So
many people are talking about how slow their
metabolism is and why they need to start taking
the latest diet supplement scam yet they don't
even understand how the human metabolism works.
So before I even go into how to speed yours
up, I want to first go over some of the basics.
What
is metabolism?
Although
there are many scientific ways for me explain
it, and I could make it seem really confusing
like most of the so-called experts do, but
I won't. I'm going to give you my extremely
simple and easy to understand definition...
Metabolism
is the rate at which your body burns calories
to sustain life I should also note that your
body, yes yours, burns calories 24 hours a
day, everyday - regardless of whether or not
you workout.
Remember
that your body needs energy all the time,
even while you're asleep and that is why skipping
meals is the absolute worst thing you can
do if your goal is to lose weight (body fat).
Before
we go any further let's talk about what affects
metabolism... What affects metabolism? What
do you think has the biggest impact on your
metabolism? Activity levels? Your Thyroid?
Age? WRONG! WRONG! and WRONG! Activity levels,
Thyroid function, and age do affect metabolism
but not nearly as much as... any idea?
It's
muscle tissue! The more muscle you have the
more calories you burn regardless of how active
you are, how old you are, etc. It's live tissue
and it's there working for you and burning
calories 24 hours a day - each and every day!
Here's
a list of some of the factors affecting metabolism
in order of greatest impact to least:
- muscle
tissue (you already know why this is on
the top of the list)
- meal
frequency (the longer you go between meals
the more your metabolism slows down to conserve
energy)
- activity
level (important but doesn't make any difference
if you don't match your eating to your expenditure)
- food
choices (ex. low-fat diets tend to result
in poor hormone production which leads to
a slower metabolism)
- hydration
(over 70% of bodily functions take place
in water - not enough water causes all your
systems to slow down and unnecessary stress)
- genetics
(some people have higher metabolisms than
others - you can't change genetics but you
can still win the battle!)
- hormone
production and function (think you have
a slow thyroid? it's not likely - before
you go blame it on the thyroid first stabilize
your blood sugar and throw in some progressive
exercise 2-3 times each week)
- stress
(stress also can slow metabolism by placing
extra stress and strain on numerous systems.
plus, many people tend to overeat when "stressed
out")
Why
does it slow down? How many times have you
heard someone say, "as soon as you hit
30 your metabolism slows down"? Maybe
you've said it. I know I hear it all the time
and I got tired of hearing it so I did a little
research and found that the metabolism does
NOT slow down significantly due to aging but
DOES due to a lack of muscle. And, you don't
lose muscle quickly due to aging either but
due to a decrease or lack of physical stress.
So,
the major cause of a slowing metabolism is
three fold...
- You
lose muscle due to the lack of physical
stress
- Your
body cannibalizes muscle when it needs energy
but you won't supply any because you are
"dieting" and skipping meals
- Your
activity levels tend to decrease as you
get older
So
now that we know the problem... what's the
solution? Address those 3 issues!
I've
found through years of experience helping
hundreds of people, that increasing your metabolism
and getting rid of that excess body fat can
often times be quite easy! Yet you'll hear
of all these experts telling you how hard
it is and why you need to buy their new diet
program, supplement, or fitness contraption.
It's
not that hard, it doesn't have to be confusing,
and you don't need any of that crap! All you
need is an understanding of how your body
works and the willingness to make some small
changes.
Here's my basic formula for jump starting
your metabolism:
Step
1 - Stop the storage of new fat
It doesn't make any sense to start an exercise
program if you just end up adding new fat
later that day. This is a problem that is
very common among people who start an exercise
in an attempt to lose weight.
See
the problem is this... We don't get fat due
to a lack of exercise - we get fat because
we supply the body with more calories than
it needs at a given time. So the solution
has nothing to do with exercise - it's all
about your eating!
And
I'm not saying you have to eat low-fat, super
clean and healthy diet consisting of salad
and tofu only. You can still eat the foods
you like IF you can give the body just the
amount it needs. The key is to give the body
the energy it needs, but just that amount
and not a bunch extra because extra is extra
is extra, it doesn't matter what it's from.
Salad
can be stored as fat, celery can be stored
as fat - if it results in extra it can be
stored as fat. I should also note that not
all extra energy is stored in the fat cells
and I will touch on that later. So forget
about trying to burn off any fat unless you
can first stop storing new fat!
Again,
you do that by matching your eating to your
activity level. This means small, balanced
meals or snacks every 2-3 hours and the amount
of calories in each feeding should depend
on how active you are at that time of day.
Step
2 - Attack the existing fat
This
requires a combination approach consisting
of stable blood sugar/energy levels, and progressive
cardiovascular/aerobic exercise and strength
training. We already talked about how important
stable blood sugar and energy levels are and
how to match your eating to your activity
level so now I'd like to cover the exercise
part of the equation.
In
order for the exercise to even be worth your
time you must be sure it's progressive. Just
because you run on the treadmill for 30 minutes
three times a week, that doesn't mean your
body has to burn off that unwanted body fat!
You have to force the body to make changes
and improvements and the ONLY way to do that
is to consistently provide a stimulus or stress
that is greater than what the body is used
to.
Here
are some general guidelines on how you can
make your exercise progressive and productive:
- Strength
training
- Change
exercises frequently (every 2-4 weeks)
-
Increase resistance
- Perform
more reps
- Slower
reps
- Advanced
techniques
- Cardiovascular
training
- Increase
speed/resistance
-
Perform intervals
- Increase
distance traveled
- Cross
train by performing numerous activities
For
more specific techniques please check out
the all the great articles on metabolism and
fitness in the free resources section of my
website here: http://www.achieve-fitness.com/free_resources.htm
I should also say that it is extremely important
that you have a well thought out and detailed
plan to follow. You can't just say "ok,
now I know what to do" and then try a
little of this here and little of that there.
You need a roadmap.
If
you are serious about achieving your weight
loss and fitness goals I highly recommend
you get the help of a professional. Whether
that means one on one, personal fitness training
or just a do-it-yourself fitness plan - your
chances of success are much greater.
In
closing, please remember, it doesn't have
to be confusing. Hopefully this information
has shown you how easy it can be if you know
what you are doing.
If
you have any questions or would like to learn
more about how you can guarantee your fitness
success, please visit my website http://www.achieve-fitness.com
or you can give me a call at 240-731-3724.
While your'e at my website be sure to sign
up for my free email newsletter, Fitness Success
News - it's full of great articles, tips,
healthy recipes, contests, and more!
About
the author: Jesse Cannone is a certified personal
fitness trainer, post-rehab specialist, nutritionist,
and a national fitness presenter. He is also
the author of Burn
Fat FAST and A
Bride's Guide To Fast Fitness + Weight Loss
in addition to many other popular fitness
articles. He is known for his hard-hitting
and to the point style and offers a great
free email newsletter called Fitness Success
News, which you can subscribe to at his website
http://www.achieve-fitness.com
