Weight Loss Information |
Take Control of Your Metabolism:Quick Tips for Increased Muscle Tone, Faster Fat Burning, and Energy
So many people are talking about how slow their metabolism is and why they need to start taking the latest diet supplement scam yet they don't even understand how the human metabolism works. So before I even go into how to speed yours up, I want to first go over some of the basics. What is metabolism? Although there are many scientific ways for me explain it, and I could make it seem really confusing like most of the so-called experts do, but I won't. I'm going to give you my extremely simple and easy to understand definition... metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories to sustain life I should also note that your body, yes yours, burns calories 24 hours a day, everyday - regardless of whether or not you workout. Remember that your body needs energy all the time, even while you're asleep and that is why skipping meals is the absolute worst thing you can do if your goal is to lose weight (body fat). Before we go any further let's talk about what affects metabolism... What affects metabolism? What do you think has the biggest impact on your metabolism? Activity levels? Your Thyroid? Age? WRONG! WRONG! and WRONG! Activity levels, Thyroid function, and age do affect metabolism but not nearly as much as... Any idea? It's muscle tissue! The more muscle you have the more calories you burn regardless of how active you are, how old you are, etc. It's live tissue and it's there working for you and burning calories 24 hours a day - each and every day! Here's a list of some of the factors affecting metabolism in order of greatest impact to least:
Why does it slow down? How many times have you heard someone say, "as soon as you hit 30 your metabolism slows down"? Maybe you've said it. I know I hear it all the time and I got tired of hearing it so I did a little research and found that the metabolism does NOT slow down significantly due to aging but DOES due to a lack of muscle. And, you don't lose muscle quickly due to aging either but due to a decrease or lack of physical stress. So, the major cause of a slowing metabolism is three fold... So now that we know the problem... what's the solution? Address those 3 issues! I've found through years of experience helping hundreds of people, that increasing your metabolism and getting rid of that excess body fat can often times be quite easy! Yet you'll hear of all these experts telling you how hard it is and why you need to buy their new diet program, supplement, or fitness contraption. It's not that hard, it doesn't have to be confusing, and you don't need any of that crap! All you need is an understanding of how your body works and the willingness to make some small changes. Here's my basic formula for jump starting your metabolism: Step 1 - Stop the storage of new fat It doesn't make any sense to start an exercise program if you just end up adding new fat later that day. This is a problem that is very common among people who start an exercise in an attempt to lose weight. See the problem is this... We don't get fat due to a lack of exercise - we get fat because we supply the body with more calories than it needs at a given time. So the solution has nothing to do with exercise - it's all about your eating! And I'm not saying you have to eat low-fat, super clean and healthy diet consisting of salad and tofu only. You can still eat the foods you like IF you can give the body just the amount it needs. The key is to give the body the energy it needs, but just that amount and not a bunch extra because extra is extra is extra, it doesn't matter what it's from. Salad can be stored as fat, celery can be stored as fat - if it results in extra it can be stored as fat. I should also note that not all extra energy is stored in the fat cells and I will touch on that later. So forget about trying to burn off any fat unless you can first stop storing new fat! Again, you do that by matching your eating to your activity level. This means small, balanced meals or snacks every 2-3 hours and the amount of calories in each feeding should depend on how active you are at that time of day. Step 2 - Attack the existing fat This requires a combination approach consisting of stable blood sugar/energy levels, and progressive cardiovascular/aerobic exercise and strength training. We already talked about how important stable blood sugar and energy levels are and how to match your eating to your activity level so now I'd like to cover the exercise part of the equation. In order for the exercise to even be worth your time you must be sure it's progressive. Just because you run on the treadmill for 30 minutes three times a week, that doesn't mean your body has to burn off that unwanted body fat! You have to force the body to make changes and improvements and the ONLY way to do that is to consistently provide a stimulus or stress that is greater than what the body is used to. Here are some general guidelines on how you can make your exercise progressive and productive: Strength training
Cardiovascular training
For more specific techniques please check out the all the great articles on metabolism and fitness in the free resources section of my website here: http://www.achieve-fitness.com/free_resources.htm I should also say that it is extremely important that you have a well thought out and detailed plan to follow. You can't just say "ok, now I know what to do" and then try a little of this here and little of that there. You need a roadmap. If you are serious about achieving your weight loss and fitness goals I highly recommend you get the help of a professional. Whether that means one on one, personal fitness training or just a do-it-yourself fitness plan - your chances of success are much greater. In closing, please remember, it doesn't have to be confusing. Hopefully this information has shown you how easy it can be if you know what you are doing. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about how you can guarantee your fitness success, please visit my website http://www.achieve-fitness.com or you can give me a call at 240-731-3724. While your'e at my website be sure to sign up for my free email newsletter, Fitness Success News - it's full of great articles, tips, healthy recipes, contests, and more! About The Author Jesse Cannone is a certified personal fitness trainer, post-rehab specialist, nutritionist, and a national fitness presenter. He is also the author of Burn Fat FAST and A Bride's Guide To Fast Fitness + Weight Loss in addition to many other popular fitness articles. He is known for his hard-hitting and to the point style and offers a great free email newsletter called Fitness Success News, which you can subscribe to at his website.
