Many people want to make big changes in the level of their metabolism. If your metabolism runs high you can burn fat and lose substantial weight with out a lot of extra activity or at least faster. The definition of metabolism is the level with which a persons body will make and then consume calories that are needed for life.

Lots of things will affect a persons level of metabolism and it can change at different times depending on the frequency one eats, his or her genetics, the volume of muscle mass, stress and activity. Things that make a persons metabolism slow down can be the loss of muscle mass because of the lack of activity. When that happens the body tends to consume its own muscle because there is a lack of energy from food to get along and finally the metabolism slows down because with advanced age physical activity normally declines.

Here are a few ways that metabolism is increased:

1. A lean body mass will increase metabolism. It is certainly possible to delay the decline in metabolism as you grow older even though the decline is natural. Muscle volume is a determinant of metabolism that will take away fat or calories. There is no way around it that exercise is important. Weight training at least a couple of times a week will build muscle and strength and you can fill in the gaps between workouts with lighter easier exercises. Even things like taking the dog for walks and avoiding the elevator and taking the stairs can serve over time to help increase metabolism and in turn burn calories. An important factor is to match ones eating with ones activity. Some important suggestions for getting the right quality and quantity of exercise follow.

If your goal is strength training use these

- add repetitions to a certain exercise (go from 5 reps to 10 reps)

- Increase the amount of resistance (More weight, stronger bands, etc)

- Seek out new proven exercise techniques when appropriate (new equipment can help)

To train for cardiovascular fitness

- space the exercises with little breaks

- combine different exercises and do a sort of cross training circuit

- increase speed and resistance in the exercises

2. Eat the first meal of the day, breakfast. Many people ignore that most important meal of the day using the excuse of time. It has been proven that those that eat breakfast will stay thinner than those who do not. The facts are that the metabolism can slow during the early hours if breakfast is delayed until midmorning or if it is skipped altogether.

3. Like an evil, avoid sugar. The reason is that sugar facilitates the ability of the body to store fat. The goal is to keep the blood-sugar as level as possible and eating foods high in sugar makes that nearly impossible. Also the fact that you are exercising several times a week will also help keep the sugar in the blood stabilized.

4. Hot Spicy foods increase metabolism, eat them.

5. Go to Sleep. People that do not get enough sleep are at risk to gain weight according to researchers. It has also been shown in some studies that the last few hours of sleep are when muscles are repaired and regenerated.

6. Drink more water. Because we are exercising we have toxins being released and they need to be flushed and water serves that propose. Conversely if there is not enough water the bodies functions are slowed down and all the systems decrease in speed and produce additional stresses and it becomes a spiraling problem.

7. Eat more small meals about 2-3 hours apart and make it so you eat about 4 - 6 meals a day.

8. Do not skip meals. A dieter may want to skip meals but in order to lose weight the metabolism has to be kept high and in order for metabolism to be kept up there has to be fuel.

9. Get good at planned meals. Establish a balanced pattern and plan out the amounts and times to eat the proper meals. Avoid a sporadic schedule for meals as this is a huge mistake.

10. Get rid of the stress in your life. Stress can come from all different areas of your life and it can detrimentally affect your attempts to increase your metabolism. Work on the areas of stress and your metabolism will naturally increase.

11. Green tea in copious amounts as a alternate for drinking coffee will serve to stimulate your metabolism and it does not have the negative side effects like coffee does if you drink too much.

12. Energy foods are a vital ingredient to making this change to increase your metabolism. Some energy foods are whole grains, beans, vegetables and fruits.

Before you embark on any health related change always consult your trusted health professional and listen to your body. To reach the goal of balancing and increasing ones metabolism and body weight is an obtainable goal but one needs patience and persistence as this is not a quick fix proposition. Do not allow anything except success as an option. You can reach your goal.