If your weight is slowly creeping up, start a plan to boost your metabolism to help your body burn calories faster. Metabolism is largely determined by genetics. However, it is also influenced by nutrition and physical activity.

“Normalize” you metabolism by eating a varied diet filled with natural foods, and decreasing your intake of processed foods that contain artificial sweeteners and colors, trans fats and other unnatural substances that your body’s natural metabolism doesn’t know how to read. That's according to the book The Fat Resistance Diet by Leo Galland, MD.

B vitamins and magnesium help maintain metabolism and energy. As far as exercise, muscles burn more calories than fat.

Muscle mass generally declines with age, which is why strength training becomes more important with each passing year. However, if you suddenly jump into an extreme exercise plan it will fake your body into starvation mode, triggering it to conserve energy by burning calories more slowly.

Get into a rhythm of activity and increase it gradually. Exercise affects metabolism over a 24-hour period. Combined with sensible eating, it can help you maintain a healthy weight while giving your body the muscle it needs to burn calories efficiently.