You cut calories and you exercise. Your calories out are greater than your calories in. You should be losing fat. But if you aren’t, perhaps you’re still not paying attention to an often forgotten factor of fat loss, your metabolism.
Your metabolism is a measure of how many calories you are burning each day. But did you know that the food, exercise and lifestyle choices you make every day have a significant impact on your metabolism? For example, if you starve yourself, instead of following a sensible fat-loss eating plan, your metabolism will slow down. If your metabolism slows down, it means your calories out will be less. And that means no more fat loss and possibly even continued fat gain.
So for every day that you continue to slow your metabolism with unhealthy lifestyle choices, you get further and further away from fat loss. To help, I’ve put together a list of seven tips to maximize your metabolism, so that you’ll burn as many calories as possible each day so that you can finally lose the fat.
1. Don’t starve yourself. Cutting calories too much is one of the worst things you can do to your body. Starving yourself actually causes you to lose much more water weight and muscle than fat. Use fitday.com to find out your daily calorie intake.
2. Eat every two to three hours starting with breakfast with an emphasis on lean proteins, fruits and vegetables. You have to have a nutrition plan, so spend a couple hours on a day off preparing as much food as you can for the upcoming week.
3. Eat healthy fats. Sources of healthy fats included nuts, fish, olive oil and flax oil. I consume 10 grams of fish oil per day. Replace all processed carbohydrates in your diet with almonds. For example, if you currently eat a small bag of pretzels as a mid-afternoon snack, eat almonds instead, eating the same number of total calories.
4. Eat high quality foods that will help you control your blood sugar levels, insulin levels and energy levels. Insulin management will help you lose fat and prevent you from gaining fat.
5. Eat at least 1.14 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass. If you don’t know your lean body mass, then simply eat one gram of protein per pound of body weight. But if possible, stick to the lean body mass recommendation, as that eliminates excess fat mass when calculating protein needs.
6. Don’t drink alcohol. Alcohol intake can quickly add hundreds of calories and alcohol halts all fat burning. Alcohol intake can also reduce testosterone levels, a big no-no for men looking to get lean.
7. Use strength training with moderately heavy weights that allow you to complete eight perfect reps per set and interval training for the most efficient and effective metabolism-boosting workout.
If your metabolism has slowed down due to improper dieting or lifestyle, then follow these tips to help you get back on track to lose fat and gain muscle. Once you correct your metabolism, you will be on the road to losing the fat for good.
For more information, please call 661-799-7900 or visit www.results-fitness.com .
