Increase metabolism to lose weight

December 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Did you know that one of the important keys to successful weight loss is to increase your metabolism?

Metabolism is the process by which calories are burnt to produce energy for your body to function. It happens naturally, even if you are not exerting any effort, including when you are sleeping.

It is commonly believed that overweight people have low metabolism while slim persons have high metabolism. That is not usually the case. Weight gain is most often a result of energy imbalance - you consume more calories than your body burns. In addition, your metabolism may be slow down due to certain factors, such as aging, health condition or a sedentary lifestyle.

Naturally, in order to lose weight, you need to take in fewer calories and at the same time improve your metabolism, i.e. burn more calories, through physical activity.

Aerobic exercise is known to be the ideal exercise to increase your metabolism to lose weight, and thus prevent weight gain or help in weight loss. Strength training to build muscles should also be part of your plan. The reason being that muscle tissues burn calories more efficiently than fat. The higher muscle to body fat ratio you have, the higher your metabolism will be.

What kind of exercise can you do to increase your metabolism to lose weight?

  • Regular aerobic exercise, such as walking daily for 30 minutes or more.
  • Strength training exercises, such as weight training.
  • Any extra movement or simple activities, such as gardening, doing house chores, washing your car, walking to the store, etc.

So you see, to lose weight and be healthy it’s just that simple - exercise regularly! :)

Posted by Valen | Filed Under Healthy weight loss tips