by Marthinus Opperman
9 Easy Ways To Burn Calories
A slow metabolism can quickly be blamed for not losing weight, but what if metabolism can be increased and made more effective with ways to burn calories? In order to understand what we are doing, it is important to first understand what exactly the metabolism is and how it works. Then we can see how it can be used to burn calories and in effect, lose weight… What Is Metabolism? To put it simply, metabolism is the process by which the body converts the food we eat into energy. It is a complex biochemical process during which calories in food are combined with oxygen to release energy the body needs in order to function. Even when we’re not doing anything active (when we are at rest), the body needs energy for all its “background functions” like; breathing, circulating blood, adjusting hormone levels, and growing and repairing cells. The number of calories the body uses to carry out these basic functions is known as the basal metabolic rate — or what we commonly call the metabolism. Several factors determine the metabolism, including: Body size and composition: The bodies of people who are larger or have more muscle burn more calories, even at rest. Sex: Men usually have less body fat and more muscle than women of the same age and weight, which means they burn more calories. Age: As we get older, the amount of muscle tends to decrease and fat accounts for more of our body weight, slowing down calorie burning. The energy needed for our body’s daily basic functions are usually relatively consistent, and make up about 70% of our daily calories burned. In addition to the metabolism, two other factors determine how many calories our body burns each day: Food processing (thermogenesis). Digesting, absorbing, transporting and storing the food we consume also takes calories. This accounts for about 100 to 800 of the calories burned each day. Physical activity. Exercise in any form accounts for the rest of the calories our body burns each day. Whilst we cannot really control how many calories our metabolism burns each day through the body’s normal functions, we can, however, increase the number of calories we burn each day through exercise. 9 Easy tips for burning more calories include: Smart Snacking When we only eat 3 meals per day, our metabolism slows down during meals. When we add small, healthy snacks between meals, we can keep your metabolism active and burn more calories. Spice It Up Spicy foods contain chemicals that kick your metabolism up a notch. It only gives it a temporary boost, so it works best if we eat spicy foods quite often. Spice the food up with red or green chili to get that metabolism going! Pack In The Protein The body can burn more calories when it is busy digesting protein. Replace some of your carbs with lean protein to boost your metabolism during and after mealtime. Good protein sources include lean beef, chicken breasts, fish, nuts, eggs, and tofu. Tea For Me Drinking green tea or oolong tea contains caffeine and catechins, substances shown to boost the metabolism for a couple of hours. Steer Clear Of Crash Diets Crash diets do not boost your metabolism, and they usually burn muscle instead of fat. This is even worse, seeing that muscle mass helps to burn even more calories! Rather opt for a sustainable diet which helps you lose weight in the long run, and also prevents you from picking that weight up again. Aerobic Exercise Cardio or aerobic exercise is a great way to get your blood pumping and the calories burning. Walking, running, cycling, and swimming is all great forms of exercise. Try to include at least 30 minutes of moderate to intense cardio or aerobic exercise into your daily routine, as this helps to increase your calories burned every day. Strength Training Along with aerobic exercise, strength training can do wonders for boosting your metabolism and burning calories. It also helps build your muscles, which translates to more effective calorie burning. This is especially important as you become older since muscle mass tends to decrease as we age. Lifestyle Activities Simple lifestyle changes and new mindsets can go a long way. Taking the stairs at work, saying no to that cupcake, parking further from the store to make yourself walk a bit more, gardening, washing the car, anything can be seen as an opportunity to help burn away those calories. Manna Blood Sugar Support We can all use the extra help of a good, healthy, natural supplement when we are trying to lose weight. Follow the Manna Diet. It lends itself to a low-carb roadmap that can help you eliminate the bad carbs and sugar from your diet and beat the cravings. Add to this a good exercise routine, and taking 1 or 2 Manna Blood Sugar Support tablets with each meal, and you have yourself a winning recipe to take control of your blood sugar levels!
