12 'Innocent' Mistakes That Slow Down Your Metabolism and Stop You From Losing Weight

Consumption of alcohol reduces you fat burning process up to 70%.

Missing breakfast is a way of telling your body to conserve energy, which also results in conserving calories and making yourself over eat at lunch. Not good!

Lack of sleep reduces the amount of energy your body consumes when you're at rest—which means you may not be able to get through an intense workout. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep every night for optimum efficiency.

Not all carbs are bad for you—in fact, complex carbs are actually good for your body, and can help you stay fuller for longer, meaning they'll bust cravings and cut chances of over-eating. Some examples of complex carbs include sweet potato, oatmeal or brown rice.

When you try too hard to cut down calories, your system goes into 'starvation mode' and slows down your metabolism in order to keep things going.

Many of us have kicked iodized salt in favour of sea salt, because it tastes better or we've been told it is healthy. However, our bodies need iodine and a lack of this chemical element affects and slows down our metabolic rates.

All of us keep sitting for long hours at work and and all it takes is 20 minutes in any fixed position to inhibit your metabolism, says Carrie Schmitz, an ergonomic research manager.

Sitting in one position and drinking coffee at work is something we all are guilty of doing, even though overdose of caffeine and sugar is no good for someone trying to lose weight, also consuming coffee everyday can cause dehydration in the long run. Opting for green tea over coffee is one way to start promoting weight loss.

All our body's cellular functions depend on water. If you're dehydrated you'll burn lesser calories.

A calcium rich diet helps you burn more fat as it is holds a key role in regulating your metabolic rate. Explain