The hazardous nature of visceral fat is related to the discharge of proteins and hormones that can cause swelling and soreness. This inflammation can harm arteries and has the ability to enter the liver and adversely affect how the body breaks down sugars and fats.

Indicating how important the size of the waist is, David Haslam, chairman of the National Obesity Forum in the UK, says, “Waist circumference is the best predictor of risk of future health.”

Surprisingly, nine in 10 people are not even conscious of the risks of carrying that additional fat around their waistline.

“Most overweight people still see themselves as having a body image issue not a health problem and they need to understand the health benefits of weight loss as well as the cosmetic results,” claims Dr Terry Maguire, honorary senior lecturer at Queen’s University in Belfast.

Metabolism does control weight, this is true. What most people don’t know is that they do in fact have the ability to control and adjust their metabolisms and thereby control their weight. Exercise does speed the metabolism up. The more active your lifestyle the more likely you are to have a quick metabolism and lose weight. It may not be healthy for all of us to get into a highly active lifestyle all at once but it is possible to get there as quickly as you safely can as an individual.

A large part of the battle in fighting fat and a slow metabolic rate is the western world’s view of food as entertainment. In addition to taking on an active lifestyle you will need to stop looking at food consumption as a means of gratification. This is what causes us to be gluttons. Instead of stopping when our hunger is sated we continue on until we are stuffed to get more enjoyment out of it. We also eat the tastiest foods rather than those that are best for us. There are also certain foods that speed metabolism which we will discuss.

Sleep and other lifestyle patterns can help or hinder the rate at which we metabolize foods. An active lifestyle should lead eventually to being able to exercise to exhaustion; this in turn should keep your metabolism quick and your fat content low. By extending oneself to one’s limits you fully utilize the lungs, heart, and muscles and burn fat most efficiently. If you burn a lot of calories you have a quick metabolism. A metabolism set at a certain speed tends to stay at that speed even when the individual is at rest. This is why a person with a slow metabolism can seem to eat nothing and still put on weight. Their metabolism tends to stay at the same speed even when they are not doing the things that keep it at that speed, even when they do get moderate exercise.

Whether in a few weeks or over time, the change in lifestyle and active living must be sharp and definite in the end in order to speed up the metabolism. You must rule your body and your appetites not the other way around. And there will be some definite emotional obstacles as well. Any real change involves growing pains. Your body will miss the weight, you will have to let go of the old and latch on to the new: exercise, diet, rest and healthful living.

Working out once a day and then sitting around the rest of the time just won’t do it. You have to have a lifestyle that is primarily active, where you don’t spend most of the day sitting around. Working out in the morning, eating light meals that don’t slow you down, drinking plenty of water all help to maintain that active lifestyle. Do things manually whenever practical: wash dishes by hand, dust, mow the lawn with a push mower, these things will all help you to be primarily active rather than sedentary. Remember sedentary is related to sediment; you don’t want any more fat to build up because of a slow running metabolism that doesn’t carry that fat away fast enough!

Early risers do have a quicker metabolism as well as those who don’t eat after 6pm. Into bed by 8 or 9pm anyway and you will feel much better, have more energy and tend to feel like being more active. A regular bedtime is crucial to a solid, consistent and healthy routine. Routines are good for you; healthy habits are a shield you can rely on to shore up the active and healthy lifestyle that will keep your metabolism in high gear.

Alcohol is a depressant and will tend to impede sleep, slow you down in the daytime and not make you feel much like being active at all. When your body spends all its time metabolizing alcohol, and not very well at that, it has little time to metabolize fat. And all the time the alcohol itself is turning into more fat.

If you burn off the fat with a speedy metabolism you can keep it off by not taking in any fat. Protein on the other hand burns fat and builds muscle. The muscle itself tends to metabolize fat as well. Start with greens, greens of all kinds, greens with protein. There you have a diet with no animal fats, rich in protein and nutrients. Add no fattening ingredients. If you must have dressing, use lots of vinegar and very little canola oil (a tablespoon at most).

Lean fish (no shrimp or shellfish) is the best way to go with meats. Try fruits first, nuts and berries too. Stay away from all canned goods, which have starches and other ingredients that are both unnatural and extremely difficult to metabolize.

