We can always blame the genetics, but everyone is able to make the most of what they’ve got to be their slimmest, fittest and finest self.  Even if you already know that our metabolism slows down as we age, we have got to find a way get what we truly desire, a healthy fit body.

We found out what real people with high metabolism do right. Adopt their ways to shrink your waist and get in peak shape.

1.  Eat Enough – Right Number of Calories

Cut down on unnecessary calories.  When we say enough, we mean not too low, because if this happens, your body throws the brakes on your metabolism.  It will begin to breakdown some muscles, which we really don’t want to happen.  Knowing your number is key because it means you’ll be aware of exactly how many calories to consume to maintain your weight.

2.  Calculate your calorie burn

You want to drop 1 – 2 pounds in a week?  Shave 500 extra calories a day by eating less, double the effort to work out, or ideally- do both.  Your result is the number of calories per day you need to maintain your current weight.

3.  Make workouts a regular thing

“Doing cardio exercise three to five times a week is associated with a higher metabolic rate at rest,” says Wayne Westcott, PhD, professor of exercise science at Quincy College, in Quincy, Mass. That means that even when out of the gym, your body is burning above and beyond what it would have had you never hauled butt over there. And there’s new research to show how you can boost your rate while you’re exercising, too. You’ve probably heard of Tabata, a workout in which, for four minutes, you alternate 20 seconds of all-out effort with 10 seconds of rest. When Michele Olson, PhD, professor of exercise physiology at Auburn University, in Auburn, Ala., had subjects try it with squat jumps, they burned 13.5 calories per minute; most moderate-intensity cardio burns just 6 or 7 calories per minute. “You can do it with almost any exercise,” she says, like sprints, jumping jacks or—better yet—burpees.

4.  Don’t blow off lifting

A pound of muscle burns more calories than a pound of fat. Up to nine times the amount, in fact. “Lifting weights is the top way to stave off age-related metabolic drop,” says Pamela Peeke, MD, assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. For some key moves to incorporate into your workouts twice a week,

5.  No to Yo-Yo diet

Another reason not to let your weight seesaw: You’ll hamstring your metabolism. “My patients with the lowest metabolisms are the weight cyclers,” says Scott Isaacs, MD, clinical instructor of medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine. “When you lose weight, you lose muscle and fat, but when you gain it back, it’s mostly fat, which burns fewer calories.”  The popular thought is that weight cycling makes it harder to lose weight each time. But according to a recent study published in the journal, Metabolism, those with a history of weight cycling did just as well in their efforts to lose weight as those who were new dieters.  The bottom line is that it’s okay (and even natural) to cycle. The goal, however, is to stay close to your baseline so you don?t have to struggle to lose the same 20, 30, 40 pounds all over again.

6.  Get a bedtime snack

Take note that this applies only if you’re exercising regularly. If not, then you should start doing so.  Two recent Florida State University studies found that having 150 calories about 30 minutes before you go to sleep—that’s an extra 150 calories added to your day, not taken out of your daily allotment—boosted metabolism in the morning, compared with having none. For best results, go for protein like low-fat milk or cottage cheese.

BDST: 1223 HRS, Nov-29, 2014