Metabolism And Weight Loss

Anyone who ever tried to loose weight knows that the so much promised fad diets, miracle metabolism boosting pills or the latest fat burning exercise machine do not exactly work as advertised.

You know that but again and again you felt for it. You spent your money and you want to believe that there is somewhere the magic panacea to rapid and easy weight loss but nothing seems to work.

But there is a solution: If you know how to boost your metabolism your body will burn more calories which mean you will be losing the extra fat you accumulated over the years.

1.The most energy your body uses is to maintain the normal bodily functions like respiration, beating of the heart and the maintenance of body temperature. This continual work makes up about 60-70% of the calories you expand daily and is called the Resting Metabolic Rate.

Solution: To increase your Resting Metabolism build more muscles. Muscle cells more metabolically active than fat cells, and muscle burns more calories than fat. One of the ways to increase your resting metabolism is to add weight-bearing or resistance exercise to your routine.

2.The energy that you use moving around during the day, from getting out of bed in the morning until lying down at night makes around 20-30% of the total daily energy you use and is called the Thermic Effect of Exercise.

Solution: To increase your metabolism increase your physical activity. Wherever possible leave the car behind and walk instead,take the stairs instead of a lift, walk regularly, ride a bike, swim, take dance or aerobic class, etc. The possibilities are endless and you will not even realize how much more calories you burn by being just a little more active.

3.Your body uses calories to digest the food you eat so every time you eat you boost your metabolism. This process is called the Thermic Effect of Food and it accounts for 5-10% of total calorie expenditure, depending on the food.

Solution: To boost your metabolism eat little but more often.
The more often you eat the more calories you burn so eating healthy mini meals every 3 hours is a great way to increase your daily caloric expenditure and cut down on cravings.

Include in your diet good quality protein, complex carbohydrates and high in fiber fruits and vegetables.

4.Dehydration can contribute to an inefficient metabolism by affecting your body temperature. When you are dehydrated, your body temperature slightly drops causing your body to store fat as a way to help raise or maintain the temperature.

Solution: Drink enough water throughout the day.If you are more active you will need more water to drink throughout the day. Drink between 1.5liter and 2liter a day.

In hot days you may need even more. Try not to drink water with your meal or just before eating. The best way is to have a glass of water minimum half an hour before each meal and up to two hours after each meal.