by Sue Bluze

Created on: February 08, 2007   Last Updated: April 09, 2009

Have you been trying to lose that bulging belly or saddlebag thighs, but find the body fat comes off at a snail's pace? Tired of losing a pound a month as you exercise and diet your brains out? If you're working out with efficiency and maintaining a slight caloric deficit, you can actually lose up to 2 pounds per week.

However, most of us hit a plateau when dieting, have bad diet weeks, get bored with the diet, or try really hard with no success. Even if you haven't been consistent, I have some metabolism-boosting tips that should help ignite some good, steady fat loss.

1. Increase your meal frequency: Eat more often, but don't increase your total calories. For example, split the main meals into five or six smaller meals and eat every three hours. Food can actually help burn body fat when it's used strategically.

When you eat a large meal such as a big bowl of pasta, you raise your blood sugar levels and the body increases its level of insulin. This only serves to make you fat! If you break your meals into smaller ones it helps to control blood sugar - this puts you in a better position to lose fat. Plus you never feel really hungry and you are satisfied with a smaller portion of food. When you get into the "I'm starving" mode all you think about is stuffing your face and you end up missing or ignoring your bodies signals when it says it has had enough or is full and just carry on eating until the plate is empty, and even then most of us go on the hunt for something sweet for dessert after-wards.

2. Break up your workout: Many people are pressed for time and the thought of exercise becomes another stress in their lives. With family responsibilities, work, financial pressures, etc., the thought of exercise is like a weight on their shoulders. However, research has proven that two short bouts of exercise per day will actually stimulate the metabolism more than one longer bout. There is no need for expensive gym memberships. Go for a brisk 15 minute walk first thing in the morning before work and then another one at lunch time. Do this five days per week and watch for progress at the end of 30 days.

3. Eat breakfast: I'm always amazed at the amount of people who think they're doing the right thing by skipping breakfast. The human body's main goal is survival. If it senses any type of emergency, it will do everything in its power to keep you alive. If you sleep through the night and then deprive the body of food in the morning, what do you think the body is sensing

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