Choose a job that keeps you on your feet 50% to 100% of the time. Take the stairs at work if possible. Workout or job at lunch instead of having a long, heavy meal. Eat a light meal at each break instead, just enough to satisfy your hunger. Have a glass of cold water or two, a multivitamin and a piece of celery for lunch instead, after your workout.

Fat is stored by the combining of 3 fatty acids and a glyceride into one triglyceride or fat cell. Until 3 fatty acids bind in this way they haven’t formed a fat cell. Though fat can’t be burned as energy, tryglicerides can be turned back into glycerides which can be burned as energy. You want your body to burn the right mix of fuel sources to metabolize quickly. You can’t burn all fresh new foods coming into your body or you won’t turn any triglycerides into sugars to be burned and thus lose weight. If you try a starvation diet where you think you might burn exclusively triglycerides turned back into sugars, your body won’t let you get away with it. Thinking you are starving in genuine your body will burn muscle instead, protecting your fat as an energy reserve. You need to burn a reasonable combination of both sources of fuel to properly adjust your metabolism and slowly take weight off. This takes time, patience, determination, knowledge and discipline as you can already see.

There is no spot reducing so pretty much any exercise that causes your body to call on its fat reserves for energy will reduce fat everywhere on your body. Remember not to replace that fat. You may strengthen the muscles beneath the fat on your stomach or elsewhere but this is not the same thing and is not required to simply remove the fat. Just walking 3 miles a day above and beyond what you already do and eating 500 less calories per day can cause you to lose two pounds of fat per week.

You can also speed your metabolism by choosing foods that have few calories yet burn many calories just in the process of metabolizing them. Celery, Potatoes and Cabbage are good examples. The right ingredients in a soup would also make a great example.

Some tools you may use in counting calories burned and calories assimilated include calorie calculators, available for both foods and activities online and in books available from your local public library or bookstore. Information is a big help to speeding metabolism and losing weight. In this way you might learn how that vigorous walking burns more calories than many other forms of exercise.

Strength training with weights is a great way to speed up your metabolism so that you burn more calories 24 hours a day. This is achieved with lower reps and higher weights, above all be safe. Learning to properly read nutrition labels and other diet and exercise information with practice and by increasing your weight loss vocabulary will be of invaluable help.

Considering all of these tips, and putting them into action, you can successfully boost your metabolism and effectively lose weight. Say hello to a healthier you!

]]> http://www.skin-care.us/345/speed-up-your-metabolism.html/feed 0 http://www.skin-care.us/265/lose-weight-permanent-and-steady.html http://www.skin-care.us/265/lose-weight-permanent-and-steady.html#comments Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:42:57 +0000 admin http://www.skin-care.us/?p=265 At one time or another, half the women and a quarter of the men in this world have tried to lose weight. The ones destined to try again and again are most likely those looking for shortcuts. There are none. The only way to step off the diet treadmill is to find a weight-loss program that helps you lose weight slowly and steadily; one that trains you to adopt a low-fat eating plan so simple it becomes a way of life. With that in mind, here is an introductory guide to the last diet you may ever need.

GOOD HABITS

START STRONG: People who eat a healthy breakfast generally feel less hungry throughout the day.

CURB YOUR APPETITE: Drink a glass of water or some tea just before a meal.

STOP COUNTING CALORIES: The best diet foods are complex carbohydrates. Low in fat, fast-burning, and rich in vitamins and minerals, they are also high in bulk, which means you can feel full on fewer calories. Whole grain cereals, rice, breads, pasta, beans nuts, fruits, and vegetables.

EAT WHAT YOU LIKE: Nothing makes a diet more difficult than having to eat rice cakes when you can’t stand them.

SIT DOWN: Train yourself to eat in one place, preferably at a table. It’s too easy to overeat when meals are grabbed on the run or while standing in front of the refrigerator.

SLOW DOWN: Eat slowly enough to give your body time to release the enzymes that tell your brain when you’ve had all you need.

