3. MAXIMIZE FAT BURNING CELLS
In this section, we’re going to focus on how
much lean body muscle you retain and its
impact on calories. Muscle mass is related
to the way our body burns energy.
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4. Lean body mass is just another way of saying
muscle mass. Our Resting Metabolic Rate
(RMR), what you now know is the rate at
which we burn calories while we are at rest, is
largely determined by how much muscle
mass we have in our bodies. (This is
especially important when selecting a weight
loss program, because most diets cause you
to lose muscle mass as well as fat mass.)
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5. Why is lean body mass so important? Muscle
burns more calories at rest than fat. This is
because muscle cells are much more active
than fat cells due to their basic functions.
Muscle cells are constantly burning energy to
allow our bodies to move, to repair
themselves, to grow in response to
exercise, and to replenish energy that they
burns during activity. By sharp contrast, the
only real function of fat cells is to store energy in
the form of fat. This requires very little energy.
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6. In other words, muscles burn about three
times as many calories as fat does when
they are at rest and when you are asleep.
Thus, it stands to reason that the more
muscle mass you have on your body and the
less fat mass, the more calories you will
burn at all times. This is confirmed by
studies that indicate that one of the most
important determinants of Resting Metabolic
Rate (RMR) is body composition.
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7. Given the importance of lean body mass in
burning calories, one of the important things to
deal with during weight loss is the loss of
muscle mass. In most diets, especially those in
which calorie intakes are very low, another
problem occurs besides the slowing of
metabolism. This consequence of dieting makes
it harder to lose weight. People losing weight too
quickly also begin to lose muscle mass. The
problem with this is that the loss of muscle mass
eventually leads to an overall slowing of
metabolism simply because your body has lost
some of the muscle mass that burns calories.
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9. Research indicates that strength training or
“resistance exercise” can help prevent some
of the loss of muscle mass that naturally occurs
during weight loss. For example, in the study
described earlier in which weight loss was
attempted through diet and exercise, it was
noted that the group that did strength training
did not lose a significant amount of muscle
mass while losing weight. Those who attempted
to lose weight by diet alone or by diet and
aerobic exercise did lose some muscle mass.
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10. The results are clear: doing “resistance
exercise” helps to prevent the loss of muscle
mass during weight loss. Resistance exercise is
designed to build up muscle strength and
muscle tone. If done properly, it helps you
retain and increase muscle mass so that you
have more cells that burn calories faster.
So if you want to help your body burn energy
and metabolize stored fat, you need to
incorporate resistance-training activities that
tone your body and build, or at least
retain, muscle mass.
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11. Get Friendly With Resistance
Training
If nothing else, do simple, home-based
exercises that require strength such as push-
ups, sit-ups, or stair-stepping for starters.
Make strength training a part of your life, and
you can retain the muscle mass that will help
you burn calories faster and help you lose
weight while you sleep.
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12. 9 Simple Things You Can Do To
Get Resistance Training
(Remember to check with your doctor before
undertaking any new exercise program)
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13. Understand how keeping lean body mass helps you
burn calories. Lean body mass or muscle mass burns
calories at a rate three times faster than fat mass or
body fat. Thus, the more muscle you retain, the better
your chances at long term weight loss.
Strength training or resistance exercise (such as
weight lifting, push-ups, sit-ups) are the kind of
exercises that will help you retain and increase
muscle mass. Ideally, strength training should be done
daily with a plan to work your large muscle groups with
increasing resistance. However, if this is
impractical, remember that any exercise is better than
no exercise.
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14. Remember to do warm-ups and stretching
before doing any exercise to prevent injury.
Join and use a health club: For those of you
who are able and have a health club nearby, or
even a YWCA or YMCA, with weight machines
and other equipment, now is a good time to
consider making this a part of your routine.
The most important thing is go regularly.
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15. If joining a club is not practical, consider
exercise equipment or some simple home
exercises at the very least. The basic idea is
to exercise your large muscle groups for
maximum effect. This includes your leg
muscles, abdominal muscles, chest
muscles, back muscles and upper arm
muscles. Try the following four simple
exercises and you’ll get a feel for exercises
that will help maintain muscle tone in all of
these groups.
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16. Tone your leg muscles with ‘stand ups.’ If
you are sitting in a chair, simply stand up right
now and sit back down ten times. This
exercise tones your thighs and gluteus
maximus (buttock muscles). If you do this until
your legs begin to feel a little burning
sensation, you are doing well. You can build
up your number of repetitions as you go and
you can do this practically anytime.
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17. Sit-ups are an old-fashioned but very effective
way to tone your abdominal muscles. If sit-ups
are too strenuous, you can do “crunches” by just
curling your body forward from a lying position
without completely sitting up.
Push-ups are another old-fashioned, effective
way to tone up your chest muscles and triceps
(the muscles in the back of your upper arm). If
you can’t do full push-ups, start with knee push-
ups, that is, push-ups that start with your body
on its hands and knees rather than hands and
toes.
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18. Arm curls are an exercise that requires some
kind of weights. Hand weights are ideal for
this. If you don’t have any hand weights and
are not very strong, simply use a can of soup
in each hand for weights. Start with your arms
in an extended position hanging at your sides
and curl your arms forward and upward until
the weight is level with your shoulder. Then lift
the weight straight up and extend your arm
upward. Then come back down and repeat.
What this does is tone your upper arm and
shoulder muscles.
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19. For More Info: Go To:
WebHealthForYou.Com
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