Brown Seaweed for Weightloss and Health

My favorite brown seaweed

I've written about the benefits of brown seaweed before but I recently learned it's also good for weigh loss. I pick up many weight loss tips from Dr. Oz and the other day he recommended brown seaweed.

Brown Seaweed and Weight Loss

Brown seaweed and weight loss were studied in Japan in 2006. Science Daily reports on the seaweed nutrient, fucoxanthin, which appears to reduce fat accumulation.

Health Benefits of Brown Seaweed

Besides aiding weight loss, brown seaweed is being researched for it's anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory abilities. Brown seaweed nourishes the thyroid so is important for those with thyroid conditions, like my husband.

Brown seaweed also improves the hair and nails. My husband was just noticing the other day that his nails were much stronger than they had been. One symptom of thyroid condition is brittle nails so if his nails are getting stronger, then his thryroid is being nourished as well.

Brown seaweed also boosts the immune system and helps lower cholesterol. Since cholesterol is another issue my husband is working on at present, we'll see how the brown seaweed affects his results on the next blood test.

Radioactivity exposure has been in the news since Japan's tsunami and brown seaweed contains Alginate, which naturally absorbs radioactive material, as well as other heavy metals we may be exposed to in our daily life. Brown seaweed also absorbs the free radicals in our body which age us and cause health issues as we get older.

One thing you have to be careful of when buying brown seaweed supplements is their purity. Since seaweed comes from the ocean, there is a chance of heavy metal contamination, unless it is taken from pure ocean waters.

I've researched several brands of brown seaweed and the two I recommend as being the most pure are Body Ecology's Ocean Plant Extract, available on the Body Ecology website and Mo
and Modiflan, 100% pure kombu extract, which is available on Amazon.com.

Both of these brands of brown seaweed contain an ocean vegetable called  Laminaria japonica and they come from a very pure source.

If you decide to try brown seaweed for weight loss and health, check the bottle for instructions. Most advise 3-6 capsules first thing in the morning with a glass of water. Be sure and check your source for purity. This is one place you don't want to skimp on quality. Dr. Oz recommended at least 500mg per day of brown seaweed to reduce belly fat and promote weight loss.

If you are trying to reduce belly fat or lose weight, brown seaweed might be worth a try, especially since it also offers many other health benefits as well.

Learn where you can buy edible seaweed.to use in recipes.

Weightloss Tip - Eat Watermelon this Summer

Delicious, juicy watermelon is a terrific weightloss food and summer is the time to get watermelon in season.  Now that watermelons come in every size and are seedless, there is no reason not to enjoy them often. We all know watermelon is delicious but why is Watermelon nutrition so good for your weightloss program?

Calories in Watermelon

First of all, watermelon calories are almost non-existent. There are only 46 calories in a cup of watermelon and only two of watermelon's calories come from fat.

Watermelon Nutrition

Besides having few calories, watermelons are packed with valuable nutrients. When you give your body the nutrients it needs on a daily basis, losing weight or maintaining weight will be much easier, plus you'll be healthier and more energetic.

Watermelon nutrients:

• Vitamins A, C and B6, B1
• Iron
• Calcium and Magnesium
• Potassium
• And fiber

Other watermelon nutrients include lycopene, the same nutrient that gives tomatoes their red color. Watermelon actually contains about double the amount of lycopene that you'll find in a tomato, even though it's tomatoes which get all the attention. Lycopene helps prevent cancers such of the breast, endometriam, lung and colon, and it's also good for your eyes, helping to prevent eye conditions like cataracts and macular degeneration.

Watermelon nutrition is great for an anti-inflammatory diet, helping to protect the body from diseases caused by inflammation such asthma, colon cancer, arthritis and diabetes. The antixoidants in watermelon also help prevent heart disease and high blood pressure.


Other Benefits of Watermelon

Watermelon is also about 92% water, which makes it a real thirst quencher. The water and fiber content in watermelon, combined with the low calories make this fruity treat a real weightloss bonus! If you eat a cup of watermelon, you'll feel full so you won't want to overeat other, higher calorie foods, and you'll hydrate your body so it can cope with summer time heat.

