You can bump up your metabolism. Start with the two items that will make the biggest difference in your metabolism both now and down the road.

1. Increase your lead body mass. We tend to play and exercise more when we're young. Then as work and family demands increase, what usually happens? ‘Me' time goes down the tubes and exercise and activity go right along with it. We're too tired to do anything at the end of a long day so the remote control sees all the action. When the body doesn't get exercise for routine maintenance just like your car, it won't run well. Lean muscle mass needs to be maintained. Otherwise your body composition starts to change resulting in more body fat and less lean muscle.
   
   Lean muscle burns calories and fat. It is the furnace of the body or the metabolically active tissue. One pound of muscle burns around 30-50 calories per day compared to body fat which burns around 3-5 calories per day. If there was ever a case to get up and move around, this is it. Find activities and types of exercise that you enjoy and make them a part of your life now. Include strength training as it boosts metabolism even more.
   
2. Eat more protein. New research suggests that modestly increasing the amount of protein in the diet may improve body composition, facilitate weight loss and improve weight maintenance after weight lost. The range for protein has traditionally been 5-35% of totally daily calories. Now the suggestion is to reach the higher end of that range….20-35% of total calories coming from protein.
   
   So, let's say you've been eating around 1800 calories per day and you want to consume about 25% of those calories from protein. 25% of 1800 is 450 calories per day from protein. To figure this as grams of protein, remember that there are 4 calories per gram so 450/4 = 112 grams of protein per day. This amount is probably more than most women eat per day but typical for many men.
   
   What to do? Be sure to include a protein source at every meal and snack. Choose high quality protein such as eggs, low fat cheese, fish and poultry, yogurt, lean pork or beef or meat alternatives. Also include nuts, soy, dried beans and peas.