Your metabolism is as unique as your fingerprint . . .and it can be as hard to pin down as anything! We are a nation obsessed with calorie burning and weight loss and as hard as we try to figure it out, it is a complex and often frustrating science. Is metabolic physiology as simple as balancing calories in with calories out? Well, yes and no. Yes, we need to balance the equation. But no, it's not simple because there are numerous factors that impact both sides of the equation. Some of the factors can be measured and some can't. Some of the factors can be controlled and some can't. No wonder so many of us are frustrated!

Let's take a look at the top seven things you can control and thereby give a big boost to your metabolism.

Key #1: Eat breakfast
Metabolism is all about putting logs on the fire. If your metabolism is compared to a burning fire, how can you make the fire burn stronger without putting something on it to burn? Our bodies are burning calories 24 hours per day; however, they are burning them at the slowest rate while we are sleeping. Without something to jump-start it in the morning, our metabolic rates may stay at a suppressed level for several hours into the day. The act of eating and digesting food increases our metabolic rate. We need that increase to start off the day with a bang of calorie burning. Some people say that they are hungrier throughout the day if they eat breakfast (thinking that's a "bad" thing). It's actually a sign that your body is burning through calories--a GOOD thing!

Key #2: Eat small, frequent meals throughout the day
When you stoke the fire, what can happen when you throw a great big log on? It smothers the fire, right? Kindling--small twigs and branches--help the fire burn stronger without smothering it. That analogy can be carried over again to your metabolism. Your body can metabolize small meals much more easily than large meals. Eating small frequent meals increases your metabolism in several ways. First, you are getting the benefit of the digestion-induced increase in metabolic rate numerous times per day-that's the "frequent" part. The "small" part is just as important. Our bodies can only burn so many calories from a given meal. For most people, this is approximately 200 to 400 calories. If you eat more than 200 to 400 calories in one sitting, your body will be less likely to burn all of it as energy. The excess that it can't burn has to go somewhere-- likely to a fat cell.

If you limit calories to 200 to 400 every three to four hours, your body will burn most of it, then your stomach will grumble signaling that it is time for more food, and you then eat another 200 to 400 calories. If your stomach isn't grumbling three to four hours after you eat, you probably ate too many calories in one sitting. Try it! Many of us are so used to eating by the clock or out of stress, boredom, etc., that we have lost touch with true hunger-satiety signals. Try breakfast, mid-morning snack, late lunch, late afternoon snack, dinner, and sometimes a light evening snack. Another benefit of small, frequent meals is that it will help keep your blood sugar level more constant. When you are never ravenous, you are less likely to overeat. The trick is to keep the frequent meals small, so as not to increase the total number of calories per day. The goal is just to spread them out.

Key #3: Include a mix of fiber and protein at every meal or snack
When you eat simple sugars/carbs, especially by themselves (i.e., a bagel, candy bar, donut, etc.), it is digested very easily and increases your blood sugar very quickly. This causes a reactionary quick increase in insulin. Often, the insulin response overshoots the amount needed and the result is then a quick drop in blood sugar. That is why a sugary snack will actually leave you feeling hungrier and/or tired not long after eating it, and craving more of the same. When you include fiber (whole fruit, whole grains) and protein (a dairy, meat, or nut source) with your meal or snack, it slows down the digestive process and allows you to feel full longer. Your body will have a slower and milder increase in blood sugar and therefore a more modest insulin reaction and then no rebound low blood sugar. You will feel good from meal to meal-no more of that gnawing "I'm still hungry, what else can I eat" feeling.

Key #4: Do aerobic exercise on a regular basis
Runners obviously have this key covered! Aerobic exercise is great for burning a large number of calories in a short amount of time; therefore it increases the total number of calories you burn in a day. However, aerobic exercise also has other benefits that increase the amount of calories you burn throughout the day. Your body will continue to burn at a higher rate for several hours after each aerobic workout. Therefore, the more often you engage in aerobic exercise, the more benefit you'll see. In addition, when you increase your aerobic fitness level, your body increases the size and number of mitochondria in your muscle cells.

Do you remember the term mitochondria from high school biology? It is the "powerhouse of the cell"- the calorie burning force within the cell. When a cell has more mitochondria, the cell is more metabolically active at rest and during activity. You will burn more calories all throughout the day because your muscle cells will be in a more constant state of vibration-like Mexican jumping beans! Before you pile on even more running, though, give some thought to cross training. You can make even more gains by changing the mode of exercise you choose (the body loves variety) or doing interval training.

Key #5: Do weight training exercise on a regular basis
Are you one of those runners who avoid weight training? If so, think twice. Weight training exercise may be the single best investment you can make in increasing your metabolic rate. If your metabolism is like a fire, then a muscle cell is a furnace. Your muscle cell is the calorie-burning machine in your body. Weight training increases the size and efficiency of your muscle cells, giving you a larger and stronger furnace!

Although each weight-training workout may not burn a huge number of calories during the workout, it is a huge investment in the number of calories your body can burn throughout the day. You increase your resting metabolic rate as well as the metabolic rate of every level of activity you can do. If you are already doing weight training on a regular basis, you can make a further impact by changing around the exercises you do, or the weight, sets and repetitions. Once again, variety is the key to keeping the body adapting.

Key #6: Increase your activity throughout the day
The average person burns approximately one calorie per minute, sitting at rest. The same person, while standing, will burn one and one-half calories per minute. You may be thinking "an extra half calorie . . . big deal." Now, while it may be small potatoes for one minute, or even one hour, 50% more calories to stand vs. sit is a pretty big deal when you spend a good part of your day sitting vs. standing!

Walking at a leisurely pace burns approximately 2 calories per minute-double that of sitting! Aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, jogging, etc., can burn up to eight to twelve calories per minute. That's why aerobic exercise is a great way to burn a nice extra chunk of calories per day and can help with weight loss. But, since aerobic exercise isn't realistically going to account for a very big part of your day, it is a good idea to give some thought to the daily activities that make up the other 23 hours of the day. They truly add up!

Key #7: Don't fall prey to fad or crash diets
Don't let your resting metabolic rate drop by letting your body think there is a famine occurring! Just as meal skipping reduces your metabolic rate on a day-to-day basis, crash dieting reduces your metabolic rate on a longer-term basis. Your body learns to conserve energy when it thinks there will not be much energy coming in. In addition, when you starve your body, it compensates by increasing fat storage hormones and enzymes at the fat cell borders.

At some point during your crash diet, your brain will send VERY strong signals to EAT! (And it won't be signaling for salad . . . chocolate is more likely!) And when you do the post- diet binge, you are doing so with a suppressed metabolic rate and fat cells that are primed to store more than ever.

In summary, all of these keys are important. We often overlook small details in our busy, daily lives, thinking they will not make that much of a difference. In reality, our health is very often determined by lots of little things that do add up!

Cathy Moxley, M.A., CSCS is an exercise physiologist who specializes in metabolism testing, including resting metabolism, anaerobic threshold, VO2max, and heart rate training for maximum fat usage in the Washington, D.C. area.

For more information on metabolism, see her Web site www.testyourmetabolism.com. You can also check out Cathy's new book, "The Busy Mom's Ultimate Fitness Guide: Get Motivated and Find the Solution that Works for You!," available at www.BusyMomSolutions.com.