Are you are dieting but it just doesn't seem to be working for you? Are you doing aerobics every day and still not losing weight? If you're not losing weight and you are getting discouraged, maybe you need a kick-start! Your metabolism could be stuck.
Your metabolism is what tells your body how many calories it needs to consume to keep it going. Our metabolisms can get stuck at some point and sometimes need a kick-start to get going again. The best way to speed up a stuck metabolism is by building up your muscles. To build muscles, men and women should begin lifting weights or strength training.
How does lifting weights speed up your metabolism? By building muscles. A pound of muscle burns 20 times more calories than a pound of fat. Even while you are sleeping, reading a book, surfing the Internet or doing aerobics, stronger muscles are burning more calories than weak muscles or fatty tissue. Muscles need more caloric energy to keep them working. Your dieting and all other physical exercise will be more effective if you have strong muscles. You will find you will lose and keep off the weight better too.
Our bodies can lose muscle mass at anytime during our life. But most people start losing muscle more rapidly at around age 40. We can lose a half a pound a year of muscle if we allow ourselves to. Around this age, or at an even younger age, many women and men start seeing their weight going up, up and up. It is true that the metabolism changes and slows down around age 30 or 40, but this is directly related to muscle loss and can be counteracted with strength training.
The best way to keep your metabolism high is to lift weights and build those muscles back up. It is never too late to start. The muscles you build from lifting weights are more compact and will look better in your clothes too. Another added benefit of weight training is a reduced risk of osteoporosis. You do not need to go to the gym to lift weights. You can buy three-pound, five-pound and eight-pound weights to begin with, and work out at home.
While you are building up your muscles to burn more calories you can continue to diet. By understanding how many calories a healthy strong muscle can burn in a day your diet will be more effective. Here is what you need to know about dieting, burning calories and exercise:
To lose one pound of stored fat you must decrease your calories; either by decreasing your caloric intake of food by 3,500 or burning 3,500 calories through exercise or a combination of both. You cannot, and should not, do this all in one day; but over one week would be reasonable. A woman who normally consumes 2,500 calories a day, can reduce her caloric intake by 250 a day, then lift weights and do an aerobic activity to burn another 250 calories or more. This will equal 500 less calories per day. She would lose one pound a week and four pounds a month with this routine. Double the exercise and decrease the food intake further, and she will lose two pounds a week. That is eight pounds a month. This is a good combination of diet and exercise. It is important to remember, however, to avoid serious medical risks, nobody should consume less than 1,500 calories a day.
Make your dieting more effective; begin burning more calories 24 hours a day with your new stronger muscles, even while you are sleeping. Remember a pound of muscle burns 20 times more calories than a pound of fat. Turn that fat into muscle and you will love the results. Start slow and continue strength training today. You can join a gym to learn how to lift weights or buy a video and lift small weights at home. However you do it -- make sure you do it! The results will be amazing.
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