These days literally everyone is talking of the metabolism. It is a word that so many people throw around that it tends to lose proper meaning over a period of time. It is important to understand exactly what it is, how to work with it and how it will benefit us.

The metabolism at its most basic level is the process your body uses to burn the food energy you have provided for it. The real secret is changing the speed at which this happens since we have already established that caloric expenditure that exceeds caloric intake results in weight loss. We have also established that the most important change we can make for this to happen is weight training.

Another great metabolism booster is cardiovascular exercise. You burn fat while exercising but more importantly your metabolism will stay higher for hours afterward. It has been proven that most people who don't exercise will gain weight back if they try and lose it with low calorie dieting. We shouldn't make things harder on ourselves than they already are.

You should also make sure to eat enough food during the day. Starving yourself is not the answer and will shut down your metabolism very quickly. You know what you want to do but your body doesn't. It thinks you are starving and therefore will slow down and even hold on to the fat. That is what most people don't understand. That is why most people on these diets are the "skinny fat" type. They are thin in terms of bodyweight but they don't look good at all and are not very healthy. And most of us don't have the willpower to do this type of thing.

When you have a higher metabolism you will look better and feel better. You will be able to enjoy life to the fullest. You will be able to eat a lot more food and you won't be grumpy all of the time. Nothing is worse than watching someone eat a nice tasty sandwich in front of you while you are trying to starve yourself. Trust me I have been there, and then I started educating myself.

So many people are depressed because they misunderstand exercise and diet. If you don't like exercise simply do something that you like such as walking. Almost everyone can walk. And besides, it feels good after! Hormones called endorphins are released, these are "feel good" hormones which give you a natural high. And remember...more food!

Others will start to notice how great you look and how much you can eat. They will often comment and wonder how you do it. It comes with practice and making things a habit. The rewards will far exceed the effort. The more efficient your body becomes the less work it will take to maintain it. Your body is meant to be used in a positive way.

Randy McLean enjoys abundant health and is the sole creator of the Healthy Eating Tips web site. Randy has discovered early on what works and what doesn't. To start looking and feeling better visit http://www.healthy-eating-tips.com.