There have been lots of blogs over the last couple of months about getting in shape for summer. It is that time of year when many of us are feeling a bit desperate to lose a few pounds or tone up a few jiggly spots in time to hit the beach. A great way to speed up your progress is to speed up your metabolism.

Some people are born with a fast metabolism, meaning the chemical reactions in their cells occur at a pretty quick rate, so they burn off fat and calories more easily than those with slow metabolisms. According to this article though, there are ways to speed up your metabolic rate, which will help decrease the amount of time it takes to fit into a new bathing suit.

I've heard that eating spicy food helps, but that isn't one of the tips listed. However, it does say to drink lots of green tea to speed up the rate at which calories are burned and to increase the amount of protein you eat to help facilitate fat loss. Check out the article for more tips as well as explanations on how each will help you get yourself in shape a little bit quicker.