Adding thermogenic foods to your dinner can speed up your metabolism – here’s what to get

You'll find most of these in your kitchen press.

Let's face it, with the days getting colder and the evenings getting longer there's no escaping the impulse to comfort eat around this time of year. If (like us) you find you're already eating more, you can take a proactive approach to digestive health by adding some of these ingredients to your evening meal. Stomach fat is one of hardest areas to shift which is why we look to the experts for advice on this one. Although there are a number of factors here including weight training, cardio, lowering stress levels and ensuring a balanced diet, you can make small, immediate changes. One of these is kickstarting your metabolism and one expert has shared advice on this particular topic. Elissa el Hadj, the founder of London's FORM Studio, which focuses on personal training and Pilates, spoke to Byrdie about how best to tackle this. She recommends incorporating thermogenic foods into your diet, i.e. cayenne pepper, lean mince, turmeric, ginger and lean proteins. Why? Well, thermogenic foods "contribute to approximately ten percent of your daily calorie burning capability by simply speeding up the metabolism". In a nutshell, this describes how much of an impact these foods can have on the rate of your metabolism. These foods raise the body's temperature and the body needs to use energy or calories in order to get warmer. A simple change that we can manage easily, now that's more like it.