All these things combined make watermelon a delicious weightloss food.

100 Healthy Living Tips - Lose Weight With Meditation

The benefits of Meditation are many - stress relief, boosting brain health, fighting depression and insomnia. Now there is a newly discovered benefit to meditating just seven minutes per day - Weightloss.

A recent study showed that if people who want to lose weight spent just seven minutes meditating each day, they would suffer far less food cravings than those who did not meditate. Another benefit if meditation was that those who practiced this were far more able to resist the cravings they did feel.

I can personally attest to this benefit of mediating daily. About a year ago, I started practicing tai chi, a form of moving meditation. I found that over time, I experienced less cravings for unhealthy foods like sugar or empty carbohydrates and I felt fully satisfied with less food. I just didn't want to overeat anymore! it was amazing. It makes me wonder just how much of my eating habits were based on stress levels and cravings.

The meditation study took place over a 7 week period. Participants were taught "mindfulness meditation" where they practiced accepting their cravings rather than trying to fight or ignore them. Mindfulness meditation seems to help lower the frustration levels and the preoccupation with food which is triggered by trying to use sheer will power to suppress cravings.


How to Meditate


One way to learn meditation is to take a yoga or tai chi class. Most yoga practices begin and end with meditation and tai chi, as I said earlier, is a form of moving meditation requiring focus and breath work.


Learn more about the benefits of meditation and some simple techniques.


Learn more about mindfulness and how you can practice it.

Quick Tip for Weightloss - Add Grapefruit to Your Daily Diet

The Grapefruit Diet promises that you can lose 10 lbs in 12 days, probably due to the extremely low calorie intake on the diet. To lose weight and stay healthy, it's best to make small changes in your daily diet, exercise more and do deep breathing to give you energy and speed up your metabolism during the day. However, just because the grapefruit diet is essentially unhealthy, does not mean you can't lose weight by adding it to your daily menu.

A study at the Scripps Clinic Nutrition and Metabolic Research Center found that those who ate 1/2 grapefruit with each meal lost an average of 3.6 pounds in 12 weeks. Those who drank a serving of grapefruit juice with each meal, lost an average of 3.3 pounds in 12 weeks.

Adding grapefruit to your diet helps you meet your requirement of 7-9 servings of fruits and veggies daily, plus grapefruit offers fiber to keep you filled and vitamin C to boost your immune system.

Grapefruit also has a chemical compound with helps to regulate insulin in our body and encourage weightloss. For those with high blood sugar or diabetes, regulating insulin is key to staying healthy.

Try eating 1/2 a grapefruit or drinking 4 oz of grapefruit juice three times daily and see if you can lose that stubborn 3/9 pounds! 

Be aware that grapefruit's compounds can interact with some drugs, like statins, so check with your doctor if you are on any medications before adding several servings of it to your daily diet.

Would you like to JumpStart Your Metabolism with a simple technique like deep Breathing? Read Jumpstart Your Metabolism: How To Lose Weight By Changing The Way You Breathe

New Kundalini Yoga Videos - Should You Practice Kundalini Yoga?

Just What is Kundalini Yoga?

Kundalini yoga, only recently practiced in the west, is a very ancient form of yoga which draws up the untapped energy, or prana, from the base of the spine to each of the seven chakras, awakening the body energetically. Complete enlightenment occurs when this energy reaches the Crown Chakra. For more information on chakras, I've added a link below.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                  
Kundalini yoga poses are done in a series, with a specific breath that intensifies the effects of the poses. This frees the energy in the lower body and allows it to move upward to the crown chakra. Kundalini poses done in a sequence consist of rapid, repetitive movements done with breath or holding a pose while breathing in a particular way.

Certain gemstones are also thought to help balance the chakras and can be worn as jewelry.

Kundalini Yoga Videos

Unless you live in a fairly large city, it may be hard to find a Kundalini yoga class so I've put together a list of great Kundalini videos to get you started.

Kundalini Yoga for Beginners & Beyond NEW! Now with the **MATRIX** MENU OPTION!!!

