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Or maybe youve hit your 40s and are now struggling to keep your waistline in check (when in the past you could eat what you wanted without gaining a pound).
Both are common problems and the natural response for many is to blame it on a slow metabolism.
Its common for people to think there must be something wrong with their metabolism if theyre struggling with their weight, says dietitian Juliette Kellow.
But while everyones metabolic rate the speed at which we burn calories varies and does start to drop as we get older, its important not to fall into the trap of automatically thinking its the main reason for piling on the pounds or battling to stay slim.
Dr Thomas Barber, an obesity expert and associate professor in clinical endocrinology at the University of Warwick, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, agrees.
Only a small minority of obese patients have an underlying condition contributing to a slow metabolism, he says.
So the majority of us have no excuse to blame our excess weight on a slow metabolism but that doesnt mean there arent things we can do to give it a boost. Heres how:
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In theory, every time we eat we enhance our metabolism. Everyones metabolism goes up for two to three hours after any meal because of the extra metabolic processes required to digest food and absorb its nutrients, explains Dr Barber.
The key to keeping your metabolism fired up is to space meals out
Juliette Kellow, dietitian
Its one of the many reasons experts recommend eating regularly and not skipping meals. Going for long amounts of time without eating means your body thinks its about to be faced with a famine, so your metabolism slows down in preparation for this, adds Juliette.
The key to keeping your metabolism fired up is to space meals out regularly throughout the day, so you benefit from the calories burned through digesting and absorbing meals.
Thats not to say you should constantly graze. Relentless munching and mindless eating can mean a stack of calories far more than even a stoked metabolism can burn off, with the result that the weight piles on.
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Certain foods, such as chillies, are associated with a heightened thermogenic effect (the amount of calories needed to process the food weve eaten), explains Dr Barber.
Other foods, including ginger, pepper, grapefruit, coffee and green tea, have also been linked to speeding up our metabolism. However its unlikely eating these foods alone will affect weight.
Positive findings are usually too insignificant to conclude eating X or Y food will burn more calories, Dr Barber confirms.
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So enjoy them as part of a healthy, balanced diet but remember that eating them in excess wont help you lose weight.
Include protein-rich foods lean meat, fish, poultry, eggs, tofu and Quorn, for example at each meal.
Studies show protein-rich foods cause a 20-30 per cent rise in metabolic rate compared with just a 5-10 per cent increase for carbs and less than three per cent for fat.
One study found a high-protein, low-fat diet produced double the fat burning effects of a high-carb, low-fat diet.
A study published this February compared a group of people eating wholegrains with a group who ate refined white grains.
After six weeks, the researchers found those in the wholegrain group passed more stools with a higher calorie content and had a slightly higher BMR (basal metabolic rate) than those in the refined white grains group.
After adjusting for other factors, the average daily loss for the wholegrain group was 92 calories a day.
More studies are needed to confirm these findings and identify whether this is an effective way to boost our BMR.
But we already know wholegrains provide good amounts of fibre (we should aim for 30g a day) and are associated with a number of other health benefits, including a reduced risk of bowel cancer.
So choose brown rice or pasta, wholemeal bread, wholegrain cereals and oats if they boost our metabolism, even better.
It may not be what we eat but how we eat it that has an impact on how many calories we burn.
In one study, adults who ate a meal over 10 minutes burned 30 calories.
When they ate the identical meal on a separate day over 40 minutes they burned 81 calories. Slowing down also gives the brain the time it needs to receive the Im full message from the stomach and helps to keep us fuller for longer, which reduces the amount we eat.
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How to lose weight without going to the gym
Eat each meal slowly and give it your full attention that means no television, smartphones, computer screens or other distractions.
Take your time chewing and put your cutlery down between mouthfuls.
Crash dieting and extreme calorie reductions slow metabolism as our body thinks food is in short supply and so responds by conserving energy exactly the opposite to what we want to achieve when were trying to lose weight.
In times of starvation (which is effectively what happens with a crash diet), the body starts to break down muscle as well as fat to provide it with the calories it needs to function.
This is bad news for our metabolism because the less muscle we have, the slower our metabolic rate and the fewer calories we burn.
Then, when we go back to eating normally, a slower metabolism means we dont need as many calories as before, so we pile weight on more quickly.
Instead, follow a healthy eating plan which reduces calories slightly and exercise regularly to burn calories and strengthen muscle.
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The benefits of exercise are two-fold. First, aerobic activities such as running, cycling and brisk walking increase the amount of calories we burn.
Plus, aerobic exercise can lead to the afterburn effect, where the body continues to burn calories faster for many hours.
Strength training also helps to build lean muscle. Muscular activity is a very good way of burning calories and enhancing metabolic rate, says Dr Barber.
The more muscle we have, the higher our BMR. Exercising regularly is even more important as we age.
By the time we are in our 30s, our body starts to lose muscle and the more inactive we are, the faster this happens.
The full version of this article appears in the May edition of Healthy Food Guide.
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How to boost your metabolism: Burn more calories with these simple tricks - Express.co.uk
