10 Tips to Boost Your Metabolism

Have you been doing the same workout and now notice that the scale has not budged at all? Maybe your metabolism is slowing down, which scientists say usually happens in your 30's. The good news is, you can make your metabolism faster, experts say, despite genetics and gender.

These are 10 simple secrets to boosting it big time.

1. Exercise more often: This is the #1 way to keep your furnace cranking. The more muscle you have the more calories you burn all day.
2. Kick up your Cardio: Aerobic intervals will help you maximize your burn, doubling the number of calories you burn during a workout.
3. Put some muscle behind it: A head to toe strength routine will turbocharge your calorie-blasting quotient. Adding 5 pounds of muscle to your body can help you burn as many as 600 calories during your hour workout.
4. Don't skip meals: To keep your engine running you need to have three healthy meals of 300 - 600 calories and tow snacks of 200 to 300 calories every day. *The American Dietetic Association
5. Fill up on smart foods: Start by serving yourself protein at every sitting. Not only does your body need it to build lean muscle mass, but protein also takes more calories to digest.
6. Eat breakfast: It will switch your metabolism from idle to high immediately. When you eat an A.M. meal your body is ready to turn those calories into muscle right away - the only time of the day this happens.
7. Get off your butt: Sitting too much slows your metabolism, even if you are exercising regularly. An easy fix is to stretch, stroll, and fidget throughout the day.
8. Go to bed earlier: When you deprive yourself of sleep you body goes into hunger mode and it makes you more likely to eat.
9. Schedule a nighttime workout: Do a 20 - 30 minute moderate cardio routine before you hit the hay to keep your metabolism humming all night.
10. Check your meds: If you recently started taking any new medication and the scale is inching upward, ask your doctor if there's an alternative treatment.

Good luck!