· Understanding how metabolism works
· Eating the right types of foods
· Burning more calories than you consume
· Maximizing your caloric burn with cardio exercise
· Getting enough sleep
· Eating breakfast
· Building up muscle mass through resistance training
Understanding How Metabolism Works
Losing weight and keeping it off has been a lifetime struggle for many people. The rate of your metabolism does have an effect on the amount of calories you burn each day. However, a slow metabolism is rarely the cause of excess weight gain, unless you have a thyroid problem. Metabolism is a process where your body converts what you eat and drink into energy for the body. This accounts for 60-75% of your daily caloric burn. Your rate of metabolism depends on your body size and composition, your gender, and your age. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you will burn. Men usually have more muscle mass than women, so they typically burn more calories. As you age, your muscle mass tends to decrease, and this slows down your ability to burn calories.
Starving yourself, or eating less than 800 calories per day will result in significant weight loss in the short-term, but the long-term, you cannot deprive your body of so few calories and nutrients. Your body cannot function properly on such a low-calorie diet long-term. You should only eat fewer than 1,000 calories per day if prescribed by a doctor or registered dietitian. These types of diets are only prescribed on a short-term basis. The doctor or dietitian will help you gradually incorporate a higher calorie diet, so that you will be eating a healthy number of calories per day by the time you’re back on your own. The drawback of this type of diet is that you will be more likely to gain the weight back once you go off the diet, unless you keep your commitment to eat healthy and exercise regularly.
Fad diets and pills that claim to boost your metabolism are nothing more than a gimmick to get you to buy their products. These products will not help you lose weight to the degree that changing your diet and lifestyle habits will. Eating highly processed fatty foods, consuming more calories than you expend, not getting enough exercise, genetics, medications, not getting enough sleep, and skipping breakfast are more likely to contribute to weight gain than your metabolism.
What you can do to boost your metabolism? We found some mixed opinions regarding what specific foods and drinks have been claimed to boost your metabolism, but overall, the advice is as follows:
· Engage in aerobic (or cardio) exercise to burn more calories in the short-term
· Kick up your cardio workouts to a high-intensity level. If you are a beginner, work yourself up to this level of intensity. This elevates your metabolism so that it continues to burn hours after your workout.
· Lift weights to build the muscles that will boost your metabolism in the long-term
· Eat small, frequent meals to keep your metabolism going strong throughout the day
· Eating high-protein, high-fiber foods
· Eating spicy foods, like red peppers
· Stay hydrated by drinking water. Your metabolism slows down when you are dehydrated. On average, you should drink 96 ounces of water per day. If your goal is to loose fat, you should drink an additional 8 ounces of water for every 25 pounds that you carry above your ideal weight.
· Get about 8 hours of sleep per night
· Move more throughout the day. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, park further away from the entrance of a building, do mini-workouts before you leave for work and throughout the day, etc.
Read these articles for more in-depth explanations:
Eating the Right Types of Food
Please refer to our nutrition article: Learn How to Eat Right
Burning More Calories Than You Consume
The amount and type of calories you consume from food and beverages coupled with the amount of physical activity you engage in ultimately determine how much you weigh.
In order to eat fewer calories than you expend, you must have an idea of how many calories you eat and how many calories you burn in a day. Logging the foods and beverages you consume and the amount of activity you engage in on Anytime Health is a great way to track this.
One pound of fat is equivalent to 3,500 calories. In order to lose 1 pound of fat per week, you must either eat 3,500 fewer calories (500 fewer calories per day) or burn off 3,500 calories (500 more calories per day). For the best results, you want to do a combination of both. Cut 250 calories per day from your food and beverage intake and burn 250 calories per day from exercise.
It is not safe to lose more than 2 pounds per week. Losing more than 2 pounds per week usually indicates that you are losing water weight and muscle mass instead of excess fat. People who lose weight too fast will have less energy and will most likely gain the weight back. Diets that suggest you eat less than 1,000 calories per day result in rapid weight loss, but within a few months of being off the diet, you are more likely to gain the weight back more quickly than before. If you follow a diet that has you eating less than 1,000 calories per day (what we can starvation diets), your body will compensate by slowing down your metabolism and conserve those calories for survival.
It can be so time consuming having to log all of your food intake and count calories. How would you like it if you NEVER HAD TO COUNT CALORIES again? In order to change your lifestyle and lose weight for good, you need to stop worrying about the AMOUNT of calories you eat and instead focus on the TYPE of calories you eat. If you eat whole, unprocessed foods 90% of the time, you’ll NEVER have to worry about getting fat. Whole foods are those that are as close as possible to their natural state: no added sugars, fats, etc. It’s basically something you can eat without having to do anything to it (other than cooking it). Prepare your own food instead of eating out or buying already prepared food – then you will have complete control over the ingredients.