Fat Free Yoga - Lose Weight & Feel Great FOR BEGINNERS & BEYOND w/ Ana Brett & Ravi Singh NOW W/THE **MATRIX**

Kundalini Yoga to Detox and Destress with Maya Fiennes

Warrior Workout: Kundalini Yoga

Kundalini Yoga Cardio, Stretch, & Strengthen - ALL LEVELS - Ana Brett and Ravi Singh

Kundalini Yoga Ultimate Stretch Yoga Ravi Singh Ana Brett

Kundalini Yoga - A Journey through the Chakras

Kundalini Yoga Meditation for Beginners & Beyond

Should You Practice Kundalini Yoga?

A more spiritual form of yoga, Kundalini yoga goes beyond physical practice of the poses of yoga and emphasizes breathing, meditation, and chanting. However, just because Kundalini is more spiritual, doesn’t mean it is less physically challenging! The Kundalini sequences are very intense physically.

Books offering information on Chakras and Balancing

Chakra Balancing

Kundalini Yoga

Join the Hula Hooping Workout Craze for a Fun New Exercise

Have you tried the hula hoop work out yet? Hula hooping can trim your waist and work most of the muscles in your body. If you find exercise boring, then the hula hoop workout, or hooping, just might be for you.  Hula hoops are an inexpensive workout tool, they are fun, relaxing and help your balance as well.

Hooping is a great way to burn calories, workout your entire body, and improve your mood. This exercise can even help reduce stress and help you get focused. Lots of women feel that hooping is liberating and, instead of boring exercise, it feels like play.

How To Get Started with a Hula Hoop Workout

Hula hoops now come in different sizes and different weights. Here's how to choose a hula hoop:

• you need a hula hoop specifically designed for hooping workouts. The hula hoops sold at sporting goods stores won’t work and neither will the acu hoop or the sport hoop. Hooping experts say these aren't properly weighted and won't spin. 
• Get a hula hoop specifically designed for workouts, like this
  
• If you want to have great workouts you'll need to splurge on a specialty hoop, like this Hoopnotica Fitness Travel Hoop Combo which even collapses to you can take it anywhere with you.

Once you've gotten a weighted hula hoop, watch a DVD that will give you the best tips for using it. There are lots of programs and dvd collections out there but be sure to watch a sample first before spending a lot of money. Some hooping instructors aren't very inspiring, or they don't offer good tips. I liked this dvd, available at Amazon.com, Hoopnotica: Hoopdance Basics - Beginner, Level 1. 

Also, before you begin hooping, be sure to clear a good space so you're free to move around and not break the knick knacks!

If you're tired of boring exercises, jump on the hula hooping craze bandwagon to burn calories, trim the waist and give you a fun whole body workout.

Read more healthy weightloss tips at my website Path2HealthyLiving.com 

More information on hula hooping exercise routines.

100 Healthy Living Tips - #16 - Your Weightloss New Year's Resolution

Is your New Year's Resolution this year to lose weight? I know I would like to lose a few extra pounds that have crept up over the holidays. Too many cookies and not enough time to work out at the Y. I read that people who keep food diaries lose twice as much weight as people who don't keep a journal listing the foods they eat and their exercise. That's why, when I want to lose weight, I get a food diary to keep track of food, calories and weight for a couple months.

This year I decided to try Lean Mode, Color Code - Not Your Usual Food Diary. This food journal got 5 star reviews on Amazon. You can add your own dates and start with it anytime but there's something motivating about beginning something new at the New Year. With this food diary, you can set achievable daily or weekly goals, keeping it simple, or making more detailed goals.

This food diary lets you track daily calories, water intake, healthful food items you've eaten and more.What a wonderful weightloss tool to help you with your New Year's Resolution.

Food diaries are wonderful because most people underestimate the number of calories they consume on a daily basis. A food diary helps you hold yourself accountable and see where you could cut 100 calories here and there - which adds up.

If your New Year's Resolution is to lose weight, begin on January 1 to track your food and exercise in a food diary or journal. You'll be glad you did when the pounds melt away.

