Saturday, January 10, 2009

Increase Your Metabolism and Lose Weight

Being overweight creates a vicious circle. Extra fat can lead to health problems, such as thyroid problems that slow down the metabolism. Decreased metabolism in its turn contributes to weight gain.
There are different ways that help increase metabolism and burn fat. Here are some of them:

1) Exercise. Aerobic exercise improves the circulatory system, gives an energy boost as well as helps to cope with mood swings and depression among other benefits. Engage in the activity that you like – this can be an aerobics class at your local gym, dancing, brisk walking, running or swimming. Choose an activity that you really enjoy and do it at least 45 minutes 3-4 days a week. Note, that you can divide it into 15 minutes three times a day exercise if this fits better your schedule.
Strength training develops your muscles and this increases the metabolism and helps burn fat. Note that vigorous weight training can increase your body weight because of the increased muscle mass. You can also start with stretching and weight training that develops lean muscles. Power yoga is a good way to start.

2) Drink a lot of water. To calculate how much water you need to drink divide your weight in kilos by 28. The number that you receive corresponds to liters of water you need to drink daily. For example if your weight is 84 kilos (185 pounds) you will need to drink 3 liters of water daily which is 12 glasses of water. Thirst sometimes manifests as hunger – whenever you feel hungry between meals start with a glass of water, sometimes this is all the body needs.

3) Eat a healthy breakfast. Start your day with a glass of water and then drink a smoothie or shake; a piece of fruit or cereal. This will give a boost to your metabolism and prevent cravings later on.

4) Reduce your stress level. High stress level negatively affects the metabolism. Incorporate short breaks and relaxation exercises throughout the day. Make sure to get a good night sleep.

5) Detoxify your body through fasting, cleansing and eating organic food. This will help increase the metabolic rate, lose weight and be healthy.

1 comment:

Shirley Donalds said...

Since I was diagnosed with hypothyroid disease, I started taking porcine thyroid for my hormone deficiency. Now I have my vitality and libido back.