It can be so time consuming having to log all of your food intake and count calories. How would you like it if you NEVER HAD TO COUNT CALORIES again? In order to change your lifestyle and lose weight for good, you need to stop worrying about the AMOUNT of calories you eat and instead focus on the TYPE of calories you eat. If you eat whole, unprocessed foods 90% of the time, you’ll NEVER have to worry about getting fat. Whole foods are those that are as close as possible to their natural state: no added sugars, fats, etc. It’s basically something you can eat without having to do anything to it (other than cooking it). Prepare your own food instead of eating out or buying already prepared food – then you will have complete control over the ingredients.
Maximizing Your Caloric Burn with Cardio Exercise
For weight loss, you will see results faster if you maximize your caloric burn during exercise. First, we must bust the myth of “The Fat Burning Zone”. There is no such thing. Body fat can only be reduced when more calories are burned than consumed (known as the Law of Thermodynamics). Oxygen is used to convert fat and glucose into fuel to be burned by the body. The amount of carbon dioxide and water used during this process is used to estimate the amount of calories burned. This is called the Respiratory Exchange Ratio (RER). Our bodies burn calories from carbohydrates, fats, and protein. Carbohydrates and fats are used for fuel and protein is used to build and repair body tissues and structures. However, protein can be used for fuel if there are not enough carbohydrates in your diet. Our bodies use 100% fat for fuel at an RER of 0.71 and use 100% carbohydrates for fuel at an RER of 100.0. The only time our RER is at 0.71 is when our bodies are at complete rest. Therefore, at an RER of 0.71, we are burning the most fat possible but are not burning many calories. This is how the “Fat Burning Zone” myth is busted. Again, weight loss is not dictated by the amount of fat burned, but by the number of calories burned.
So, you’re probably reading all of this mumbo-jumbo and thinking, “how in the heck does this work – what do I have to do?” We can explain how to maximize the caloric expenditure of your training program. One way to do this is to maximize your oxygen consumption needed to withstand a training session, as well as recover from it.
Your rate of oxygen consumption is determined by the cardiac output and stroke volume of your heart. To have more oxygen available for consumption, you must increase your rate of Maximal Oxygen Consumption, (or Vo2 Max score). Vo2 Max is the highest rate of oxygen usage that can be achieved at maximum physical exertion. It is the best way to gauge cardiorespiratory fitness.
Your rate of oxygen recovery consumption (known as Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption, or EPOC) is determined by the number of calories you continue to burn after working out. The higher the intensity of the training session, the more calories you will continue to burn hours after your workout is finished.
Our bodies are designed to exert as little energy as possible and adapt to the demands placed on it (known as the General Adaptation Syndrome and the Principle of Specificity). Therefore, to continue seeing results, we must vary and progress our workouts so that we do not adapt (otherwise known as plateau or not get a result anymore, which is the number one reason why people get de-motivated and quit working out). So what do you do?
· Interval training: interval training is the best way to improve your Vo2 Max score as well as your cardiorespiratory health. Interval training can be incorporated in two ways: cardio interval training and cardio/strength interval training.
In cardio interval training, you alternate between heart rate training zones. First, find your maximum heart rate: 220 minus your age (this is just an average – we can find your true maximum heart rate by taking into consideration your resting heart rate and current level of fitness). Zone I is 0.65 – 0.75% of your maximum heart rate, Zone II is 0.80 – 0.85%, and Zone III is 0.90%.
Before going to Zone II, you must be able to withstand at least 30 minutes of exercise keeping your heart rate in Zone I. After you accomplish that, on Day 1, keep your heart rate in Zone I for the entire 30 minutes. One Day 2, toggle back and forth between Zones I and II. (For example, do Zone I for 5 minutes, then Zone II for 1 minute, Zone I for 5 minutes, etc.) Only go back up to Zone II if your heart rate goes back down to the rate it was in Zone I after 1 minute of dropping from Zone II to Zone I. If your heart rate doesn’t drop quickly enough, stay in Zone I for the rest of that workout and try it again the next day you would normally do both zones. On Day 3, do Zone I and on Day 4 do both, etc. You can gradually increase the amount of time you spend in Zone II to a maximum of 2 minutes.
Once you can successfully do Zones I and II for 30 minutes (that, is get your heart rate to come back down to where it was originally in Zone II), then you can go to Zone III, which is toggling back and forth between all three zones. On Day 1, do Zone I; on Day 2, toggle back and forth between Zones I and II; on Day III, toggle back and forth between all three zones (Zone I, Zone II, Zone III, Zone II, Zone 1, Zone II, Zone III, etc.); and on Day 4, back to Zone I and so on. Just like with Zone II, only toggle back and forth with Zone III if you can get your heart rate back down to where it was originally in Zone II after dropping from Zone III to Zone II in 1 minute. If your heart rate doesn’t drop quickly enough, toggle between Zones I and II for the rest of that workout and try it again the next day you would normally do all three zones.
In cardio/strength interval training, start with cardio for 5 minutes, then do strength training for 1 minute and toggle back and forth between the two. For example, do the treadmill or elliptical for 5 minutes, then push-ups for 1 minute, then the treadmill or elliptical for another 5 minutes, then squats for 1 minute, etc. You can work your way up to doing strength training for a maximum of 2 minutes. Alternatively, you could do jumping jacks for 1 minute, then push-ups for 1 minute, then run in place for 1 minute, then do squats for 1 minute, then jump rope for 1 minute, then do bicep curls for 1 minute, etc. Mix it up and HAVE FUN!!
