Our muscles actively burn off the calories that we consume. They require more energy to work effectively. If we are living an inactive lifestyle, our muscles break down and they don't burn the calories like they should. Therefore, if our muscles are not breaking down the calories we consumed, it gets converted to fat cells.
When we are not active, our metabolism decreases, and as a result less calories are burned for energy and more are stored as fat.
A more active person slows the decline of their muscles mass and may even increase the overall muscle mass, depending on activity, and then the metabolism is higher. This makes it easier for a person to lose weight.
How do you increase your metabolism?
* Exercise that helps build muscle, also helps increase metabolism. Any exercise will help.
* Eat smaller meals more frequently. If you have a small, healthy snack in between meals you can actually jumpstart your metabolism.
* Don't starve yourself when trying to lose weight. If your body has nothing to metabolize, it will slow down completely. Then when you go to eat, your body will have a very difficult time breaking down food without it turning straight into fat.
* One of the best low-impact exercises to do is walking. Try walking for 30 minutes three times a week. It will increase your metabolism considerably.
* Make sure you eat breakfast. If you don't start your day getting your metabolism going, you could have a hard time doing it when you eat a big lunch or big dinner.
How you eat - Your eating habits can play a huge role in determining your weight. Do you eat smaller, lean servings instead of gorging yourself on your mother's world-famous spaghetti and meatballs? What about how fast you eat? All of these things have an effect on your ability to gain and lose weight.
Here are a few tips on your eating habits that can have a profound effect on your battle to lose weight.
* High-fat, high calorie foods are tough on the body, and it takes a long time to break them down. You are at greater risk if you are eating foods like this. Pastas with cheeses and or cream sauces are an example of high fat and high- calorie.
* Take your time when you eat - for a number of reasons. First, your stomach takes time to tell your brain you are full. You risk overeating when you eat too fast. Second, if you chew your food completely, the enzymes in your saliva aid in the breaking down of complex compounds in your foods, making it easier for your body to keep up. It's also worth mentioning that the faster you eat, the greater chance you have of building up gas.
* Eat smaller portions more often. We discussed this earlier, and you can boost your metabolism by making it work in smaller session more often. Also it helps when you eat smaller portions, because you don't risk overeating and forcing your body to keep up with your eating.
Your genetic makeup - Your metabolism may already be determined for you by the genes your parents passed down. But, this is NOT an excuse for not doing what you can to raise your metabolism if you have been passed down a slower one by nature. Just as people with higher metabolism can lower it by reducing activity and having poor eating habits.
Many people who are overweight or obese will say, "it's hereditary." This can be the case, but your genes are just a small part of the overall picture. They only determine whether or not there is a likelihood of a person having a predisposition for obesity.
Exercise - Everyone needs to get exercise. There is no replacement for getting the heart pumping and building up those muscles when it comes to losing weight. But, not enough of us make the time to get it. Exercise doesn't have to be pumping iron at the gym or even taking a 10-mile bike ride. Take your dog for a 30-minute walk around the park. He will love it, and you will feel better, too.
You've all heard the benefits of exercise before, but they are worth mentioning again:
* You will feel better. Isn't that a good start? Exercise rejuvenates the mind, body and spirit.
* Exercise rebuilds muscles and therefore increases your metabolism. Remember muscles are burners of energy and the more muscles the more calories are burned.
* Exercise lowers stress. Studies have shown that even 20 minutes of exercise, three times a week can have a dramatic effect on your stress level.
* Exercise burns calories. When we get further into the book, and learn the process for losing weight over the long haul, you will understand why burning calories is so important. If you burn more calories than you eat, then your body starts burning the fat.
If you don't exercise on a regular basis, you will gain weight. That is almost as sure as death and taxes. Especially if you continue eating at a rate where you would be packing on the pounds if you did do some exercise.
Always remember that exercise can be any physical activity - walking, cycling, swimming, sex - anything where you are raising your heart rate for an extended period of time. For some people, that could even be working in the garden.
Would You Like to Learn More? visit http://www. shape-and-slim.com/hoodia
One of the most common reasons for weight gain and problems controlling your weight begin with the reliance on fad diets and the empty promises that only increase the cycle of continuous weight gain. When it comes to losing weight, so many people are looking for a quick fix that requires no effort or self discipline it can be easy to fall into those fad diets that promise you will lose 30lbs in 30days. For many people this is completely unrealistic but because you want it to work, you try it and find yourself losing weight and gaining it back instantaneously. Although this is perhaps one of the most common reasons people have problems losing weight, it is not the only factor that increases weight gain.
Our society today is based on fast paced way of living and because of this it can become almost impossible to live a healthy lifestyle when there are so many different drive-thru restaurants to choose from which deliver great tasting food and fast. For this reason, taking the time to not only cook a healthy meal but learn what is healthy and what is bad for you can take too much time out of your already busy day. Taking the time to understand how to lose weight and where you are making your mistakes is the most important aspect of weight loss.
When you are over weight, this means that the calories you intake on a day-to-day basis exceed the amount your body is able store. Remember that calories, fat and carbohydrates are required for your body to function properly, no matter what the fad diets tell you. Although some people may suffer from chronic disorders that cause them to gain more pounds than others but this is not as common as poor eating habits, irregular eating patterns and lack of physical activity. Not many people today can say that are constantly active and work to eat healthy on a daily basis, even if weight is an issue for them.
Whether you use food to solve your emotional problems or you eat when you are bored or you simply eat uncontrollably when you are stressed or feeling anxious, these are the types of eating habits that not only cause you to gain weight but excessive amounts of weight. When you are eating for these reasons, it is more common that the foods you consume are more calorie packed than normal. Foods that include potato chips, fried foods, fast food, candies, chocolates and junk food in general are considered to be these comfort foods and are quite dangerous for your health.
The problem with controlling weight gain is that when you reach a certain level of weight gain, you restrict your own flexibility and motion abilities which makes it that much harder to include physical activity in your daily life. Because of this, it is far easier to remain in the cycle of weight gain and never lose a pound because it is too difficult. There is no reason to hide behind these types of common weight gain reasons, everyone can lose weight when they know how to start properly. Get rid of the ideas of quick fixes and fad diets that don't last, it is time to get serious.
The first step you need to take when it comes to losing excess fat is to take a look at your current diet and make the necessary adjustments. You want to eliminate foods that contain saturated fats, high in calories and artificial sweeteners and sugars. Although this may sound like a lot of foods are being eliminated from your diet, there are many healthy foods that can replace these that are just as tasty but better for you. You may not realize it but by eating fruits and vegetables you are literally boosting your immune system and your overall health as well as losing weight and this is a winning combination everyone can appreciate.
It is time to get rid of the yo-yo diets and start focussing on natural and healthy methods that work. Change your lifestyle and start living more naturally and healthy and watch the pounds melt away.
Both Andrew Tan & David Holm are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Andrew Tan has sinced written about articles on various topics from Flirting Tips, Online Dating and Lose Weight. My name is Andrew Tan, and I have experiences in weight loss / diet industry.I lose my weight up to 25 pounds in less than 30 days using vital hoodia.Go To. Andrew Tan's top article generates over 3600 views. to your Favourites.
David Holm has sinced written about articles on various topics from Lose Weight. David Holm is the founder of BurnFat4Dummies.com; a site dedicated to make you lose weight, with articles around weight loss diets, weight loss videos and most effective dieting tips. Visit. David Holm's top article generates over 2400 views. to your Favourites.