Drink enough water: Your body needs fluids to perform all of the functions it needs to. And when it’s not performing those functions as well, it’s not burning as many calories. Something else to keep in mind: A lot of the calorie burn from drinking water comes from your body working to bring cold water to 98.6° — so drinking hot water with lemon or hot tea all the time won’t be as good at boosting your metabolism as cold water will.

 

Snacking at midnight: There’s a lot of emphasis on how important it is to eat regularly so as not to slow your metabolism down, but there’s also research that suggests going several hours without eating could be better for you, metabolically speaking. You’re hurting your metabolism if you’re having a midnight snack and a breakfast before your workout at 7 a.m.

 

Not sleeping enough: People who are sleep-deprived on a regular basis tend to weigh more than those who get a good night’s rest most nights. Why? Research shows it can throw the hormones that control appetite out of whack, making you hungrier and causing you to eat more. Experts recommend at least seven-hour sleep a night.

 

Constant stress: It’s not just unpleasant to be anxiety-ridden — it’s also bad for your metabolism: Cortisol’s a big stress hormone, and when that’s activated, your body’s more likely to be in fat-storage mode.