Metabolism is the process by which your body converts food into energy. Many people hold the belief that fat people have low metabolism rates and skinny people have high metabolism rates. However, the process is not that simple.

Your metabolism depends on three separate factors, and how it works affects how much you weigh. Metabolism is determined by the amount of calories you consume, factors such as age and sex, and how physically active you are.

If you consume excessive calories, you will eventually gain weight. Each human body is designed to run on a certain calorie amount. This can vary from person to person, but is between 1500 and 2500 calories for most adults. If you are trying to lose weight, it will be less.

Men generally need more calories per day than women, unless the woman is pregnant or breastfeeding. The rate at which your body burns these calories is your metabolism; if you burn them more slowly, youll gain weight. If you burn through extra calories quickly, youll maintain your weight.

Factors such as age, body composition, and sex also determine metabolism. If your body contains more muscle, your metabolism will be faster. If it contains more fat, your body will be slower.

For this reason, women’s metabolism often slows down after pregnancy. Excess fat is accumulated and stored on the hips and breasts. After pregnancy, it can be harder to lose this weight. Age also affects your metabolism; as you age, your metabolism slows down. This can lead to “middle age spread” if you don’t take action to burn those extra calories and kick your metabolism into high gear.

Your rate of physical activity greatly affects your metabolism. This is good news; it means you have some control over the situation! If your metabolism is slowing down due to age, gender, or other factors, you can boost it by exercising. The key to weight loss is burning more calories than you take in.

When you choose to exercise regularly and eat a healthy diet, weight loss is possible. Your metabolism will increase as you add muscle to your body remember; muscle burns more calories than fat!

To jump-start your metabolism, you may need to lower the amount of calories you’re consuming daily and up the amount of exercise you are doing. Choose aerobic and weight lifting exercises for maximum impact. Aerobic exercise burns fat, and weight training will add muscle. Both can greatly increase your metabolism, leading to healthy fat loss.

This article isn’t medical advice nor should it be interpreted or substituted as medical advice. This article is for informational purposes only. Prior to making changes to your physical exercise routine and your diet, you should always consult your personal physician. It is much better to be safe than sorry.

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When You Hit A Plateau With Your Weight Loss

Dieters everywhere dread the plateau; the phase of your diet where all your hard work seems to get you no results. It seems that you are dieting and exercising your heart out for nothing. If you feel that you are currently on a dieting plateau, keep in mind that there has to be an up side (your previous weight loss), a leveling off (which you are currently experiencing) and a down side (which you’ll get to soon). Each plateau you come upon in your weight loss journey will have these same characteristics. Learning how to deal with them now will help you in the future.

Follow these guidelines to break through your dieting plateau and get back on the weight loss trail –

Continue to Exercise:
Even if it seems that you are not making progress towards weight loss, it is important to continue to exercise. Not doing so will allow extra pounds to creep back on. In fact, if you are experiencing a plateau, it may be wise to increase the amount or intensity of your exercise, to help you break out of your slump.

Continue to Eat Well:
Maintain the weight that you have lost so far by continuing to eat healthy foods. Do not use your plateau as an excuse for a binge, or drastically reduce your calorie count. Continue to eat the diet that has helped you lose weight so far. Do so consistently, and you will soon be out of the plateau.

Develop a Support Network:
Find a message board or a group of real life friends, and draw on them for support. This will help you to continue towards your weight loss goals, even when it becomes more difficult. If possible, find friends who are also dieting. They will be a great support to you throughout your weight loss journey.

As you fight your way through your dieting plateau, you are responsible for every action you take. Each decision you make will impact your weight loss now and in the future. Do the best you can to continue to make healthy choices, even though the scale may not show it.

If you have been exercising a lot, keep in mind that you may be losing fat and gaining muscle, leading to no drop in scale weight. Use the above guidelines to maintain your diet, and stay strong. Soon youll be breaking through that plateau and soaring on down the scale.

This article isn’t medical advice nor should it be interpreted or substituted as medical advice. This article is for informational purposes only. Prior to making changes to your physical exercise routine and your diet, you should always consult your personal physician. It is much better to be safe than sorry.