MORE RESOURCES: Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting |
RELATED ARTICLES
Positive Imaging for Weight Loss Visualization is a powerful technique that can help you make lasting lifestyle changes. Just by "day dreaming", you can significantly improve your chances in achieving your goals. Natural Weight Loss: Add to Your Diet and Add Years to Your Life As I was saying in my past articles, others have added years back to there life with a few added ingredients. They also added energy and youth. Say No To Obesity Obesity still remains one of the commonest avoidable causes of several disease conditions. Most often than not, it is a result of the wrong habits or lifestyles. Action Plan to Take the Weight Off This Year Addicted to Restaurants Are you addicted to restaurants? So are lots of Americans. What used to be a "treat," going out for dinner, has become more common that cooking at home, and we think we're better off? Think again. 5 Diet Pill Free Weightloss Tips For Powerful Living Before you even think of taking diet pills to lose weight,carefully consider all of your options. There are plenty ofchanges you can make in your daily eating and excercise habitsthat may help you shed the pounds without turning to diet pills. Dieting? Upgrading Your Non-Conscious - Part 1 Visualizing and Declarations are today's topics.Visualize what you want as if now is how to create everything. Weight Loss Product Warnings -- How to Spot Fat Burning Diets This is the second article in the series, Weight Loss Product Warnings. How to Spot Fat Burning Diets teaches you how to analyze a diet's fat burning potential. How to Lose Weight On A Gluten Free Diet Many celiacs lose weight before they are diagnosed; indeed it is often one of the reasons people go to their doctors in the first place.Once on a gluten-free diet the symptoms disappear, and as a result of better absorption or simply eating more, some people gain too much weight. Low Carb Diets - The South Beach Diet, Atkins Diet, Zone Diet, and More The low carb diet craze has become extremely popular amongst dieters. From diet books, free low carb diet plans, online dieting sites, and thousands of low carb recipes, low carb diets have produced favorable results for millions of overweight people. Controlling Your Hunger And Losing Weight Using Meal Replacement Powders And Bars The market is flooded with weight loss supplements that make weight loss look like an easy thing. You see a perfect bodied young man or woman giving credit to this pill or that pill. Dieting Tips For Fast Weight Loss - How To Jump-start Your Diet Do you want to lose weight fast? While there is no diet that will allow you to eat as much as you want and still lose weight, there are things you can do to speed along the process. Good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle are the most important aspects of any diet, but there are appetite suppressants and diet aids designed to help you burn fat and increase your metabolic rate. Scientific Guidelines for Effective Weight Loss If you have been dieting and haven't lost weight, stop! Don't even think about trying another diet, because it will produce the same results you have already seen.Below you will find "Scientific Guidelines" for weight loss that have always been around, but are not followed by the majority of weight loss programs these days. Holidaze It's the travel time, meaning hours spent sedentary. It prepares me for the visiting, when I know there'll be no activity. Weight Loss Options -- Infrared Radiant Heat Saunas (IR Saunas) Infrared Radiant Heat (IRRH) is a form of radiation that penetrates the outer surface of objects, including human skin. Heat is generated as the infrared energy interacts with and penetrates the skin surface. LA Weight Loss Secrets - High Profile Personal Trainer Shares the Magic Formula! In the early nineties I had the opportunity to work with some of the most famous movie stars in the world. As a manager and personal trainer for Kathy Smith and her health club, I experienced first hand the secrets to the stars. Fit or Fat?! "Hey, you have reduced now, compared to the last time I saw you!"These are golden words for a woman who is fat. This woman would not even have lost an ounce but this one makes her feel good. Hybrid Sweeteners in Todays Health What is the advantage of these new half sugar and half synthetic baking sugars that are on the market? These drink products made with ½ the sugar carbs and ½ synthetic sweeteners and foods marketed and eaten by our kids, does it really give the consumer that much more of an advantage?There was a national news story on NBC Nightly News with Tom Brocaw (11.08. Diet Pills: Tremendous Temptation, Huge Frauds False campaignsMore than 50 percent of Americans and Canadians are overweight or obese. More than a half the advertising campaigns for diet pills and dietary supplements are intentionally false or fail to reveal the truth, according to the FTC. Lose Weight and Burn Fat with One Simple Eating Principle Fifteen years ago the doctor's suggested that we eat pasta as a good healthy food. They also thought we would possibly lose some weight by doing so. Does Fat Free Really Mean Free Of Fat? Do you know what the words really mean on food labels?In this article, you'll discover everything you need to know about how to interpret food labels and make the right food choices.So what does "fat free" really mean?To be labeled "Fat Free", the food must contain less than ½ gram of fat per serving. |
home | site map | contact us |