Free Weightloss & Healthy Liiving Newsletter from e-Diets

I found a wonderful - and free - weightloss newsletter at eDiets.com
This newsletter is full of weightloss tips. a list of natural, metabolism boosting foods was included in their last issue.

Grapefruit is a Fat-Burning Food

Grapefruit - research supports the fact that those who eat grapefruit lose more weight by reducing insulin levels, which promotes weightloss. Eating grapefruit frequently can have an adverse interaction with some drugs though so check with your pharmacist or doctor if you are taking medications.

Other recent healthy living and weightloss topics include:

• Nine ways to cut calories easily
• Four heart healthy and disease fighting foods
• Exercise secrets
• The busy person's workout
• debunking diet myths

The eDiets website includes information on:

• Diet
• Nutrition
• Exercise
• Mind and Body
• Health
• Food and Recipes
  

Of course, e-diets is selling a weight loss program but you don't need to sign up for the program to receive their information packed newsletter.

The e-diet newsletter contains not only weightloss articles but anti-aging tips, general health tips and more.

Do a FREE eDiets Profile and sign up for their free healthy living and weightloss newsletter today.

What are Proper Food Portions for Maintaining Weight

Putting the proper size food portions onto your plate for each meal is key to maintaining or losing weight. What does the proper portion size of food look like? To give you visual comparisons for suitable serving sizes, eDiets.com
Nutrition Specialist Renee Brunetti, LD/N, Put together this visual aid to choosing proper food portions.

Visual examples of different size food portions:

• 1 medium fruit -- tennis ball or tight fist
• 1/2 cup of fruit, veggie, cooked cereal, rice or pasta -- cupcake or tight fist
• 1 cup of raw salad -- the amount you can hold in two hands cupped together.
• 1 medium baked potato -- computer mouse
• 1 cup of cold cereal -- large handful or tight fist
• 1-ounce bagel -- a yo-yo
• 3 oz of meat, poultry or fish -- palm of a woman's hand or deck of cards
• 1 ounce of cheese -- 4 dice or the top half of your thumb
• 3 1/2 ounces of tofu -- 4 ice cubes
• 1 ounce of meat, fish, chicken or poultry -- 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon -- the tip of a medium-framed woman's thumb (also, 3 tsp is equal to 1 tbs)
  

These food portion sizes expand with cooking:

• 1 ounce of pasta will cook up to about 2 ounces, which is equivalent to 1/4 cup. Pasta doubles in volume.
• 2 tablespoons of rice cook up to about 6 tablespoons, or about 1/3 cup. Rice triples in volume.

Using this guide to proper food portion size will ensure that you aren't eating too much.

One great weightloss tips for making it seem like you have more food is to use a smaller plate to put it on. Use a small place and pile it high with the servings above. You'll have no trouble maintaining your weight or losing, if that is your goal.

Easy WeightLoss Tip - Boost Metabolism by Drinking Water

Want to boost your metabolism? Looking for an easy weight loss tip? Drink more water. A new study found that within 10 minutes of drinking 2 cups of water, metabolism rates were boosted in both men and women by as much as 24 to 30%. That equals about 25 calories. Drink 8 cups of water a day and boost your metabolism by 100 calories per day.

Each pound of fat equals 3,500 calories so if you drink 8 glasses of water daily, that equals almost a pound a month lost. This may not sound like much but if you add water to a healthy weightloss plan, those extra pounds lost add up to a lot!

Water also has the benefit of cleansing the system of toxins lost during weightloss. Toxins are stored in fat cells and when you lose weight, these toxins are let loose in the body, making you feel tired and cranky. Water can not only boost your metabolism in this case but your mood as well!

Water is also inexpensive, especially if you get it from your own tap and not drink bottled water. If you're concerned about drinking the cleanest water possible, purchase a water filter for your faucet and stainless steel water bottles so you can help the environment too.

To get your water requirements, divide your weight in 2 and that's the number of ounces of water you need to be healthy and boost your metabolism. Start drinking first thing in the morning on an empty stomach for best results and carry water with you all day long.

