Become a Fat Burning Machine - Even While You’re Sleeping
Katrina Eden asked:
Did you know you can program your body to burn more fat - not just when you’re active, but all day - and all night - long?
Increasing your metabolism (or fat-burning ability) really is simple once you know how …
Here’s what you need to know:
Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), more commonly referred to as your metabolism, is what dictates how many calories you burn each day just by being alive.
For the average person, about 60-70% of the calories they burn each day come about by doing precisely nothing. All you have to do is keep breathing. Most people burn an additional 20-30% of their calories through daily activity, including exercise, and the other 10% is through the thermal effects of absorbing and digesting your food.
The people who lose the most weight, and keep it off, are those who are not just willing to work hard on their body, but know how to be smart about it. And one of the smartest things you can do to maximise your weight loss is to build more lean muscle so that your body works FOR you rather than AGAINST you.
I’m not talking about bulking up or becoming a body-builder. Even a small increase in muscle mass can dramatically impact your BMR. You see, for every pound of muscle you gain, your body will burn an additional 50 calories per day - just by being alive. Sure, 50 calories isn’t much (about 12 M&Ms), but what if you were to build 5 pounds of extra muscle? Or 10? Keep in mind that 10 pounds of muscle would be equivalent in size to 4 tennis balls - spread out over your whole body - so it’s not as though you’d be physically bigger. In fact, if anything, you would look a lot leaner - I know I’d rather have 4 tennis balls worth of lean, toned muscle on my body than 4 footballs of pudge (the approximate size of 10 pounds of body fat).
Wouldn’t you?
Not to mention, that the extra 500 calories you’d burn would equate to around 110 M&Ms you could eat every day without affecting your weight! Or (crazy idea!) you could NOT eat them, and watch your body fat start to melt away as if by magic :
So how do you get to that magic place and start burning fat all day long - even while you’re sleeping?
The most effective way to build lean muscle is to train with weights. For beginner’s, even once each week will cause you to build muscle. For more advanced exerciser’s, I’d recommend 2-3 times per week. In my experience, multi-joint full body exercises are the best way to go. Remember - we’re not trying to be bodybuilder’s: no single-joint movements or split body routines necessary. In fact, this could even slow your progress down, unless you are an extremely conditioned and experienced exerciser.
This is not a quick fix! Building muscle is an ongoing process, and it takes some people longer than others. Those with a slight build can expect to gain around 0.7 pounds for every 12 weeks of training, while those with a solid build may build up to 3.5 pounds of muscle in the same time frame.
IMPORTANT! Women particularly - please do not worry about becoming ‘bigger’. Lean muscle will make you much smaller in size, although your weight on the scales may remain unchanged. Why? Just remember the tennis ball vs the football. If you need more reassurance, measure yourself around the belly button each week, or use a favorite pair of jeans as a size guide.
A final point before I leave you to go hit the weights room (I’m writing this from the café in my gym - gotta practice what I preach!). Even if you’re happy with the way you look right now, or still aren’t convinced on the weight-training front, remember that for every year that passes as a non-exercising adult, you lose approximately 0.5-2% percent of the muscle you had as a young adult. This decline begins around 25 on average, and is accelerated in those are very inactive.
Scary! And this explains why so many naturally thin people end up with a soft and droopy look in later years, or a sudden and unexpected surge in weight once they enter their thirties.
The moral of the story? Train with weights. Don’t forget to stay tuned for my next article - the best way to train weights for INCREDIBLE fat loss!
Did you know you can program your body to burn more fat - not just when you’re active, but all day - and all night - long?
Increasing your metabolism (or fat-burning ability) really is simple once you know how …
Here’s what you need to know:
Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), more commonly referred to as your metabolism, is what dictates how many calories you burn each day just by being alive.
For the average person, about 60-70% of the calories they burn each day come about by doing precisely nothing. All you have to do is keep breathing. Most people burn an additional 20-30% of their calories through daily activity, including exercise, and the other 10% is through the thermal effects of absorbing and digesting your food.
The people who lose the most weight, and keep it off, are those who are not just willing to work hard on their body, but know how to be smart about it. And one of the smartest things you can do to maximise your weight loss is to build more lean muscle so that your body works FOR you rather than AGAINST you.
I’m not talking about bulking up or becoming a body-builder. Even a small increase in muscle mass can dramatically impact your BMR. You see, for every pound of muscle you gain, your body will burn an additional 50 calories per day - just by being alive. Sure, 50 calories isn’t much (about 12 M&Ms), but what if you were to build 5 pounds of extra muscle? Or 10? Keep in mind that 10 pounds of muscle would be equivalent in size to 4 tennis balls - spread out over your whole body - so it’s not as though you’d be physically bigger. In fact, if anything, you would look a lot leaner - I know I’d rather have 4 tennis balls worth of lean, toned muscle on my body than 4 footballs of pudge (the approximate size of 10 pounds of body fat).
Wouldn’t you?
Not to mention, that the extra 500 calories you’d burn would equate to around 110 M&Ms you could eat every day without affecting your weight! Or (crazy idea!) you could NOT eat them, and watch your body fat start to melt away as if by magic :
So how do you get to that magic place and start burning fat all day long - even while you’re sleeping?
The most effective way to build lean muscle is to train with weights. For beginner’s, even once each week will cause you to build muscle. For more advanced exerciser’s, I’d recommend 2-3 times per week. In my experience, multi-joint full body exercises are the best way to go. Remember - we’re not trying to be bodybuilder’s: no single-joint movements or split body routines necessary. In fact, this could even slow your progress down, unless you are an extremely conditioned and experienced exerciser.
This is not a quick fix! Building muscle is an ongoing process, and it takes some people longer than others. Those with a slight build can expect to gain around 0.7 pounds for every 12 weeks of training, while those with a solid build may build up to 3.5 pounds of muscle in the same time frame.
IMPORTANT! Women particularly - please do not worry about becoming ‘bigger’. Lean muscle will make you much smaller in size, although your weight on the scales may remain unchanged. Why? Just remember the tennis ball vs the football. If you need more reassurance, measure yourself around the belly button each week, or use a favorite pair of jeans as a size guide.
A final point before I leave you to go hit the weights room (I’m writing this from the café in my gym - gotta practice what I preach!). Even if you’re happy with the way you look right now, or still aren’t convinced on the weight-training front, remember that for every year that passes as a non-exercising adult, you lose approximately 0.5-2% percent of the muscle you had as a young adult. This decline begins around 25 on average, and is accelerated in those are very inactive.
Scary! And this explains why so many naturally thin people end up with a soft and droopy look in later years, or a sudden and unexpected surge in weight once they enter their thirties.
The moral of the story? Train with weights. Don’t forget to stay tuned for my next article - the best way to train weights for INCREDIBLE fat loss!