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DBA AdPro Media Sales, All Rights Reserved Written by: Kamau Austin
Many women face the unfortunate fact that as they age their metabolism slows down. If you are starting to notice you are steadily gaining weight but your diet and exercise level has not changed you may already be experiencing a slowing metabolism. Fortunately, you do not have to be complacent and simply accept the fact that you will continue to gain weight as you age. There are a number of ways you can help to rev up your waning metabolism and lose excess weight or keep your weight under control. This article will assist you in your weight loss efforts by explaining what metabolism is and offering some excellent ideas for improving your metabolism to help you achieve your weight loss goals.
Understanding Metabolism
Before you can begin to work on improving your metabolism for the purposes of weight loss it is important to understand the definition of metabolism. The most basic definition of metabolism is all of the chemical and physical processes which occur within the body and are necessary to sustain life. This may leave you wondering how this can relate to weight loss. The link between weight loss is all of these chemical and physical processes require energy and calories are units of energy. This means as these systematic actions take place the body is burning energy in the form of calories. These actions may include the function of the brain, liver, digestive tract, muscles, lungs and all of the other organs in the body.
The basal metabolic rate is essentially the amount of calories your body would require if all you did was lie still and breathe. Additional calories would be required for activities such as eating, walking, digesting, sitting upright or participating in any physical activities. Obviously this number would be higher for those who live active lives than it would be for those who live sedentary lives. This includes both exercise and lifestyle.
Two women may both ride a stationary bike for 45 minutes each day but if one woman works an office job where she rarely leaves her desk and the other woman works a manual labor job where she is on her feet and moving for most of the day the amount of calories required will likely be quite different. Other factors are also considered in determining caloric need including weight and muscle mass. A larger woman would require more calories to sustain her weight than a smaller woman. Likewise a woman who has more muscle mass than another will require more calories than even a woman who weighs the same but does not have as much muscle mass.
Improving your Metabolism with Diet Changes
If you are considering making some dietary changes to improve your metabolism, it is critical for you to first consult your doctor. This is important because your doctor can not only help you to establish attainable goals but can also evaluate your current health and determine whether or not it is safe for you to make diet and exercise changes. We have already briefly touched upon some of the ways metabolism can be affected but we will discuss them in greater detail in this section.
One way to improve metabolism is to divide your total number of required calories into six mini meals spread throughout the day as opposed to three large meals. As we mentioned previously, digestion requires calories. If you are only eating three meal a day you are only able to enjoy the benefit of burning calories as a result of digestion three times a day. Dividing each of your three meals into two smaller meals allows you to burn the calories associated with beginning the digestive process six times per day. It also allows for better usage of your nutrients as your body can only absorb and utilize a small amount of nutrients at each meal. Additionally nutrients may be either converted to glucose and stored or excreted without providing a benefit to the body.
One common misconception regarding weight loss is there are foods which can help to burn fat but this is simply not true. According to the National Institutes of Health, "No foods can burn fat. Some foods with caffeine may speed up metabolism (the way your body uses energy, or calories) for a short time, but they do not cause weight loss." However, careful food selections can contribute to an increased daily caloric expenditure. Choosing whole grains and fiber rich foods can cause you to require more energy for digestion. Refined foods such as white breads and pasta are fairly easy to digest and do not require as much energy as foods such as whole grain breads and vegetables.
Improving your Metabolism with Exercise Changes
Exercise, including both cardiovascular exercise and resistance training, can also have a positive impact on metabolism. When performing high intensity cardiovascular exercises you are burning calories. Regular exercise can keep your need for calories higher and will help to improve your metabolism. Not only do you burn calories while you are exercising but you also enjoy an additional expenditure of calories as your body cools down from an exercise session.
Resistance training can help to boost your metabolism in a couple of ways. The movements performed in resistance training require calories for your body to move and lift the weights. Additionally, weight training can help to increase muscle mass. Muscles require more calories than fat so increasing the amount of muscle automatically increases the amount of calories your body requires even at rest.
Improving Your Metabolism with Herbal Supplements
The use of herbal supplements can also have an impact on metabolism. Products such as Meltorin taut their ability to improve metabolism, suppress appetite and control cravings by regulating insulin levels. More information can be found on this subject at the following web address: www.Meltorin.com. The information here can help you to determine whether or not this type of product is right for you.
About the Author:
Tap into the Awesome Traffic Promotional Power of the Search Engines with Kamau Austin's web marketing consulting. Kamau Austin, is Author of "Always On Top -- How to Get Your Website on Top of the Search Engines Every Time!" He is a nationally recognized writer who has been featured on the American Urban Radio Network's (AURN) Surfing the Net program, and XM Satellite Radio's Mind Yo Business talk show. He has also been featured in both numerous community newspapers and national magazines such as Black Enterprise and Fortune Magazine's Small Business. He is also Publisher of 25 websites including the high ranking http://www.eInfoNews.com and http://www.SearchEnginePlan.com. Pick up a copy of his multimedia book and CD at... http://www.AlwaysOnToptheBook.com