Healthy Living Tips - Skip the Exercise by Skipping the Sugar

If you're like me, you may not be that crazy about sticking to an exercise program, even an easy exercise program. I want to be healthy and I'm not really anti-exercise, it simply means that I find the effort needed to get physically fit is usually very inconvenient at best. With work and families, life is super busy and taking the time to exercise regularly is not necessarily something we can always do.

Believe it or not, I am actually in the best shape of my life and it doesn't have anything to do with exercising at all. By making a few smart choices along the way, you can get physically fit and stay healthy, even without an official exercise program.

One of the easiest healthy living tips is to totally cut sugar out of your life. Although this is impractical to some extent, you can't imagine the health benefits that you can get by following this one health tip.

The easiest way to eat less sugar is to eat according to the glycemic index. This is a list of carbohydrate foods, arranged according to how quickly the sugars contained within them are dumped into our bloodstream. If you stick to the goods on the low end of the glycemic index, you can eat about as much as you want to. You won't be hungry and you won't suffer from the highs and lows caused by eating sugar.

Along with making eating foods the low on the glycemic index, you should be eating a protein at every meal. Vegetables are notoriously low in calories and in order for us to keep our metabolism running strong, we need to eat calories. Protein helps you build and maintain your muscle mass, even if you are losing weight.

Of course, healthy living does involve doing a little bit of exercise along with eating the proper way but you don't need to hit the gym on a regular basis in order to experience these benefits. Simple tasks like gardening and housework also burn calories. Just try to stay as active as possible in your everyday life. The benefits of doing so will be evident whenever you look in the mirror.

Walking Pedometer Motivates Weightloss and Fitness

Need motivation to walk more? It might be as easy as wearing a walking pedometer daily. One study showed that those wearing a pedometer lost about about 1 lb every 10 weeks, even without dieting. Couple wearing a pedometer and a program and the pounds will drop off quickly.

Walking pedometers are small devices, worn on the wrist or clipped to a waistband, that measure the steps you take daily. If you set a goal to help you lose weight, say 10,000 steps a day, you find yourself jogging in place while you brush your teeth or marching while you cook dinner, just to get your steps in. All those steps registered on your fitness pedometer mean extra calories burned.

When you first starting using a pedometer to count your steps, wear it without a goal in mind, just to see what your average number is. On one pathetic day, my steps were only about 3,000 so I realized I had work to do to lose weight. I set my goal at 10,000 steps and have been meeting it on most days.

If you really want to register some steps on the pedometer, try an aerobics class.One class equals about 4,000-5,000 steps. A walk around my block with my dogs measures 2,000 steps.

Here's one fitness pedometer I especially liked and it got great reviews on Amazon. I've found it accurate and easy to use.



Try wearing a pedometer for 30 days and see if it doesn't motivate you to lose weight and increase fitness.

For more healthy weightloss tips, visit my website Path2HealthyLiving.com 

Just in Time for Summer - How I Lost 10 Pounds This Spring

I practice the 80/20 rule in my life. For 80% of the time, I try to eat right, exercise daily, take my vitamins and keep my weight down. Still, that 20% can derail the best of intentions in the weight department! Over Christmas, we had a house full of people visiting, complete with family dinners, lots of goodies and, being busy, not much time to exercise.

Couple that with starting some new projects that kept me glued to the computer chair in January and February, I discovered in March that I could stand to lose a few pounds. Especially since my daughter is getting married in Mexico at the end of June and I needed to pick out a swimsuit - something I hadn't done in years!

Here was my plan:

• I started an exercise class at the local Y
• I went back to taking my CLA - a natural supplement that helps get rid of belly fat.
• I stepped up my daily walk by about 15 minutes a day
• I started using Holy Tea - a natural detox. Toxins are trapped in your body in fat cells so when you lose weight, the fat cells dissolve and the toxins are released so detox is very important.
• I checked my diet to see where I could improve.

