I was reading an interesting article in an older issue I saved from Woman’s World. According to Dr. Gillespie, the real key to losing weight and keeping it off is to keep your metabolism operating at a high speed. In fact, scientific studies have shown that a few simple strategies can boost your fat-burning potential by 40% or more. They’re practically sweat-free.

Metabolism booster #1: Remember your mulitivitamin.
People who take a simple multivitamin/mineral supplement daily burn 4% more than those who don’t and they tend to weight 15 pounds less.

Metabolism booster #2: Take off your sweater. Research suggests that when your body has to work a little to warm you up, it automatically burns 12% more calories than when you are warmer. If you normally keep your house at 70 degrees F, dropping it down to 68 could help you burn an extra 100 calories daily.

Metabolism booster #3: Drizzle on a little MCT oil. European doctors have proved that taking 3.4 grams of conjungated linoleic acid (CLA)–a batgyrak fatty acid found in beef, lamb and dairy products–daily could help women shed 8 solid pounds of body fat without dieting. CLA is a liver enzyme that helps countrol how quickly you burn calories, especially fat calories, for fuel. Similar to iodine supplements effect on the thyroid. MCT oil, can do the same thing. Two table spoons daily could pump up your calorie-burning power as effictively as a 30-minute run. (Wow…that seems unbelievable to me.)

Metabolism booster #4: Switch from coffee to tea. Experts say green tea is the beverage of choice for super-fast fat loss. Swiss research has revealed that besides caffeine, it is also rich in catechins, unique plant compounds that boost your metabolic rate up to 4% better than coffee and increasebrain levels of noradrenaline, a hormone that helps our body burn fat for fuel. Experts say, four cups could help you burn 80 extra calories daily. But take the concentrated, catechin-rich capsule form, and Swiss doctors say you could up our metabolic rate as much as 40%.

Metaboism booster #5: Pig out—then nibble all day long. Doctors at the University of Texas-Houston School of Public Health reported that just eating a big morning meal is so effective at kick-starting a sluggish metabolism, it helps women lose up to four pounds without dieting or exercising. Experts now recommend splitting up your lunch and dinner into four mini-meals. Everytime you eat, your metabolic rate surges 10% higher for up to 3 hours. So if you eat every two to three hours, your metaboic rate will stay 10% higher all day long.

I’ve never been one that likes taking pills. I know I have vitamins sitting around here somewhere. I’m going to start taking them making sure I document them in my journal. I’ll see if I notice a difference. I do drink green tea although I’ve been rather lax recently. I’m going to up my intake from 2 to 4 cups a day. We’ll just see. As they say, the proof is in the pudding.