|
Author: Lea Woodward Article source: http://www.health-spot.info/. Used with author's permission.
Put simply, your resting metabolic rate is the minimum number of calories your body needs to survive if you sleep in bed all day. Your body needs energy for hundreds of bodily functions such as breathing, keeping the brain functioning and any movement your body makes. Just being alive uses up around 70% of the calories you burn every day.
According to research, the following calorific expenditure is used by the body:
Homeostasis - 70%
Digestion & Elimination - 5-15%
At this point, our body has already burned around 85% of daily calories without taking any exercise or activity into account. Running on a treadmill at a fairly steady pace for 20 minutes can burn between 150-300 calories depending on your body weight - thus the amount of calories we burn in activity is far fewer than the body burns keeping itself functioning.
So if you consider what happens when we reduce the amount of calories you ingest but keep your activity levels the same, your body has to become more efficient at functioning with less energy and will consequently slow down your metabolic rate in order to function more efficiently.
In addition, as your body is receiving from fewer calories from your diet it will look for elsewhere for other sources of energy...your muscles. If you're wondering why it won't turn to fat just yet, this is because the body will use fat as a last resort - its long term energy store in cases of starvation - it will only be used when all other energy reserves have been used up.
So not only will you starve your body of the adequate nutrients it needs to function, you will also be forcing it to eat into muscles for energy and you will lose lean body mass. There is also research that shows that if you do start to eat 'normally' again, most of the weight gain will be fat and that muscle mass will not be replaced by re-feeding.
So what does this mean for those of us trying to lose weight?
It means that:
1) Cutting calories alone will simply slow down your metabolic rate
2) Cutting calories will probably result in muscle loss, which will not be re-gained if you start to eat 'normally'
3) Aerobic exercise is unlikely to burn sufficient calories for effective weight loss and may also result in loss of muscle
4) An important key to losing weight is retaining your lean body mass - your muscle, which means resistance exercise should be included in your programme
So if you want a short, one sentence that says it all - here it is...a combination of diet, a small amount of aerobic training (at the right intensity) and a moderate amount of resistance training should result in the most weight loss without a loss of lean body mass. Lea Woodward is a qualified personal trainer and director of activOne ltd in the UK. She provides personal training, diet & nutrition advice and massage therapy to clients in the Midlands and virtual training to clients worldwide. Check out the website http://www.activone.co.uk
Scotland - The New White Water Rafting Capital of Europe
Scotland has taken its place as the new Mecca for white water rafting and extreme sports enthusiasts. With over 120 activity centres around the country you can ...
Elearning Is Dead - Long Live Blended Learning!
Elearning without human interaction is bound to result in expensive failure...
Encouragement at Eye Level
Everyone seems to have their own areas of constricted progression. You know places where personal construction is on going and the area is more than a bit clutt...
Sinusitis: Sinus Infection Deals a Corporate KO
Sinusitis : Sinus Infection Deals a Corporate KO explores one of the most common workplace sicknesses and its physical and fiscal affects on American businesses...
Wheres Your Value?
In life, many times the simplest of actions reveal how we truly value our lives and our successes. Read on if you are interested in where you place your value f...
Camera Cell Phones - Say It With Pictures!
Camera cell phones are sweeping the nation! In fact, long gone are the days when a telephone is used for the sole purpose of speaking to another person. Cell ph...
Lifestyler Treadmill
Lifestyler treadmill is a good, solid and reliable treadmill available in the market. Lifestyler treadmill is an excellent choice for first time buyers looking ...
Buying an Unfinished Home Maybe Your Answer
For the first time "want-to-be" homeowner, purchasing an unfinished new home maybe just the answer. With mortgage interest rates still at record lows, there ha...
Stress and Your Immune System: 10 Ways to Relax and Rejuvenate
How we deal with stress has a direct impact upon our immune system. Learning how to properly manage daily stress can keep your body and mind healthy and more y...
Choosing Candles & Scents Part 1 - Candles for July
Finding a candle store to buy from online is hard enough, choosing the right scent doesn't have to be even more difficult!
Modern Bedding Ideas
Want some ideas for creating a new modern bedroom..? Read on!
Angelo Dies
Angelo died last night over a asthma attack. He left his friends and family in william floyd middle school in mourning. People payed their tributes at his loc...
Resistance: A Network Marketers Worst Enemy
It holds us back from achieving our goals in a gripping way and we often end up going in circles for weeks… months… even years. And sadly for some...
Understanding What Reciprocal Linking Means
If you have been marketing on the internet for any length of time you have surely heard that reciprocal linking is a great way to boost your google page rank as...
Business Plan Long Term Goals
Writing a business plan is not an easy endeavor, nor is predicting the future. You will need to spent adequate time in preparing your long-term goals and object...
Mushrooms
Divinely Delicious
Potty Training …To Train or Not to Train?
Sure, we went a little stupid each time they were successful users of the throne and they got rewards and accolades just like the kids who were put through a re...
Beginners Guide to Credit
Everyone has to start somewhere when it comes to credit. This guide will educate the beginner on what they can do to build a solid credit score, and learn good...
Organic Bedding and Organic Mattresses by Prescription Only?
What you should know about a new California law when purchasing organic mattresses.
11 Steps Away From Buying a Home
There are many things to consider when buying your first home.
This step-by-step guide takes you through on how to buy your first home and shows you that you'r...
The RIGHT Way To WRITE Articles
As a follow up to my previous article on the WRONG way to write articles, this article shows you the RIGHT way to write articles. How can you further maximize b...
The Art of Power Washing Siding
Power washing siding may seem safer to take on yourself, but if you don't have the proper tools and experience it could cost far more than you intended.
Feeling Self-Conscious? 6 Tips to Turn it Around Fast!
When you feel self-conscious it means you are putting too much attention on your self, too much focus on what you are doing and how you are doing it. And this i...
Revising Your Site - What Happened To My Search Engine Placement?
As of September, Smartads went through what so many have done before. I changed the entire site. I knew what it meant. It means that your search engine placemen...
|
Print this page