Shakeology is a super nutrition program which contains whole superfoods and:

• minerals
• vitamins
• enzymes
• probiotics
• antioxidants
• amino acids
• essential fatty acids
• phytonutrients
• fiber
• 70 nutrient dense concentrates from fresh, live whole foods

Feed your body whole, nutritious foods and watch the pounds come off. I've been on Shakeology for about a month and lost my first 5 pounds without even trying. I feel more energy, more focused and healthier.

If you need to lose 10 pounds this spring so you look great for summer, try Dr Miller's Holy Tea and Shakeology together and you'll be looking and feeling great in no time!

Healthy Snacks - Plan Ahead for Convenience

Healthy snacking? What is that? Is there even such a thing?

I think almost everyone would really like to live a healthy lifestyle but, let's face it, when you're busy and stressed out, juggling hundreds of daily details, it's hard to even know what to have for dinner every night, so a healthy diet may fall to the bottom of your priority list. Healthy snacking is especially difficult when chips and chocolate bars always seem to be handy.

With a little planning, however, you CAN eat healthy and live healthy.

Start by going through your kitchen and taking out all the unhealthy snacks. If you have chips or candy stashed within easy reach, you'll be much more likely to grab that when a craving strikes.

Once the unhealthy stuff is gone, go to the farmer's market or grocery store (when you're NOT hungry) and shop for healthy alternatives. Need some ideas of what should you purchase that is easy, economical and healthy?

This list of healthy snacks is low on the glycemic index, meaning they are low in sugar and won't cause spikes in your blood sugar. Spikes in blood sugar lead to loss of energy and hunger.

Healthy Snack Ideas

To be satisfied with a healthy snack, rather than the unhealthy alternative is to reach for whole foods with the most nutritional value. These fill your stomach and satisfy cravings, keeping you from being hungry. Try keeping these items on hand:

• Low carb, whole wheat tortillas - add some mustard, a slice of turkey and of low cal cheese, plus a little lettuce, roll it up and you have a delicious snack or even a lunch.
  
• low-fat cheeses like individually wrapped mozzarella cheese sticks
• celery sticks - fill them with low-fat cheese spread
• cut up cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini or other veggies into bite size pieces so you can grab a handful, put in a plastic container and head out the door. If you need a dip, choose a low-fat, low cal dressing.
• dry roasted nuts - put them into individual snack bags so you aren't tempted to keep munching. Nuts are high in Leucine, which helps with muscle building and weight loss.
• apples - cut apples up in a bowl, with a tablespoon of peanut butter. If you want to do apples ahead, mix a teaspoon of lemon or orange juice with 1/4 cup of water and mix thoroughly with the apples. The citric acid keeps apples from browning.
• Hard boiled eggs - use only if eggs are not restricted on your diet due to elevated . If you do have high cholesterol, add a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon to your daily diet to reduce cholesterol by as much as 50 points within 6 months.
• Fruit smoothies can be made ahead and taken along, or if you tend to eat out of boredom, making a smoothie will give you something to do and give you a nutritious snack too. Here is one smoothie recipe:
  

Blend in a blender until smooth:
1 cup low fat, low sugar vanilla soymilk or orange juice
3/4 cup plain fat-free or low-fat flavored yogurt
6 ounces silken tofu
1/4 cup frozen berries

More great smoothie recipes.

• If you feel the urge to snack, try making a cup of green tea. This gives you something to do and also soothes the nerves. Try a variety of flavors, like chai tea with stevia and soy milk added.
• Keep high fiber cereal on hand and snack with soy milk or low fat milk added. This will fill you up.
  

Fruit low on the glycemic index. Snack liberally on these:

apples
apricots
blueberries
cantaloupe
cherries
strawberries
oranges
pears
kiwi
grapes
grapefruit
cherries

Snacks to avoid or eat only occasionally

pretzels
crackers
bread or starchy foods made with enriched flour

These processed foods are high on the glycemic index and contain lots of sugar:

bananas
pineapple
raisins
fruit juices or canned fruit

Have Healthy Snacks Ready to Use

Once you have purchased your healthy snacks, prepare then ahead of time so there won't be any excuse not to grab them first. If you don't have time for even this, purchase fruits and veggies already cut up.

