helps in muscle building that ultimately helps in the increased metabolic rate of the person. If you fail to eat the protein-rich diet, your body will start consuming the protein from the muscles which are called the protein reservoir of a body and thus affecting the metabolic rate of the person. It is recommended to consume approximately 0.8 gms of protein per kgs of your body weight. You can increase your protein intake by consuming a protein-rich diet that includes eggs, lean meat, fish, chicken, dairy products, peanut butter, cottage cheese, beans, soy, protein shakes, etc.
6. Vitamin D
Vitamin D is one of the most essential vitamins that is required for the proper functioning of the body. The deficiency of an adequate amount of vitamin D in the body results in several health complications like muscles pain, joint pain, fatigue, depression, stress, mood swings, hormonal changes, etc. Such health conditions also affect the overall metabolism of a person. Sunlight is a natural source of vitamin D. Apart from this, a person can overcome vitamin D deficiency by consuming diet products like fish oil, egg yolk, mushrooms, spinach, banana, etc. Certain doctors also recommend taking the vitamin D supplements that are required to be taken once or twice a week as per the level of the deficiency.
7. Sleeping Schedule
Having a good sleeping schedule is really important for a healthy lifestyle. Lack of sleep affects the metabolic rate of the person that ultimately results in weight gain. It is because, when your body is at rest, it tends to burn more calories. So, you must take an adequate amount of sleep so that your metabolism should now get affected. According to several studies, an adult must take sleep for 7 to 9 hours per 24 hours a day.
8. Late Night Cravings
Several people believe that eating late at night tends to increase your weight and affects the metabolic rate of the body. But there is no certain evidence that proves the theory of weight gain due to eating late at night. A person always gains weight due to the intake of excess calories irrespective of the time of the consumption. However, experts recommend not to consume heavy meals at night because it becomes difficult for the body to digest them at night.
9. Speeding up Metabolism
A lot of people believe that consuming certain food items like chillis, coffee, green tea, etc. tends to increase the metabolic rate of a person that helps in exercising more. Consuming such items will only increase the basal metabolism rate of the person for a short period but it won’t be going to help the person to reduce more weight. To eventually reduce weight, it is important to make a significant change in the metabolic rate that doesn’t happen overnight. For this, you have to follow a healthy lifestyle and lift the weights to improve your muscle mass which means less fat in the body and a higher metabolic rate.
10. Eating Habits
Eating habits also play a major role that influencing the metabolism of an individual. Many people believe that eating a healthy breakfast helps to increase the metabolic rate of the body. But this fact is not true. Having a healthy breakfast does affect our eating habits but there is no evidence to show that it changes our metabolic rates. Many researchers also believe that eating a small proportion of the food throughout the day also increases metabolism. Some also believe that it’s all about how many calories you are consuming in a day. While others believe in fasting for a longer duration to increase the metabolism. So, there are several theories regarding eating habits that influence the metabolic rate of a body.