The health and condition of your metabolism – your body’s engine determines whether you are storing fat or burning fat. One means you become overweight and the other means you stay slim and trim. Just as there are factors that work against the metabolism there are also elements that will boost it.
The wrong types of food, too much of them and not enough muscular exertion are all factors that work against the metabolism and this is backed up by the epidemic of overweight people that amount to two thirds of the population. Our modern sedentary world and processed foods conspire to make us fat and make us sick.
Over a period of time living our inactive lifestyle along with poor food selection (low quality processed food) the metabolism slows down and the excess fat weight piles on and energy and vitality are slowly but surely drained away.
Proper strengthening exercise that rebuilds and re-tones muscles tissue, food quality and meal frequency are the main things that have the ability to boost metabolism. But something to keep in mind is that just because you begin doing positive things to improve the health of your metabolism does not mean it will repair itself overnight, healing takes time and will vary from person to person.
You have to repair your metabolism before you can change your body from a fat storing one to one that burns fat easily and burns more of it. So, a true weight loss solution is not just about losing weight it is about rebuilding health.
As an example of this we all have seen those athletes with hard, lean, shapely bodies. They have a different metabolism than yours – one that responds to exercise and food very differently and one which has a lot of momentum towards staying strong and vital – one that resists getting fat.
So if you are to be successful at losing weight the number on the bathroom scales is only half of the equation. If the health of your metabolism has not changed fundamentally, it will still have a propensity to continue to gain and store excess body fat.
If you continue to follow fad diets and do the wrong type of exercise (long duration, low intensity) you can further slow your metabolic motor. Low calorie diets are a guarantee of this. It is not just about calories – it is about resetting your metabolism so it resists continuing to gain weight after you lose it.
Your proper strength training program is going to be the number one metabolism rebuilder. Just 2-3 sessions each week are all that is needed if some effort is put into each session. It is not how long you exercise but the intensity (degree of effort) that will get you results quickest.
Support your exercise program with quality nutrition so you have plenty of energy. Small unprocessed meals every 2-3 hours will boost your metabolic rate even further. Make sure each meal has a source of protein. Get yourself back into the kitchen and cook natural whole foods from scratch for the best weight loss success.
These strategies are pretty basic and simple but you will have to think, plan and cook ahead. But once you get your head around it and put it into place you will be delighted at the results and will never want to go back to eating ‘whatever’ ‘whenever’ and the no proper exercise lifestyle that makes and keeps you fat.
Keep up with your proper strengthening exercise and quality nutrition and your body will heal itself and will burn off the excess body fat – just like you want.
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