How many times, on average, have you opened your fridge and stared into it on any given day during COVID-19 lockdowns? Three? Five? Fifteen?

One year on, we're still spending most of our time at home, and often inactively, finding ourselves on our couch or bed with snacks in hand due to boredom. As terrible as these habits are, they are hard to break. This "new lifestyle" not only causes your clothes to fit a little snugger, but it could also gradually slow down your metabolism. Although it is wrong to immediately blame weight gain on a slow metabolism, an unhealthy diet and getting insufficient physical activity could contribute to metabolic slowdown.

If you have found yourself gaining weight unhealthily and seem to be having difficulty losing it, it may be time for some lifestyle changes.

Metabolism, explained

So what part does your metabolism play in weight loss?

Metabolism is the process in which your body converts the foods and drinks you consume into energy to use to maintain bodily functions. Like a furnace, your body burns the calories, combined with oxygen, to heat or power up all of its systems.

And the number of calories your body needs to carry out basic functions such as breathing, growing or preparing cells and circulating blood, which continues even at rest, constitutes your basal metabolic rate. This is what most people would call metabolism, and it varies according to the individual. Your age, sex and body size are the main determinants of this number. For example, if you are a larger male, you require more calories to keep everything running, and therefore have a higher basal metabolic rate.

Your body composition can also play a role in this. Nutrition and Dietary Specialist Nur Ecem Baydı Ozman says that the higher the proportion of muscle tissue in your body compared to fat, the higher your metabolic rate will be.

As fat increases in the body, due to, say, inactivity and unhealthy eating habits or with age, the ratio of muscle in your body will decrease accordingly, resulting in your metabolic rate slowing down. "As a result, weight gain or difficulty in losing weight becomes inevitable," she says. Hormones can also dictate your metabolism.

Other than this, there are two other factors that determine how many calories you are able to burn each day. One of them is thermogenesis, or to put simply, the energy your body uses to digest, transport and absorb the foods and nutrients you consume. This equates to about 10% of your food intake. The second, meanwhile, is the calories your body uses during any physical movement or activity (household chores and fidgeting included) as well as exercise.

What does a fast or slow metabolism mean?

A person with a slow (or low) metabolism burns fewer calories both at rest and during activity, while a person with a fast (or high) metabolism burns more calories to support these functions. A fast metabolism will need more calories to maintain weight, while a slower metabolism could gain weight quicker if more calories are consumed as it needs less fuel (meaning calories) to run on.

Are there any ways you can get on the right track and perhaps give your metabolism a good headstart? Ozman shared eight tricks to accelerate your metabolism.