· Working out at a Vo2 Max rate of 11-23 METs (or Metabolic Equivalents): this will increase your EPOC, or the amount of calories you will burn hours after your workout is finished. One unit of MET is a ratio that compares a person's metabolic rate while seated and resting to their metabolic rate while performing a task.
Our cardio machines show how many METs you are utilizing – see if you’re maximizing your caloric burn.
We would be more than happy to test your Vo2 Max score and help you improve your cardiorespiratory health by integrating interval training and maximizing your caloric burn.
Getting Enough Sleep
We need about 8 hours of sleep per night in order for our bodies to function properly. Good-quality sleep is important, and if you’re exercising regularly and eating healthy, you should be able to get enough quality sleep. According to Mayo Clinic Sleep Specialist, Timothy Morgenthaler, M.D., “sleeping more than 9 to 10 hours a night has been associated with weight gain, heart problems, stroke, sleep disorders, depression, and other health concerns”.
If you’re not getting enough sleep at night, you may be tempted to drink coffee in the afternoon to stay awake. When it’s time to go to bed, you may be restless and cannot get to sleep. Or, you may be so exhausted by the time you get home, but need to finish a project or study for an exam, so you crave junk food and eat that to keep you awake. Our metabolism slows down if we are sleep deprived, so if your goal is weight loss and you’re not getting enough sleep, you need to start sleeping 8 hours a night. Michael Breus, Ph.D., explains how lack of sleep affects our ability to lose weight. He stated that Ghrelin is a hormone that tells your body when to eat. Leptin is a hormone that tells your body when to stop eating. People who are sleep deprived produce less Leptin and tend to eat more. Breus suggests that getting regular exercise and not eating a big meal before bedtime will help improve your quality of sleep.
So, what’s the secret to getting good sleep every night?
· Keep a regular sleep schedule
· Make your bedroom more sleep friendly
· Create a relaxing bedtime routine
· Eat right and get regular exercise
· Get anxiety and stress in check
· Know how to get back to sleep if you wake up during the night
· Know when to see a sleep doctor
For more information on these tips, read How to Sleep Better: Tips for Getting a Good Night's Sleep.
Eating Breakfast
Eating breakfast is an easy way to rev up your metabolism and set your day off to a healthy start. That is, if you eat something nutritious for breakfast, not something sugary. Sugar raises your insulin levels, which, in turn, increases fat storage and weight gain. Sugary foods do not curb hunger, so if you eat something sugary for breakfast, you will be hungry again soon. Eating protein, whole grains, or slow burning carbohydrates (like oatmeal) will make you feel fuller longer and will keep your blood sugar level steady.
Eating a healthy breakfast reduces your hunger later on, so that you do not overeat throughout the day. It also gives you more energy. People who eat breakfast tend to eat healthier as a whole. According to The National Weight Control Registry, people who ate breakfast regularly lost 30 pounds and were able to keep the weight off for at least a year – some for as long as six years!
Read the following articles for more information:
Building Up Muscle Mass through Resistance Training
To change your body composition (otherwise known as toning) and continue to get results, you have to beat the Principle of Specificity (which is that your body will adapt to the demands placed on it). An example of how this works is if a person lifts heavy weights repeatedly, they will increase their maximum strength (or One Rep Max). If a person repeatedly lifts lighter weights with higher repetitions, they will develop endurance. Our body has different tissues and those tissues each respond to different stimuli. The tissues that connect our muscles to bones recover much slower to resistance training than muscle. These tissues must be strong to allow muscles to generate high levels of force. Traditional methods of training focus on training muscles to increase in size and strength before training the connective tissues to become stronger so that they can endure the amount of force placed on them from regular strength training. This leads to a higher risk of injury.
Balance and stabilization training is the first level of resistance training. This level of training improves muscular endurance, joint stability, flexibility, posture, and neuromuscular efficiency. This is explained more in the following section on why balance and stability training is imperative.
Once a person successfully completes the balance and stabilization level of training, they may continue on to the strength stage, and then to the power stage. Your fitness goals determine the different stages you will progress to. This is why knowing what you want to accomplish and what you need to accomplish that is extremely important.
The strength level is comprised of three stages, muscular endurance, hypertrophy (increasing muscle size), or maximal strength (the maximum force that a muscle can produce in a single voluntary effort, regardless of how fast the load moves – in other words, the One Rep Max).
The power level enhances the ability of your neuromuscular system to produce the greatest force in the shortest time. Increases in power are achieved by increasing the weight and speed by which the weight is moved.
Our society now has more postural imbalances and injuries than ever before due to sedentary lifestyles and jobs with repetitive motions. This progressive model of training was designed to accommodate a society that has changed drastically from when the traditional style of strength training was created.
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