How would you like to burn more calories when you work out, when you eat and even when you sleep? All you need to do is lift weights.

Before you grab the dumbbells, our fitness expert, Lori Johnson, has some advice on the best way to tone up and lose weight as you go.

Erica Eikmeier has come a long way in a year. Despite regular workouts, she wasn't happy with the results so she decided to get serious about lifting weights.

She says, "I wanted to see less body fat. I wanted to see my clothes fit different. It wasn't necessarily a scale change but I wanted to see just my body shrink."

Fitness trainer Lori Johnson knows weights work. The more muscle mass we have, the higher our metabolism, and the more calories we'll burn.

Lori says, "You're going to see your body fat going down. Your muscles are better, more toned. You're going to see your resting heart rate go down, many benefits. You'll be more energized."

Here's the catch. It takes four to six weeks before we'll notice any difference in our bodies.

One of the most common mistakes we make when it comes to lifting weights is to take it too easy on ourselves. If we can do 15 to 20 reps without breaking a sweat, it means one thing: we need to bump up the weight.

For the best results, lift two or three times a week and focus on large muscle groups and joints. That's what Erica did and one year later she's stronger, healthier, and happier.

She says, "I can splurge a little bit more, not have to watch my calories in versus calories out like I used to as much because the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn."

Lori Johnson believes lifting weights becomes even more important as we age, and our muscles start to break down. And women afraid of "bulking up" should relax. Johnson says it's genetically impossible for us to get big and bulky naturally.