The key to losing weight is to understand metabolism and how to boost it. Metabolism can be explained as the rate your body uses energy and calories. This is achieved through a series of biochemical processes in which your body turns the food you eat into fuel for the cells in your body.

Logical thought would lead you to believe that in speeding up your metabolism, weight loss will be easier. However, it’s not quite as simple as that. In fact, the biggest factor in weight loss is taking in fewer calories than your body needs for its day-to-day functions. This advice is practical for you if your goal is medical weight loss, whether you’re in New York City or Bakersfield, so take note. You can boost your resting metabolic rate, or the speed your body burns calories in the processes that keep you alive, through exercise and diet.

Diet largely affects metabolism, but you have to eat regularly. Skipping meals sends your body into starvation mode, in which it stores fat, thus slowing metabolism and hindering weight loss. In order to keep your metabolic rate soaring, you should:

• Eat breakfast to provide your body with an early boost of energy and keep it from storing fat.
• Eat several small meals and snacks throughout your day.
• Eat a lot of lean protein. Your body uses more calories when it’s digesting protein, compared to the digestion of carbs and fats.

When you engage in aerobic exercise, you get a metabolism boost that lasts for a short time after you’ve finished exercising. If you really want to improve your resting metabolic rate, consider strength training, which increases your muscle mass. Muscle and fat may weigh the same, but muscle is an active, compact tissue that actually burns calories.

If you want to look like a Beverly Hills star, boost your metabolism through strength training and the consumption of lean protein, and make these healthy habits a part of your life for good. If you stop, your body will return to its former metabolic rate, which will cause you to gain weight.