Higher Metabolism for Weight Loss
Lose Pounds Rapidly Without Dieting
The key to healthful, long-term weight loss is raising the metabolism through enjoyable exercise. Simply eating less might make you skinny, but the pounds come back.
Dieting is depressing!
Losing weight by just eating less is depressing. Not only does it depress the dieter mentally, it also depresses the metabolism. The overweight person wants their body to burn up some of the stored fat, so typically they reduce calories below their body’s needs. But instead of burning fat, the starving body slows down its metabolism to try to maintain its stores of fat while living off the new energy that’s being ingested in the meager, unappealing meals. Even if the dieter is using the better-tasting commercial weight-loss products, if they aren’t fixing their metabolism problem, they will put the weight back on—and that will be really depressing!
Metabolism is the key
If the goal is to burn stored fat, then doesn’t it make sense to increase the metabolism? A sedentary person may only need 1,500 calories to maintain their weight. In order to diet the pounds away, they’ll have to limit themselves to 1,000 miserable calories per day. If they exercise instead, raising their calorie needs to 2,500 calories per day; they can eat normal meals and still lose weight. The metabolism is the key to weight loss. Diet may be a tool. Exercise may be a tool. But the metabolism is key. A very readable book called The Metabolic Plan explains the metabolism and its role in weight loss and overall health.
A moderate increase in exercise, such as walking just fast enough to get the heart pumping a bit, will boost the metabolism and the sense of well-being. As the days roll by, the person can increase the speed, the distance or the time and burn more and more stored fat. Talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program.
The really great thing about exercise is that when you stop and flop into a comfy chair with a nice cup of tea, you’re still burning fat because the metabolism is still doing its job long after you stop moving. Drinking room-temperature water after exercising will keep the rate of the metabolism up for a longer time.
Can I still have two cheeseburgers with fries for lunch?
No. Admittedly, if the sedentary, overweight person is eating 3,000 calories per day, they will have to cut back to match their actual energy needs. Exercise can’t compensate for overeating. Most people need 1,500 to 2,500 calories per day, depending on sex, age and body size. It’s good to analyze the average amount of food eaten and estimate the daily calories taken in.
Or if the overweight person is eating junk food, or even the “Standard American Diet” (SAD), they’ll have trouble losing weight. A person who wants to lose weight should consider The Mediterranean Diet in the correct amounts for their exercise program. It is a tasty diet with plenty of healthy fat from olive oil. This is not a diet for dieting, it’s a healthy way of eating for a lifetime.
Another diet in the same category is the Eat Right 4 Your Type Diet. Again—not a diet for losing weight, just a healthy way to eat. With this diet the types of foods are adjusted slightly according to the person’s blood type.
Exercise for the fun of it
For most people who just need to take off several noticeable pounds, weight loss can come effortlessly if they’ll put some effort into finding some fun ways to exercise.
Exercise needs to become part of our permanent lifestyle, not just for weight loss but also for a healthy immune system and a sense of joy. A person who doesn’t exercise—even if they eat so little that they get to their goal weight—will not be attractive. They’ll look skinny. An attractive body is shaped by toned muscle.
There are excellent articles in Suite101 with suggestions for raising the metabolism in fun ways:
