4 Effective Ways to Burn Fat

It doesn’t have to be a struggle every time you decide boost your metabolism to lose weight. We tapped nutrition and fitness experts for their top straightforward tips to help you see real results.

Lift Weights: When trainer Tia Falcone helped Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri shed 50 pounds, weight training was essential to her success. "All women need to gain as much muscle as humanly possible,” she says. “That's what's going to make you smaller, and it raises your base metabolism permanently." The less muscle you have, the slower your metabolism.

In addition to making you strong and toned, lifting heavy weights affects your hormone levels, offering your body the natural ability to burn fat for a full 24 hours after your workout, which is called an “after-burn effect.”

Eat More Protein: To burn more fat, it's time to put the focus on nutrients and not so much on the calories. High-protein foods take more work to "digest, metabolize, and use, which means you burn more calories processing them," says Esther Blum, R.D. Eating adequate protein also helps maintain strong muscle tissue—something that is often lost with a low-calorie or low-protein diet.

Go to Bed: Don’t underestimate the power of sleep. "If you're not sleeping enough or properly, your whole system and circadian rhythms are off," says trainer Jennifer Cohen, author of Strong Is the New Skinny. This can impact your metabolism.

Beyond your body's fat-burning power, a lack of sleep leaves you sluggish all day long and can even lead to belly fat. Be sure to get (at least) seven hours a night to give your body ample rest to function at its top potential.

Drink Water: For trainer Valerie Walters, drinking plenty of water is an absolute must for a robust metabolism—even when the weather cools off! "People start forgetting when it's cold and they are dashing around, but this is always an important fitness advice," she says.

One study shows that people who drank eight to 12 glasses of water a day burn more fat than those who only drank four, so make sure you get your fill.