The Fight Against Belly Fat
Metabolism is the rate at which your body uses energy
, or burns calories. Your metabolism burns calories all the time, whether you are just sitting on the couch or working out at the gym.
Your resting metabolism measures the number of calories required to keep your body functioning. Even while we sleep our metabolism is working. Your body is using up energy to keep running -- to make your heart beat, your kidneys function, and so on. This is known as your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and is the number of calories you would burn even if you slept all day and night.
Many factors can affect your BMR, including your age, health, stress level, and even the temperature of your environment. To get a general idea of what your BMR is, multiply your weight by 10.
For example: If you weigh 150 pounds then;
BMR = 150 x 10 kcal/lb = 1,500 kcals.
Metabolism is affected by your body composition. This is the amount of muscle you have versus the amount of fat. Muscle uses more calories to maintain itself than fat. People who are more muscular (and have a lower percentage of body fat) are said to have a higher metabolism than others that are less muscular and will naturally burn more calories as a result.
After the age of 30, your body gradually begins to lose muscle. If your activity level stays the same and the amount of calories you eat stay the same, you will gain weight because your metabolism has slowed down.
Symptoms of slow metabolism include fatigue, feeling cold, dry skin, constipation, a slow pulse and low blood pressure. These symptoms could be the result of a medical condition rather than low metabolism so make sure you consult a doctor to rule out any type of medical problem.
While lowering your calorie and fat intake may be important parts of weight loss, both decrease your metabolism. It is not a good idea to skip meals or to reduce calories by an extreme amount, since decreased metabolism causes the body to burn fewer calories and less fat. It may also cause your body to store excess fat in reserve which is generally located around your middle.
Many of todays diet plans or weight loss systems concentrate on peoples desire to have a slimmer, more attractive body fast. They focus on promises of quick weight loss. I am sure we have all seen headlines like this:
Lose 20 pounds in 10 days without trying!
Not many focus on the more important aspect of healthy, long lasting weight loss. Aside from that it is virtually impossible to lose much more than 2 or 3 pounds of fat in one week. Any weight loss above this is only water which can be regained by drinking some. Not exactly permanent is it?
While many of these diets do provide a quick loss in the beginning, they usually provide only short term results because they can cause your metabolism to slow down (due to restricting your calorific intake) meaning you have to eat less and less to keep losing weight. This is why some diets can lead to a plateaux effect where you can find it almost impossible to lose any more weight.
The plateaux effect frequently leads people to give up on the diet through frustration, and inevitably the weight creeps back on. You do not notice at first but a few weeks down the line and suddenly those sexy new jeans do not fit anymore. How did that happen?
Natural weight loss is far more effective, providing long lasting benefits to both your waistline and general health. Eating healthier, smaller portions and adding a little exercise can make a huge difference in the battle of the bulge and will lead to a slimmer and healthier you.
Weight gain is not actually caused by having a lower metabolism but it is a side effect. Finding the balance is the most important thing. Eating a healthy diet, incorporating some form of exercise and paying attention to your body will all help in the fight against belly fat.
by: Dr Elizabeth Hughes
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