1. Eat something within the first hour of waking up. It can be as little as two crackers. Coffee alone does not count. This will wake up your digestive system and get your body to start burning calories.

2. Eat a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack. This will help keep the fire of your metabolism stoked and prevent you from getting too hungry before your next meal. Ideally, you should always eat something at your first sign of hunger and stop eating once you are no longer hungry. If you picture your stomach as your body's gas tank, it should always remain between ¼ and ¾ full.

3. Eat a total of 8-10 fruits and vegetables everyday (one serving = the size of a tennis ball). One blended smoothie and one large salad will easily get you to this goal. Consuming this volume will provide your RDI for fiber, improve your cholesterol level, reduce your risk of cancer and heart disease and displace many other high-fat foods in your diet. This is the easiest way to easily lose weight and improve your health.

4. Limit your intake of beverages that have more than 100 calories to two per day. This will include soda, beer, wine, lemonade, hot cocoa, etc… Research shows that calories consumed from beverages will not replace other calories in your day. For example, if you drink a mocha cappuccino with 500 calories, you will not automatically cut 500 calories out of your food intake later in the day.

5. Drink two 32-ounce sports bottles filled with water everyday. Ideally, your sports bottle will have a straw, as it will help you drink it faster. You should be finished drinking the water at least 4 hours before going to bed so that you are not waking up to go to the bathroom. Your body requires water to break body fat down into a usable energy source.

6. Stop eating at least three hours before going to bed. Your body is preparing for fasting mode and does not need any extra calories while you sleep. If you always go to bed at 10p.m, your cut off time for eating is 7p.m.

7. Record everything you eat and drink in a Lifestyle Diary. When an individual who has lost weight finds that she is slipping back into poor eating and exercise habits, my first recommendation is to "pull out your lifestyle diary and begin journaling daily". The client almost instantly identifies the area where she has gotten off-track and can correct the problem before it gets out of control.

8. Move your body for 30 minutes at least 5 days per week. You can walk 10 minutes, three times. You can march in place to your favorite sitcom. You can do pretty much anything other than just "being busy" or working. Adding isometric (squeezing) exercises you can do while sitting at a desk or in a car to tighten flabby areas. You can do leg lifts while brushing your teeth or lunge your way to the bathroom.

9. Get a good night sleep on a regular basis. Research shows that sleep deprivation (as little as two nights with 5 hours or less sleep) will increase the body's production of the hormone greylin (appetite-stimulant) and decrease the hormone leptin (satiety hormone). This will cause an increase in your appetite and you will find that it takes a greater volume of food to be satisfied.

10. Weigh yourself on a regular basis. Monitoring your weight will help you stay on track with your healthy lifestyle habits. We would all rather deal with 5 pounds than 20.

Most people think you need to devote hours each day to preparing meals and exercising, yet you can make these activities a part of your simple daily routine. With the addition of just a few of these daily choices, most will find that they can increase their energy level and lose weight without restrictive dieting.

If you have a weight loss question for me, you can email me at Jill@ThinChoices.com.

The 10 Best Strategies to Raise your Metabolism for Almost Effortless Weight Loss: By Jill Fleming, MS, RD, Author of "Thin People Don't Clean Their Plates". www.ThinChoices.com