(BlackDoctor. org)--Don’t you hate your friends and family members that can eat everything under the sun and not gain one pound. When you confront them about that black hole they call a stomach and their ability to eat a whole horse and its hooves and not gain an ounce, more times than none they blame it on high metabolism. 
You’re probably wondering why only certain people are blessed with high metabolisms, while yours seems to be stuck at zero. As nature has it some people are fortunate enough to have been born with it, but if you weren’t one of those people, fret not because there are things you can do to jumpstart your metabolism.
Metabolism DO'S 
• Build muscle! This is the most important action you can take to maintain a high metabolic rate while trying to lose weight. Strength training prevents you from losing a lot of muscle along with the fat you lose when dieting. If you don’t strength train regularly, up to 30% of the weight you lose could be muscle tissue. Considering that a pound of muscle burns about 3 times more calories per day than a pound of fat even when you’re sitting still (and up to 15-20 times more calories per minute when you're physically active), you can see the problems this can cause. If you lose 20 pounds of weight (and 30% of that weight loss is muscle, seven pounds), you’ll be slowing your metabolism and your fat burning capacity down by a significant amount. A simple strength training program twice a week can limit your muscle loss to almost zero, and keep your metabolism running high. 
• Stay as active as possible. The more you use your muscles, the more calories you will burn. Moderate exercise like walking can burn three to six times more calories per minute than sitting still, and high intensity exercise like interval training can burn more than 12 times as much. Likewise, the more you vary your daily activity and exercise, the more you keep your body on its fat-burning toes. 
• Don’t just sit there. If you’re watching TV or sitting at your desk, get up frequently to do a few exercises. Keep those resistance bands and dumbbells nearby at all times, you can fit a complete strength training workout into the commercial breaks of a one-hour TV show. Ditch your chair and sit on a stability ball (or a stationary bike) instead; even fidgeting can help! 
• Exercise in the morning or in frequent bouts. Both strength and cardio exercises boost metabolism by increasing your calorie burn even after your session is done. You can get the most out of this perk by starting your day with a workout or by incorporating multiple exercise sessions into your day. Longer or intense workouts have a greater "after burn” but even a 15-minute walk will make a difference. 
• Try interval training. The harder you work, the more calories you will burn both during and after exercise, plus your fitness level will really improve. Studies show that exercising as intensely as you can, for at least 10 minutes per day, produces the best results. Interval training as an effective way to increase the intensity and duration of your workouts without running yourself into the ground or risking injury. 
• Include mental exercises. One of the most important (but least recognized) factors in keeping your metabolic fires well stoked is managing stress effectively. Chronic stress disrupts the hormones that regulate everything from appetite to fat storage, and can defeat even the best exercise and eating plans. The more effort you put into recognizing and handling stress, the better off you’ll be. Include some time in your schedule every day for relaxation exercises, yoga, journaling, and other stress management activities. 
And Most Importantly…
Make exercise and healthy eating FUN! Experiment frequently with new exercises and recipes, or anything that keeps you interested and adds some spice to your program.  Well, don’t stop there. The more variety you can put in your diet and your exercise routine, the more stimulating it will be. That makes it easy to put your best efforts forward, and get a major metabolic return on your investment.
By Shawn Johnson, BDO Staff Writer