Having a hard time losing weight? Blaming a slow metabolism? Stop! People are not predestined to burn calories at a snail's pace. In fact, metabolism rates can be changed using the secrets only weight-loss gurus know.
"The biggest benefit of a higher metabolism is weight loss," says Ben Greenfield, named 2008 Personal Trainer of the Year by the National Strength and Conditioning Association and author of several health and fitness books including 100 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism. "A higher metabolism means that your cells are functioning correctly, ultimately putting you less at risk for many health concerns."
Knowing your body is the key to increasing how it works to your advantage.
Find Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR):
This is the number of calories your body burns for the day when you are completely at rest. Many health clubs now offer a complete body analysis that uses bioelectrical feedback, giving you an in-depth look at the makeup of your body (lean muscle mass, body fat, current body weight, target body weight, etc.). Fit TV offers an online calculator that uses your age, height and weight to get an estimated BMR.
Eat Breakfast:
"If you don't already, eat breakfast," Greenfield says. Eat smaller, more frequent meals that contain protein which helps to build muscle and choose healthy snacks. Greenfield advises his clients to eat every one to three hours, even if it's just a slice of cantaloupe or 13 almonds. When you wait longer periods of time between meals, your body goes into starvation mode and begins to store calories as fat. This concept is further supported by a study among boxers where one-half of the boxers consumed two daily meals (600 calories each), and the other one-half consumed six daily meals (200 calories each). Both groups showed similar amount of weight loss, but boxers eating only twice daily lost more muscle and less fat than those eating six times daily. Of course, eating just one or two big meals a day is how sumo wrestlers maintain their shape.
Get Moving:
Aerobic exercise increases your metabolism while you are exercising and for a period of time afterward. Weight training increases your metabolism for the long term because it increases your lean muscle mass and muscle burns more calories than fat. Greenfield recommends a workout routine that incorporates interval training and weight training. He warns, "Don't get stuck in the mindset that exercise only takes place at the gym. You can get a great workout in your living room, basement or yard just doing basic exercises using your own body weight." Greenfield offers some video exercises on his website.
Remember, losing weight is just a formula. To be successful, you must burn more calories than you consume.