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Weight Training For Fat Loss – How To Burn Calories Quickly

There are many methods of weight training for fat loss. By adding weight training to your exercise program, you can increase the fat loss you achieve. Weight training helps you to burn calories, boosts your metabolism, and helps your body burn fat more efficiently throughout the day. Weight training can be a great way to step up your workout, build muscle, and increase fat loss.

Weight training burns calories as you exercise. The physical exertion and strain on your muscles is a great way to burn calories that would otherwise be stored as fat. Excess calories can be burned quickly and efficiently as you lift weights, leading to increased fitness, strength, and loss of excess body fat.

Weight training for fat loss boosts your metabolism, as well. Muscle is more efficient than fat. Adding muscle to your body increases the amount of calories you burn while resting – your resting metabolic rate is raised. Adding muscle through weight training is a great way to ensure that you burn more fat, even while youre sleeping or watching TV. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Weight training continues to burn fat after your workout is over. For several hours, even an entire day, after your workout, your body is breaking down and rebuilding muscle. This takes energy to do, and increases your metabolism. Building muscle mass leads to more efficient energy use, and a higher metabolism in general. Adding muscle helps you to burn excess calories more efficiently throughout your day. If you truly wan to burn fat while you rest, then weight training is for you.

Multiple repetitions of weight lifting exercises can tone and strengthen your muscles. Your body will be stronger, and you’ll burn calories efficiently. Your posture, self esteem, and body image will improve as you continue to lift weights. Weight training for fat loss is a great way to mix up your workout, while improving your body image. The exercises are relatively simple to learn, and can be added to your daily routine with little effort.

Weight training is a great method to burn fat. Add weight lifting to your exercise program today, and enjoy the many benefits. Weight training burns calories as you exercise, and boosts your metabolism for continued efficiency. Weight training even burns fat after you’re finished working out! Add some weight training to your exercise routine today – you will be amazed at the results!

This article is not medical advice nor should it be interpreted or substituted as medical advice. This article is for informational purposes only. Prior to making changes to your physical exercise routine and your diet, you should always consult your personal physician. Better safe than sorry.

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In today’s stressed-out society, it can be difficult to even think about investing the time to eat properly and exercise. You may be struggling with obesity, but also struggling with finding the time to care for yourself properly. As your blood pressure and cholesterol increase, your doctor may recommend weight loss. However, time constraints can lead you to wonder how you’ll ever find the time to improve your health.

If you’re short on time, but need to lose weight, use these time saving weight loss tips to help you on your way. The pounds will begin to drop off, and your self-esteem will increase.

Drink Water:
Drinking water can be a great way to improve your health. Hydration helps the body to process and shed extra fat and toxins. Flushing the fat out of your body on a regular basis will lead to weight loss. Drink 6-8 glasses of water a day for optimal health. If you struggle with the lack of flavor, try adding a lemon or lime wedge, or one of the new sugar free drink mixes.

Build Exercise Into Your Day:
Take small steps to increase your activity throughout your day. Park your car further from your office. Walk between buildings instead of calling your coworkers. Take a walk on your lunch break. Use the stairs instead of the elevator. Meet your friends for a morning jog. Every little bit helps towards your weight loss goals.

Swap Out High Fat Foods for Lower Fat Options:
This can be a relatively painless way to decrease your calorie count. Swap out your rich ranch dressing for a fat free or low calorie salad dressing. Skip the cheese. Switch to 2% or fat free dairy products.

Avoid Liquid Calories:
Sodas, juices, specialty coffee drinks, and alcoholic beverages can all pack a high calorie punch. Liquid calories dont fill you up the same way food does, so it can be easy to overdo it if you arent careful. Skip the high calorie liquids, and stick with water.

** As a little sidenote on this particular tip, reducing your intake of these liquids, will also help you save money. Now how cool is that.

Try incorporating a few of these tips into your day to see how easy it can be to make healthy choices. Weight loss is a gradual process, and every small step you take towards your goal helps. Even with time constraints, you can make small daily changes to help move you towards your goal weight. You’ll be wearing a smaller size before you know it!

This article is for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, nor should it be interpreted or substituted as medical advice. Prior to making changes to your physical exercise routine and your diet, you should always consult your personal physician. Better safe than sorry.

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