If only we had a gadget that could zap away the fat in our midsections in a jiffy, no one would be obese and everyone would be sexy. But no such gadget exists. Well, liposuction comes close, and all the other cosmetic surgery procedures that are fast becoming popular these days, but you've got stay in a hospital for those operations, so they don't technically come under the jurisdiction of a "gadget".

But wait, we do have that gadget and it's tailored to fit each one of us pretty well. Even better, it's inside each of us, too, so there's no chance of us losing it or leaving it anywhere simply because we bring it with us each time. The thing is, it needs a little bit of prodding from us to get going, but when it does, boy, does it burn fat! It's called our metabolism.

However, our metabolism only works in proportion to the quantity of food we eat and the amount of physical activity we do. With the right kinds of food, correct ways of eating and regular exercise, our metabolism is able to burn calories and hence, fat, faster. This results to bodies with less fat and more tone.

To increase our metabolic rate, here are some tips:

1. Eat carbohydrates early in the day and gradually lessen them at night. This way, you won't store fat late at night.

2. Eat every two to three hours. This prevents you from starving yourself and keeps your metabolic rate up. Small frequent meals have been shown to be beneficial for weight loss since it keeps you from starving.

3. Consume 8 to 12 glasses of water in a day. Drink one glass before meals. Water, especially when cold, facilitates a faster calorie burn.

4. Don't skip breakfast. Without fuel from a night of fasting, your body goes into starvation mode, causing your metabolism to slow down and store whatever fats or carbohydrates are left, in anticipation for famine ahead. This causes you to snack on unhealthy foods throughout the day that are not beneficial for weight loss.

5. Don't go on a crash diet. Self-imposed famine also slows metabolism down to prepare the body for starvation. When you go back to your regular diet, you will gain more weight than you started off because your metabolic rate has slowed.

6. Add chili to your diet. Peppers such as cayenne have been shown to increase metabolic rate.

7. Drink green tea. Aside from its high antioxidant content that helps prevent certain cancers, green tea also increases metabolism to help burn fat faster.

8. Exercise. Nothing beats cardiovascular exercises in increasing metabolic rate to burn calories. With regular exercises, your body continues to burn fat even after an exercise session.

It only takes a little bit of discipline, healthier food choices and a lot of physical activity to ignite the key to our body's built-in zap-burning system going. Keep your metabolic rate up, and you'll surely be on the road towards getting back in shape.