EXERCISE: It burns calories and suppresses the appetite, and it’s awfully hard to lose weight without doing it. An easy way to get started is to strap on a pedometer and go for a walk, then work on increasing your mileage from one week to the next.

DON’T GIVE UP: Falling off your diet once or twice does not mean the effort is hopeless. Simply acknowledge that your over-ate, and get back on the plan.

REWARD YOURSELF: Treat yourself with a massage, or a piece of gourmet chocolate, or whatever, for each week that you maintain your new weight.

A LIGHT-WEIGHT SNACK

Here are some suggestions for safely making your way past between-meal hunger:

• Air-popped popcorn seasoned with herbs
• Bagels
• Breadsticks
• Broth-based soup
• Cereal, low-sugar, low-fat
• Cocoa, low sugar, low-fat
• English muffin
• Fresh fruit
• Frozen fruit-juice bars
• Frozen yogurt
• Gingersnaps
• Graham cracker
• Milkshake or low-fat milk and frozen fruit
• Pita chips with salsa
• Plain nonfat yogurt with fruit and cinnamon
• Pretzels
• Rye crisps or rice cakes thinly spread with peanut butter or low-fat cheese
• Sorbet
• Tabbouli
• Vegetables marinated in vinegar or dipped in low-fat yogurt seasoned with herbs

It is important that the dieter have the support and understanding of their family and friends. It can be an enormous help to discuss your problems and obstacles along with sharing skills and tactics with others whose circumstances may be similar to yours. Pick a “buddy” to lean on during your trying times.

There are none. The only way to step off the diet treadmill is to find a weight-loss program that helps you lose weight slowly and steadily; one that trains you to adopt a low-fat eating plan so simple it becomes a way of life. With that in mind, here is an introductory guide to the last diet you may ever need.

GOOD HABITS

START STRONG: People who eat a healthy breakfast generally feel less hungry throughout the day.

CURB YOUR APPETITE: Drink a glass of water or some tea just before a meal.

STOP COUNTING CALORIES: The best diet foods are complex carbohydrates. Low in fat, fast-burning, and rich in vitamins and minerals, they are also high in bulk, which means you can feel full on fewer calories. Whole grain cereals, rice, breads, pasta, beans nuts, fruits, and vegetables.

EAT WHAT YOU LIKE: Nothing makes a diet more difficult than having to eat rice cakes when you can’t stand them.

SIT DOWN: Train yourself to eat in one place, preferably at a table. It’s too easy to overeat when meals are grabbed on the run or while standing in front of the refrigerator.

SLOW DOWN: Eat slowly enough to give your body time to release the enzymes that tell your brain when you’ve had all you need.

EXERCISE: It burns calories and suppresses the appetite, and it’s awfully hard to lose weight without doing it. An easy way to get started is to strap on a pedometer and go for a walk, then work on increasing your mileage from one week to the next.

DON’T GIVE UP: Falling off your diet once or twice does not mean the effort is hopeless. Simply acknowledge that your over-ate, and get back on the plan.

REWARD YOURSELF: Treat yourself with a massage, or a piece of gourmet chocolate, or whatever, for each week that you maintain your new weight.

A LIGHT-WEIGHT SNACK

Here are some suggestions for safely making your way past between-meal hunger:

• Air-popped popcorn seasoned with herbs
• Bagels
• Breadsticks
• Broth-based soup
• Cereal, low-sugar, low-fat
• Cocoa, low sugar, low-fat
• English muffin
• Fresh fruit
• Frozen fruit-juice bars
• Frozen yogurt
• Gingersnaps
• Graham cracker
• Milkshake or low-fat milk and frozen fruit
• Pita chips with salsa
• Plain nonfat yogurt with fruit and cinnamon
• Pretzels
• Rye crisps or rice cakes thinly spread with peanut butter or low-fat cheese
• Sorbet
• Tabbouli
• Vegetables marinated in vinegar or dipped in low-fat yogurt seasoned with herbs

It is important that the dieter have the support and understanding of their family and friends. It can be an enormous help to discuss your problems and obstacles along with sharing skills and tactics with others whose circumstances may be similar to yours. Pick a “buddy” to lean on during your trying times.