• Clean your veggies. Use a veggie soak to remove all pesticides and chemicals, unless you purchase organic.
• Peel and cut up enough carrots for several days, cut up celery sticks, wash your apples.
  

If these are in your fridge, ready to grab, you can toss them into a container and take them to work or on the road, or, if you need a snack at home, it will be ready with no muss or fuss.

If you really need a quick to-go snack, look for granola bars or cookies made by Healthy Choice, South Beach Diet or Snack Well. The only draw-back to these type of snacks is that they are expensive.

Learn Easy Ways to Get Health Benefits of Fruits and Veggies in your Diet

Try Uri Life whole food products to get your recommended 5-9 servings of fruits and veggies.

Easy Ways to Burn Fat!

Did you know that everybody's metabolism slows with age? Burning just 100 fewer calories per day can result in an extra 10 lbs of weight gain per year. Don't despair though - there is hope! Here are some strategies for burning extra calories throughout your day.

Rev up your metabolism in the morning.

Do a quick 5 minutes of light exercise to wake up your metabolism in the morning like walking, jumping rope or doing jumping jacks.

Eat in the morning!

If you don’t start your day with some sort of breakfast, your body goes into starvation mode and your metabolism slows. Skipping breakfast is also bad for your blood sugar. If you don’t like the traditional cereal, eat left-overs from last night or something simple like peanut butter and an apple.

Speaking of eating - no starvation diets. If you consume less than 1,000 calories per day, your body assumes you are starving and your metabolism slows down.

Eat More Fiber

Whole grains such as brown rice, wheat germ, dark bread, whole-grain cereal, oatmeal and bran leave you feeling full because they take longer to digest than simple carbohydrates. In a study from The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School evaluated the dietary intake of more than 74,000 women for 12 years. Overall, women who regularly ate the most whole-grain foods — about 1.5 servings a day — gained less weight than women who ate the least.

Build Muscle

Build muscle- muscle burns more calories than fat so the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. The bad news is, we lose muscle as we age - if we don't actively try and maintain it. Part of the reason metabolism slows with age is that people lose muscle mass as they age but this can be reversed by strength training. Try for 2-3 strength training workouts per week. Either take a class at the local Y or buy some bands and small weights and work out to music at home.

Add Protein to Your Diet

Resting metabolism increases two to three times more after eating a quality, lean protein rather than consuming simple carbohydrates, like a donut or sugary cereal.

Eat Yogurt or Low-Fat Cottage Cheese

In a recent study from the International Journal of Obesity, women who ate three daily servings of lowfat yogurt lost 60 percent more fat than women who didn't. Foods rich in calcium, like milk, yogurt, low fat cottage cheese or hard cheese, reduce fat-producing enzymes and increase enzymes that break down fat.

Take a Walk After Eating

Your metabolism picks up by 10 percent after eating, and just a few minutes of activity, like walking, could double that boost for up to three hours. Head out for a 10 minute walk withing 15 to 30 minutes of eating a snack or meal. Other light activity will work as well, climbing stairs or doing your strength training exercises for the day.

Drink Metabolism-Boosting Green Tea

Green Tea has it all. It's high in immune boosting antioxidants to keep you health and it also increases metabolism. Plus, if you are replacing sugary drinks like soda with green tea, you save hundreds of calories and grams of sugar. If you don't care for green tea, look for flavored brands or put a couple drops of stevia in your tea. Stevia is a natural sweetener, made from plants, which zero calories.

Add These Vitamins to Your Diet

• B vitamins help boost energy, especially vitamin B-12. Take a good B complex vitamin daily.
• Co-enzyme Q10, also known as CoQ10, which supplies energy to muscles

Add Energy Exercises to Your Routine

Energy Exercises such as yoga, tai chi and Reiki help move energy along the pathways of the body and keep energy channels open.

Get Enough Sleep

Studies show that people who get 7-8 hours of sleep a night keep their weight steady or lose weight, while those who are sleep deprived actually gain weight. Besides, if you are fatigued, you are more likely to reach for empty calorie carbs to boost energy-like a donut!

Can't Sleep? Find some natural sleep tips here