9. Get active

Aerobic exercise for more than thirty minutes not only burns calories but also keeps your metabolism high for several hours afterwards. The best time for exercise is in the morning as it will help kick start your metabolism for the day. If you can do 30 to 60 minutes of aerobic exercise almost every day your metabolism will soar. Interval training would help even more.

10. Walk it off

If you prefer to take light exercise, try going for a walk after lunch or dinner. This boosts the rise in metabolism you get after eating. No strenuous exercising on a full stomach though.

11. Build those muscles

Muscles burn calories even when you're resting. For every pound of muscle you add, you burn about 50 extra calories a day without taking any more exercise. So it's a great idea to include some resistance or weight training in your exercise regime. Twenty minutes three times a week is enough to make a big difference in your metabolic rate as well as the shape of your body.

12. Go hot or cold

Any extremes of temperature you experience will help raise your metabolism by up to 20 percent as the body attempts to cool you down or raise your temperature. Make sure it's safe for you to go in the sauna or on the arctic expedition though before you try this one. You could have a go at keeping your home a few degrees cooler than is comfortable for sitting around in winter and restrict the air conditioning to the very hottest days in summer. In the winter it will help you get up and get moving and in summer encourage you to go to the pool to cool off!

13. Drink Iced Water

Another trick is to drink a glass of iced water a few times a day. You'll raise your metabolism just by having to bring the water up to body temperature. Drinking water is required anyway, of course, to keep your bodily functions working smoothly (including your metabolism).

14. Watch the alcohol

On top of the empty calories that alcohol contains, it also has a dehydrating effect, which slows down your thermic metabolism. Alcohol tends to inhibit the process of metabolizing fat too, which can lower your basal metabolism. And there's not much chance of you wanting to exercise after all that booze so it'll have an effect on your activity metabolism too. Bad news all round!

15. Take up yoga

The chemical processes which comprise your metabolism are regulated by the endocrine system, especially the thyroid. Yoga has many postures which have a powerful twisting and compressing effect on the endocrine organs, strengthening and stimulating them and this can help to regulate and boost your metabolism. If you boost your metabolism with these tips, you'll be improving your general health as well as your capacity to burn calories. You'll not only find that you lose weight more quickly but also that you will have more energy, greater strength and you'll be able to get through everything you have to do in a day more easily.

Copyright 2005, Janice Elizabeth Small
About the Author

Janice Elizabeth is a weight loss coach and author of "The Diet Exit Plan". Request her FREE 15 page report "How to lose weight without dieting - 7 secrets the diet industry doesn't want you to know" at http://www.SimplySlimming.com TODAY!