What are some of the best ways to burn body fat? Let's look at a few of the ones that produce good results for most everyone. We may uncover hidden secrets while we're at it. It may seem quite simple, but simple often means effective because you'll see dramatic results from simple causes.

The biggest secret for losing weight quickly and burning body fat is to raise your metabolism. We'll explore some simple of raising your metabolism. Once you get started, you'll find your body burning fat much faster and more efficiently.

There are three components to any program to boost your metabolism: cardiovascular training (also called "cardio" and "aerobic training"), strength training (weight lifting), and nutrition. Your metabolic boost program should include all three. Let's find out why by looking at each one.

Cardio workouts are activities where you raise your heart rate and break a sweat, but you're not working against heavy resistance as in weight lifting. If you're not in shape to run or jog, start by walking. Walking is one of the easiest and simplest fat burning secrets there is.

Set a goal of walking or jogging 45 minutes a day, at least five days a week. But you don't have to start at that level. Start with ten minutes if that's all you can manage. You can raise your metabolism walking as few as ten minutes a day.

One important fat burning secret of cardio workouts is that your metabolism stays elevated for hours after you finish your workout. The more intense your workout is, the longer this benefit extends. What this means for you is that your body continues to burn fat after you finish your walk or your jog. You're getting a lot of benefit for a little work.

Strength training is important because it causes the body to add muscle tissue, also known as "lean body mass." This is the second fat burning secret, because the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be. It takes more energy to sustain muscle tissue, so you get a double benefit. Your larger muscles also cause your body to burn more fat.

Do you have to be a dedicated body builder to experience this effect? Not at all. If you do a short weight lifting program using light weights three or four times a week, you can raise your metabolism significantly.

The third great fat burning secret is nutrition, which means what you eat and how you eat. Don't fall for the idea that skipping meals is a good way to lose weight. Skipping meals is actually a good way to slow down your metabolism, which is not what you want to be doing at all. But when you skip meals or wait too long between meals, that's exactly what happens. Your body slows down because it thinks you don't have enough to eat.

So what's the secret? Eat smaller meals more often, as simple as that. When you change your eating style like this, you're much more likely to lose weight and keep it off.

And be sure to eat the right kinds of foods. Lean protein is the best metabolism booster. That means lean meat and fish. Carbohydrates have the opposite effect; they slow you down. So cut down on sugars and especially starches. Eat them only in moderation. Your metabolic rate actually increases at least twice as much when you eat protein compared to eating carbohydrates or fats.

Does this sound too simple? Sometimes the simplest approach is the most effective. You actually can lose weight safely and quickly by adopting these simple fat burning secrets that boost your metabolism.