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Fast Weight Loss for Slow Metabolism

Jun 14, 2011 | By Milo Dakota
Fast Weight Loss for Slow Metabolism
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If you're eating less than your skinny friends and still not losing weight, a slow metabolism may be to blame. You can be tested for conditions such as hypothyroidism, caused by an underactive thyroid, and take medications as necessary. However, if your metabolism is medically sound, stop comparing your diet to those of your friends and concentrate on finding a weight loss plan that works for you.

Muscle and Caloric Burn

Increasing your muscle mass will boost your metabolism. Muscle burns calories more rapidly than fat. Estimates vary widely as to how much more quickly, but conservative figures in "Human Body Composition" say that muscle burns calories three times as quickly as fat. Thus, incorporating some weightlifting, including lifting light weights, into your daily routine can assist your weight loss efforts. Aerobic exercise, which burns fat during workouts, also helps you create a caloric deficit. Every time you create a caloric deficit of 3,500, whether through diet, exercise or both, you will lose a pound.

Modest Changes Yield Better Results

You will do both your metabolism and your body shape a favor if you begin a diet plan with moderate decreases in calories and moderate increases in energy expenditure through exercise. Try to lose too much too fast, and your metabolism will slow to protect itself. You may stop losing weight even if you strictly adhere to a reduced calorie diet and, when you resume normal eating patterns, you are likely to regain the lost weight in addition to a few pounds. Fad diets sometimes produce this effect. The Lemonade Diet, for instance, helped singer Beyonce lose 20 pounds in two weeks, but she put the pounds back on after she resumed eating solid food.

Aerobic Exercise

Spend an hour every day exercising to lose weight, says John Jakicic, assistant professor of health and physical and recreational education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. The type of exercise isn't as important as the amount of time spent. Choose a calorie-burning activity you like, such as walking, dancing, gardening or bowling, and make one or more part of your daily routine. You could burn up to 450 calories a day by walking, which would help you shed a pound every eight days.

Fat-Burning Foods

Some foods boost metabolism and speed fat burn better than others. Three servings of yogurt a day helped dieters lose 81 percent more abdominal fat than those who included low amounts of calcium in their diets, according to Dr. Michael Zemel of the University of Tennessee. Acidic fruits, including oranges, strawberries and green apples, raise metabolism, according to numerous studies. One conducted by the University of Navarra in Spain found that rats fed a high-fat diet did not gain weight when they also included sources of vitamin C in their diets, according to a study reported in 2009 in Acta Physiologica. Foods rich in vitamin D, including fish, beef, eggs and cheese, raise your metabolism, according to research led by J. Teichmann and other German scientists who reported their findings in 2008 in the European Journal of Medical Research.

Diet-Friendly Beverages

Your choice of beverage also affects your metabolism. Low-fat milk, like yogurt, contains calcium and can be helpful. Water boosts your metabolism by as much as 30 percent, according to Michael Boschmann and other German researchers whose findings were reported in a 2003 issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Green tea drinkers lost nearly twice as much weight as drinkers of black tea in a 2009 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

References

Article reviewed by SPEstes Last updated on: Jun 14, 2011

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