Attack the fat now!

South Africans weigh in as the third fattest nation on earth. According to a survey done last year, 61% of our population is overweight or obese. The simple scientific fact is that weight gain is most commonly the result of eating more calories than you burn. 

The key to successful and sustainable weight loss is developing healthy diet and exercise habits. Metabolism is the process by which your body converts what you eat and drink into energy. Even when you're at rest, your body needs energy for all its "hidden" functions, such as breathing, your beating heart, growing and repairing cells, etc. The number of calories your body uses to carry out these basic functions is known as your basal metabolic rate.

Several factors determine your individual basal metabolic rate:

1. Your body size and composition. The bodies of people who are larger or have more muscle burn more calories, even at rest.

2. Your sex. Men usually have less body fat and more muscle than women, and burn more calories.

3. Your age. As you get older, the amount of muscle tends to decrease which slows down calorie burning.

Your basal metabolic rate accounts for about 75% of the total calories you burn every day.

In addition to your basal metabolic rate, the only other factor that determines how many calories your body burns each day is physical activity. 

While you don't have much control over the speed of your metabolism, you can control how many calories you burn through your level of physical activity – the more active you are, the more calories you burn. 

Low calorie diets are a less safe way to lose weight. It is harmful to reduce your daily calorie intake to lower than 1 400 calories per day, because your body adjusts to a semi-starvation state and looks for alternative sources of energy. Your body will eventually burn muscle tissue for energy – and because your heart is a muscle, prolonged starvation will weaken it. Low-calorie diets don't meet the body's nutrition needs, and without nutrients your body cannot function normally.

So here are three ways to increase your metabolism

• Regular aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise is the most efficient way to burn calories and includes activities such as walking, bicycling and swimming – anything that gets your heart pounding! And the more active you are, the greater the benefits.

• Strength training. Strength training or resistance exercises are important because they help counteract muscle loss associated with aging. Add to that the fact that muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue does, and having more muscle mass becomes a key factor in weight loss.

• Lifestyle activities. Any extra movement helps burn calories. Look for ways to walk and move around a few minutes more each day. Taking the stairs, or parking farther away at the store are simple ways to burn more calories. Even fidgeting has been shown to help burn more calories!

 

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