To lose weight is actually very simple, it's just a matter of using more calories than you consume, but there are other factors that can affect this. For example, you might be someone who finds it hard to give up certain high-calorie foods or just find it hard to eat less full stop. You might have a very sedentary job that involves sitting at a desk all day, or you might eat less calories only to find your energy levels drop.
Instead what you need to do is speed up your metabolism.
Your metabolism is basically the speed at which your body functions, grows, repairs itself etc, so increasing it means increasing the amount of calories your body needs each day. Here are the 5 best ways to do just that.
1. Stay above your BMR - Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the minimum amount of calories your body needs each day, assuming you did no activity whatsoever. It is calculated using your height, weight, age, and sex, and falling below this figure can cause the body to go into what is known as Starvation Mode. This has several effects, one of which is that your metabolism will slow which will in turn lower your BMR so you require less calories, plus your body will become a lot better at storing fat. Staying above your BMR every day will prevent this, and help keep your energy levels up.
2. Cardiovascular/Aerobic Exercise - Any activity uses calories, and the more activity you do the more calories you will use. Just 20 minutes of intense activity, such as running or using a rowing machine in a gym, can burn 300 calories or more. Plus exercising at high intensities will continue to burn extra calories for several hours after, as the body recovers from the exertion and replaces energy stores. Done regularly, this will speed up the body's metabolism.
3. Lift Weights - A 20-minute workout with weights, even if it's intense, isn't going to use as many calories as an intense 20-minute aerobic workout. In the long-term however, exercising with weights to build lean muscle will do more to speed up your metabolism. This is because muscle takes a lot of energy to build and maintain, not just use, and in combination with aerobic exercise can have an extremely beneficial effect on weight loss.
4. Eat Breakfast - The word breakfast literally means to stop fasting, in other words to eat after several hours of sleep without any food. And if you're someone who doesn't like to eat anything just before bed, it can be 12 or more hours since your body last received any calories to replace all the energy used during the night. The first meal of the day kick-starts your body into action and therefore your metabolism, so delaying this any longer means using up even more stored energy. This might sound good, but this could easily put your body into Starvation Mode so when you do finally eat it will be stored as fat, instead of the easy-access form of energy called Glycogen. It also means that instead of waking up as the morning progresses, when you eventually eat you could feel just as tired as you did when you woke up!
5. Eat Several Meals A Day - If your metabolism speeds up it means your body is going to need a regular supply of calories, and the more frequently it gets them the better. Only eating 3, 2 or even 1 meal a day can mean anything from 8 hours to 24 hours between each, which obviously isn't sufficient to provide a steady intake of calories. Instead work out your total calories for the day in advance and spread them evenly over 5 or even 7 equally sized meals eaten at regular intervals. That way your body knows that food is never more than a 2 or 3 hours away and it can afford a faster, healthier metabolism.
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