Losing Weight - What is Metabolism and How Can I Use it to Turbocharge My Weight Loss?

If you want to lose weight, the absolute most vital thing you need to check out is metabolism. If you're not shaping your diet habits around metabolism, odds are you're either not losing weight, or worse, wearing yourself out by ineffectively dieting. Here is what you need to know to speed up weight loss, boost your metabolism, and stop making the same mistakes:

Metabolism is a confusing word, but it's relatively simple when applied to dieting. Metabolism is simply your body's way of turning the calories you eat into fuel to keep your body up and running. Everything is tied to metabolism - staying warm, digestion, thinking, movement, breathing, and regulating temperature to name a few. Now that we know what metabolism is, lets talk about some common mistakes that affect it.

Crash dieting is the fastest way to shut down your metabolism. When you go on extreme fad diets and drop calories sharply, your metabolism slows way down into survival mode. Although you're barely eating anything (or doing something crazy like being on a liquid or fruit only diet), your metabolism is at a standstill. What this means is you not only won't lose weight fast or effectively, but you'll feel like you're starving. Worse yet, the weight will come right back days after the crash diet is over.

If you keep your calories at a deficit, but something healthy (such as 1200-1800 calories, whatever works for you), you will lose weight steadily, healthily, and your metabolism will only slow down 5% instead of 90%. The most important part of weight loss is sustainability, and this is the way to do it.

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