I recently downloaded a series of fitness exercises onto my phone- some of the exercises are designed with the purpose of increasing muscle mass through anaerobic activities such as Pilates, Yoga, sit-ups, and weight-lifting. As I sweated through the exercises, I wondered how strength-training would affect (if at all) my calorie-burning and metabolic rate. As I usually do when confronted with such a dilemma, I turned to Internet and did a little detective work.

According to the Mayo Clinic, who has an extensive web-site on health, diet, and fitness-related issues, strength-training activities don't burn as many calories as aerobic activities such as bicycling, walking, or jogging; however, strength-training and weight-lifting activities do increase muscle mass. Muscle mass improves your metabolism while you are at rest or working out because fat burns calories at a slower rate than muscle mass does.

Your BMI (Body Mass Index) affects your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) or the number of calories that you burn while you are at rest. THIS website claims to have a calculator which can give you a numerical value for your daily calorie needs based on your height, weight, sex, and age.

The Mayo Clinic warns against quick-fix starvation diets for weight-loss, as well as diet-pills claiming to speed up a person's metabolism. The rationale behind these warnings is that your body will balance out your metabolic rate on its own-depriving yourself of healthy meals is a decidedly unhealthy option. In addition, diet-pills are dangerous.

What else can someone do to increase metabolism? For one, working larger muscle groups makes sense because the more muscle mass a person has in relation to their body mass, the faster their metabolism will be. As THIS site points out, remembering to work out your legs and your back is more important than working out your arm muscles in terms of metabolism.

As far as eating goes, eating protein and fiber can also help boost a person's metabolism to healthy levels that will help you lose weight more easily.