Copyright 2006 Janet Dunmore

After years of yo yo dieting and trying every fad diet out there to lose weight I found that my metabolism was so low I only had to look at a cookie to put on weight. I decided I needed to make some drastic changes if I was to improve my chances of losing the extra weight that had been creeping on for the last few years.

Just think how easy it is to gain 1lb a week, you just have to overeat by 3,500 calories per week and there you are at the end of the year 52 pounds heavier. Well, if youre built like Victoria Beckham then you could probably stand to add the extra, but for us regular types, this is quite a scary prospect.

I decided to do some serious research into what would help me get my metabolism back up to normal in order to give me a fighting chance in my weight loss quest. Heres what I found that works:

Muscle helps to keep your metabolism up. You dont need to become a body builder but light weights with plenty of repetitions help tone and build the muscles. Cycling is also a good way of building muscle in your legs.

Some kind of Sustained activity every day is also important to keep your metabolism revved up. Try walking the dog for longer, taking the bike instead of the car, clean the house (vigorously) dig the garden or go dancing.

Start your day with a substantial meal and tail them off as the day goes on, make dinner the smallest meal of the day. This gives you more time to burn off the calories.

Dont skip meals. This will just deny your body of essential vitamins and nutrients needed for optimum health and slow down your metabolism. Try eating 5 small meals a day. Remember there is a reason that Sumo Wrestlers eat huge meals then take a nap after every meal.

Use spices, spices can make bland food more appealing and spice can boost your metabolism slightly.

Drink plenty of water; dehydration can slow down your metabolism. Water is the most important nutrient in the body. The liver will concentrate on water retention instead of burning fat if deprived of water. You will also feel more tired if dehydrated and therefore less inclined to exercise.

Try and make sure that 10-35% of your daily calories come from protein. These should be lean protein sources, e.g. fish, chicken etc. Also a small handful of unsalted nuts can help to keep your hunger at bay as well as providing a good source of protein.

Calcium helps to rev up your metabolism, so try and include 3 servings of low cal dairy and 1200mg of calcium a day.

Add interval training to your work-out. Its easy to add high intensity bursts, add a 30 second sprint to your jog every 5 minutes or up the incline for 1 minute in 5 on your treadmill.

Steer clear of fad diets such as The Maple Syrup Diet. It is liquid sugar, your blood sugar will just go up and down like a yo yo and your body will go into starvation mode (metabolism drop). Any fad diet purporting to help you lose weight fast is probably just going to help you to lose water and muscle and have your metabolism dropping faster than you can say roly poly.

If you can just incorporate 5 of these tips into your daily regime then you should see a significant improvement in your weight loss results.