Your metabolic rate is essential to winning the war on weight. If it's as slow as a turtle, you're not going to be burning enough calories to make you lose those excess pounds. You need to hasten it up in order for you to see visible results in your waistline. Obviously, exercise is one of the most common metabolism boosters known to man. It's a core component in any weight loss regimen that without it, you can never lose fat the healthy way. Cardiovascular exercises strengthen the heart while at the same time revving up your metabolic rate for a more efficient calorie burn even hours after the session is over. Resistance exercises with your own bodyweight or with free weights, meanwhile, help by toning your body's muscles. More muscles translate to faster metabolism for more calorie burn.

But did you know that apart from exercise, there are also other ways by which you can boost your metabolic rate? By making these habits a part of your lifestyle, you are able to speed up your metabolism so you burn fat faster. Take note that these take some getting used to, so don't give up right away when you feel yourself slipping. If you stick with these practices for at least three weeks, you should be able to see some obvious changes in your energy levels as well as in your weight loss initiative.

One of these metabolism boosters which, by the way, is fairly easy to incorporate into your diet is to drink green tea. Loaded with anti-oxidants and a compound that speeds up your metabolic rate, it's a better and much healthier alternative to coffee. The taste may take a bit of getting used to, but try drinking it in the morning with a sweet bread and in the afternoon again and you'll be craving for it in no time. If you've ever doubted this idea of green tea for weight loss, try looking at populations who guzzle tea like water-- the Japanese, Koreans and Chinese-- and you'll immediately become a believer.

Where food is concerned, some of the best metabolism boosters are protein and spices. As much as 25% of calories in protein-rich foods are burnt off and this is the reason why most weight loss experts recommend eating more protein everyday. Spicy foods like chili peppers also raise your metabolic rate by as much as 50% for three hours after you eat. For chili lovers, this is a welcome way to lose weight.

You will also need to eat smaller meals more often everyday. Doing so speeds up your metabolism since your body will begin to burn food at a faster rate. If you were to eat only three heavy meals a day, there will be "lulls" in the times when your body will think that there is no more food that needs to be burned and that it will have to conserve energy since it does not know if it will be able to eat in the next few hours or so, figuratively speaking. By eating every two to three hours, with heavier meals scheduled during the day, it will have to rev up its metabolic rate so it can keep up with the steady "influx" of food.

These metabolism boosters should be incorporated into your lifestyle so you can lose weight and keep it off for life.