Weight Loss, Dieting and Healthy Living Weight Loss, Dieting and Healthy Living Metabolism and its impact on weight In relation to weight management, a phrase that you frequently hear reference to is “metabolism”, but just what is metabolism and how exactly can it affect your weight-loss targets? The word metabolism has Greek roots and it means “change” or “transformation”. With regards to the body, metabolism is essentially the rate at which your body burns energy or calories to perform its vital functions. At each and every moment of every day, the body is constantly burning calories - regardless of whether you are sleeping, sitting or being active. Your body and its organs require continuous “fuel” to power itself, which makes it easier to understand why a balanced diet, with a wide variety of nutrients and vitamins, is so important to your health and to maintaining a stable weight. Your metabolism is the regulator and manager of this fuel. How does metabolism affect weight reduction? No doubt you have heard people talk about a “slow” or “fast” metabolism” in the context of slimming. They are referring to a person’s resting metabolism or basal metabolic rate (BMR). Simply put, this is the total measure of energy consumed for normal maintenance, repair and function of your body. For many people, their body’s ability to break down (burn) food / calories and use it for energy is a quick process (a fast metabolism). For some other people, it will take longer (a slow metabolism). Our metabolism also has a tendency to slow down as we age. Interestingly, metabolic rates can range tremendously from person to person, even as between individuals who have the same height and weight. Acknowledging your particular metabolic rate is therefore rather important in terms of devising an ideal weight management plan. For instance, some people believe that skipping meals will help them to lose weight more quickly. In reality, this is not only an unhealthy and short-sighted approach, but it may actually cause you to put on pounds and lose muscle mass. There's really no secret to losing weight - it is all about balance, variety and moderation: Balance • Balancing the amount of calories you consume with the volume of calories your body makes use of or "burns off." • Eating a balanced diet and ensuring your body gets the “fuel” it requires to efficiently and effectively carry out its many biological functions. Variety Variety, as they say, is the spice of life. Making sure that you have variety in both your diet and your exercise regime will not only ensure that you are receiving a broad selection of nutrients and staying healthy and fit, but it will also make it easier for you to sustain your weight management programme for the long-term (through lifestyle change), since you are less likely to become bored and return to old bad habits. Moderation Just as with variety, moderation is vital to an effective weight management programme. Allowing yourself the occasional “treat” and having a modest amount of everything will make your health goals significantly more realistic and achievable. Are you able to improve your metabolism? In brief, the answer is “yes”, you can improve your metabolism. Exercise and strength training Exercising and strength training are two of the best ways to do this. People who have more muscle than fat frequently have a higher metabolism than people who are overweight; the reason being that muscle burns calories faster than fat - yet another reason to choose a holistic approach to weight management, which promotes both a balanced diet and a good exercise regime. Health supplements While they shouldn’t be relied upon in isolation, many people find that nutritional supplements provide them with the additional support that they need to get started on the way to a more healthy weight, or to help them maintain that weight. For example, herbal fat metabolisers / herbal fat burner formulas can potentially help you to optimise the results you achieve through your diet and training. Our THERMOthin weight management formula contains a blend of active nutrients to support weight loss results and a healthy metabolism - in particular, it contains capsicum extract - a well-documented metabolism stimulant. There are also supplements, which contain well-known weight management and body-shape support ingredients. Our FATSorber, for example, contains a special combination of Chitosan, Garcinia Cambogia, Congugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), Vitamin C and chromium picolinate. Chitosan is known as a “fat magnet” because chitin, a polysaccharide found in the exoskeletons of crustaceans, binds to fats in food. * Before changing your diet, exercise regime or taking health supplements, it is recommended to consult your doctor or qualified health practitioner (particularly if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or on medications).   © Specialist Supplements Ltd 2011  Any questions? 0845 094 3627 This is an information site only! [Home] [Health Information] [Weight Management] [Obesity] [Balanced Diet] [Healthy Metabolism] [Weight Loss] [Slimming and Nutrition] [Specialist Supplements] [Dietary Foods] [Future Nutrition] [Diarrhea Free] [Digestion Health] [Colon Cleanse Products] [Diet Foods] [Own Label Products] [Drop-ship Service] [Web Design] [Carbohydrates-Counter-Carbohydrates-Food] [Diets-For-A-Slow-Metabolism] [Health Products] [Supplements] [Products Catalogue] [Weight Management Products] [Healthcare] [Weight Loss and Health Dieting] Your health is your responsibility [Plant Protein] [Weight-Loss] [Diets] [Slimming] [Carbohydrates] [Dieting] [Health] [Herbs] [IBS] [Metabolism] [Sitemap] [HTML Sitemap]