Build Your Beach Bod

Still working toward sculpting that summer beach body? Here are 11 helpful tips offered by Prevention magazine to help you rev up your metabolism, burn more calories, and get your body swimsuit-ready. Eat enough. Cutting too many calories slows your metabolism and improves the body's ability to store fat. Eat breakfast. Breakfast jump-starts your metabolism and keeps energy levels high throughout the day. Drink coffee or tea. A cup of caffeinated coffee in the morning can boost your metabolism by 5% to 8%; tea can increase it by up to 12%. Eat more fiber. Boosting fiber intake can improve your body's ability to burn fat by as much as 30%. Drink cold water. Warming cold water up to body temperature can burn an additional 50 calories per day. Eat organics. Chemicals in pesticides may interfere with the body's energy-burning process. Add protein. Including protein in every meal can improve your body's ability to burn calories by up to 35%. Eat iron-rich foods. A low-iron diet results in low energy and a diminished metabolism. Get more vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential in building, maintaining, and repairing muscle tissue. The more lean muscle you have, the more calories you burn. Stick to one cocktail. Your body burns alcohol before fat stores. Drink milk. Calcium deficiency can slow the body's metabolism.