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Have you tried to lose weight
and failed? Have you ever started a diet that seemed to work well in the beginning but suddenly you found that you
didn't lose weight anymore? If so than you are not alone. The human body's metabolism makes weight loss difficult.
In fact losing weight is a complicated process. It is a complex inter-play of many biochemical metabolic processes.
The argument that a negative caloric diet could lead to automatic loss of weight is too simplistic and does not
apply to all.
Many people who stick
to a calorie-reduced diet don't lose weight as fast as they think they should. That's because they activate
metabolic protection. Their body senses starvation and shuts down fat burning in order to conserve fat as an
emergency energy source. Hence the key to losing weight is to induce the body to turn on its metabolic processes in
particular the fat burning metabolism.
The key to doing that should involve three interrelated processes namely:
• Conditioning the body for optimal fat burning
• Reducing fat absorption from other sources and inducing
• Triggering the body's natural fat burning metabolism
Don't worry is this sound complicated. The above information has been condensed in
the form of 12 easy tips to promote the body to burn fat all day long and thus lose weight easily.
Tip 1 Do not go
hungry
While it is true that you need to cut down your caloric intake you should not cut
down too drastically so much so that you feel hungry. It's a good idea to have an idea of how much calorie you need
to consume given your weight in order to spread your spread consumption adequately throughout the day. Excessive
caloric reduction could cause the body metabolism to hit the brakes. It will also begin to break down muscle tissue
for energy. The best strategy would be to eat just enough so that you are not hungry but at the same time induce
the body to increase its metabolism. A midmorning snack and mid-afternoon snack of about 150 calories will do the
trick.
Tip 2
Drink plenty of water
This is probably the most important tip of all. Almost all of us are guilty of
consuming too little water. We need to remember that metabolism is a process that requires water. Water is
necessary for proper isotonic balance of body fluids and also to help in transportation of waste products of
metabolism. When we consume too little water the body tends to slow down metabolism simply because it cannot ensure
an optimal metabolism and getting rid of waste products. Therefore the secret to unlocking metabolism starts with
drinking enough water. As a general rule we should all consume at least 8 glasses of water a day. Studies have
shown drinking enough water could lead to a loss of about 50 calories a day - enough to shed 5 pounds in a
year.
Tip 3 Breathe
properly
Fat metabolism is a process that also requires oxygen. Therefore a well oxygenated
and well hydrated tissue is essential for optimal fat loss. This is the tragedy of modern life as most of us do not
drink enough water and also do not use our lung capacity in an optimal manner. According to some research people
generally use only about 25% of their lung capacity. Therefore simply learning to breathe properly and deeply would
do wonders to enhance fat metabolism. This requires conscious efforts but costs nothing at all.
Tip 4 Eat more iron rich
foods
In order to promote efficient oxygen uptake from our breathing we need to eat iron
rich foods. Women in particular are at the losing end because they lose iron due their periods. In some women the
situation is so bad that their iron levels are very low indeed. By having low iron levels oxygen uptake is
inefficient and that directly contributes to their inability to lose weight. Therefore one should eat iron-rich
foods such as shellfish, lean meat, beans, cereals and spinach as they are excellent sources of dietary
iron.
Tip 5 Consume more vitamin
D
Vitamin D has a main role in determining how the body manages energy which directly
involves fat metabolism. Unfortunately many of us do not eat enough Vitamin D. You can get your daily requirement
of Vitamin D in a three and half ounce serving of salmon. Other great sources of Vitamin D are tofu, tuna, shrimp,
fortified milk, cereal and eggs.
Tip 6 Eat plenty of
fiber
Everyone needs to add natural fiber to their diet. Research has shown that certain
types of fiber such as resistant starch can increase fat metabolism by up to 30%. Resistant starch is formed when
foods such as potatoes, grains and beans are cooked and allowed to cool down. Such foods should not be re-heated as
it would transform them. They are called resistant starch because they are resistant to quick digestion. Therefore
such foods give the feeling of fullness and curbs hunger.
Since resistant starches are resistant to digestion they are also not broken down and
stored as fat. Instead what happens is that they get fermented as they get to the large intestine creating small
fatty acids called butyrates which inhibit metabolism of carbohydrates. Since the body is deprived of breaking down
carbohydrates it breaks down fat instead. A good choice would be to consume at least 20-30 grams a day of such
resistant starch daily. This would roughly correspond to about half cup of potato, rice or cereal plus half cup
cooked vegetables or one cup of cooked beans and 1 slightly unripe banana.
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