In the days just after Thanksgiving and in the season just before Christmas, holiday gatherings center around a variety of temptation. Boosting the metabolism is the holy grail of weight watchers every where. Here are a few tips on how to rev it up! (courtesy WebMD.com) 

1. Don't fall for "fat-burning foods."

Can certain foods -- such as celery and grapefruit -- help you lose weight? Not so, say Shames and Lakatos. "Celery is low in calories and has a good deal of fiber, but it doesn't speed up your metabolism," says Shames. As for rumors that grapefruit increases your body's ability to burn calories because of its acidity, there are no studies to substantiate that myth. "In fact, if you were to eat the same number of grapefruits as any other fruit, such as peaches, or oranges, you may actually be more likely to gain weight from eating the grapefruit, as they are slightly higher in calories (due to their larger size)," says Lakatos.

2. Don't fast or skip meals.

The idea that fasting or skipping meals regularly is a great way to cleanse the system of impurities, speed metabolism, and encourage weight loss is just another myth, says Sue Ayersman, a certified clinical nutritionist (CCN) at Kronos Optimal Health Centre in Scottsdale, Ariz. "Your body needs a certain amount of calories and nutrients each day for normal function," says Ayersman. "Denying the body of these essential elements throws the system into survival mode, slowing metabolism and encouraging the storage of energy in the form of fat. You have to eat in order to lose weight." Four to six small meals a day is a good way to keep your metabolism humming.

3. Spice foods up for taste.

Spicy foods don't really help you burn calories, says Carey Clifford, MS, RD, vice president of Nutricise (www.nutricise.com), an online nutrition and weight loss program. But they may help you enjoy healthy choices such as vegetables and chicken. "Spicy foods may boost your metabolism slightly, but unfortunately, it's too small a boost to be significant," says Clifford.

4. Drink water.

Lack of water can slow the metabolic rate just as lack of food can, says John Acquaviva, PhD, assistant professor of health and human performance at Roanoke College in Salem, Va. "Since water is the body's most important nutrient, the liver will turn its concentration to water retention instead of doing other duties such as burning fat."

5. Tone up.

Becoming more active will stimulate your metabolism, says Susan L. Burke, MS, RD/LD, CDE, director of nutrition services for eDiets. Muscle is more metabolically active than fat, she Aerobic exercise will burn calories, says Burke, who recommends at least 60 minutes of moderate activity every day. Combined activity counts -- walk, skip, jog, or danceexplains, so replacing your fat stores with lean muscle allows you to maintain your weight much more easily. "It's not necessary to become a body builder," says Burke. "Just use light weights to firm and tone your muscles."

6. Get moving.

. Activity in your home counts, too. Garden, clean closets, or clean your house. "You'll burn the most calories, however, with sustained activity that gets your heart rate up," says Burke.

7. Watch those calories.

The bottom line when it comes to metabolism, says Susan Burke, "If it sounds too good to be true, it is."

 Farming accounted for 0.9 percent of the U.S. economy last year, generating 11 percent of total exports and employing 2.635 million people. And, in the midst of drought-plagued areas throughout the nation, U.S. farmers are having their most-profitable year ever because of record-high prices  - and insurance claims.

The government is predicting that food inflation will accelerate next year, led by meat, dairy and baked goods. While smaller harvests are reducing supplies in the United States, which is the biggest agricultural exporter, slowing demand and more production in other nations are easing the impact.

Farmer income likely will jump 6.9 percent to $144 billion, exceeding the government's August estimate of $139.3 billion, said Neil Harl, an economist at Iowa State University. Parched fields that drove corn, soybean and wheat futures as much as 68 percent higher since mid-June mean insurance payouts may more than double to $28 billion, according to Doane Advisory Services, a farm and food-company researcher in St. Louis. Meanwhile, livestock producers are also paying higher feed costs. 

Government-backed insurance policies already have paid $5.74 billion in claims on liabilities of $116.3 billion, according to the USDA.

Farm income has more than doubled since 2006, and three consecutive years of record profit left U.S. farmers with a ratio of debt to assets of 10.2 percent, the lowest since the government began tracking the data in 1960.

The gauge of net income for farmers subtracts costs including seed, fertilizer, labor and interest on debt from gross cash income. The USDA updates its farm income forecast Nov. 27 and farm-trade estimates on Nov. 29.

Rising profit has helped spur a land rush. The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said Nov. 15 that farmland in Iowa, the largest U.S. corn and soybean grower, rose 18 percent in the year that ended Oct. 1. A farm in Iowa's prime northwest growing region sold several weeks ago for a record $21,900 an acre, topping the previous high last year of $20,000.

The surge in U.S. farmland prices signals that the market may be in a bubble, Alex Pollock, a former CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, said in a recent Heritage Foundation report. The gains would be threatened by higher interest rates and lower crop prices, he said.

However, the Federal Reserve Board has pledged to keep rates at a record low until at least mid-2015.

See the complete story here.

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U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has urged Congress to break a logjam and pass a reform-minded farm bill, but two lobbyists said the deadlocked $500 billion bill may not be enacted for months, or even a year. 

Vilsack, who is expected to stay at USDA for at least the start of President Barack Obama's second term, told Reuters the department "would do everything we can" to implement a new farm bill in time for the 2013 harvest next fall. 

With deficit reduction at the top of the agenda for lawmakers during a brief post-election session, Vilsack said "reform becomes a very important component" for the farm bill, already six weeks overdue. 

Months ago Obama suggested $33 billion in agricultural cuts, and analysts say the best chance to pass a farm bill this year would be to use its budget cuts as part of an overall plan to reduce the federal deficit. 

But they see little chance of a budget pact and say the farm bill is a minor issue for lawmakers to spend time on, compared to looming automatic budget cuts and tax increases.

Read more about "reform minded farm bill" here.