If you really want to get a lean and toned body, you have to increase the amount of calories you burn around the clock by raising your basal metabolic rate.

Unfortunately, you’ve probably been fed a bunch of lies when it comes to BMR and how to raise it. Extract X, for instance, will not significantly raise your BMR no matter what the infomercial says.

Thus, here are 6 things that affect how many calories you burn around the clock:

1. Age. As you age, BMR goes down because you lose muscle mass. What’s the best way to prevent this? With resistance training that is intense. A solid resistance training program will do wonders for your BMR in additional to your hormonal profile.

2. Muscle mass proportion. Having a solid base of lean muscle tissue will ensure a powerful basal metabolic rate. And if you eat enough vitamins and minerals, the mitochondria (energy producers) within your cells will work full force.

3. A high fever. A strong fever will also raise your BMR. Does this mean you should try to get sick? Absolutely not, but it doesn’t hurt to know the facts.

4. Lots of stress. Stress will create a cascade of events which release certain hormones into your blood stream. And these hormones will raise your BMR. So should you go get stressed out? No, because in the long run too much stress will ruin your immune system and burn through lean tissue.

5. Changes in ambient temperature. When you move into a hot or cold environment, your body burns extra calories while adjusting. Tip: swimming is a great way to burn lots of calories.

6. Fasting. Fasting decreases BMR much faster than most women realize. In a very short amount of time, your metabolism could dip dramatically. The key here is to be in a slightly negative caloric state and to eat every couple of hours. Doing so will minimize the damage.

Knowing what effects your BMR will bring you many steps closer to the lean and sexy body of your dreams. The key here is to ignore all the hype and to seek out reliable sources of information. After all, it’s the facts that will help you reach your goal.

Author Katherine Crawford, a fitness physiologist and recent flabby arms sufferer, teaches women how to get rid of arm flab swiftly. Figure out how to get sexy arms by exploring her website.