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You probably do not need the latest research and experts to tell you that your metabolism (your body's engine) is slowing down as you get older. The average woman during her adult years has a body fat gain of around 1½ pounds per year and this translates into 40 or more pounds of fat by the time she reaches her fifties. That is if she does not combat the merry-go-round of hormones and muscle tissue loss that combines to slow her fat-burning metabolic motor. The good news is midlife weight gain is not inevitable and here are some strategies that will tackle these changes. Discover essential exercise and eating rules that will rev up your fat burning all day long. 1) Look after your muscle tissue - There is only one type of exercise that can protect your precious muscle tissue and that is proper strength training exercise. Long slow repetitive endurance recreational activities can not stop the one half pound of muscle loss that happens each year when not enough muscle building and toning activity is done. Your major muscle groups need direct loading and then taken through their ranges of movement to keep them strong. Thus, strength training is the best way to boost metabolism and research has shown that done regularly it can boost basal metabolic rate by 15 per cent. This strategy alone will not only stop you continuing to gain weight but it will have you losing body fat at a slow and steady rate. 2) Make sure you eat enough - You need to cut only a 100 -200 calories from your daily diet to lose weight, anymore than this delivers a double whammy to your metabolism. When you eat less than you need for basic biological function (anything less than 1600 -1800 calories for most women), your body throws the brakes on your metabolism and the rate you burn fuel. When it goes into this 'diet shock' it also begins to break down precious, calorie-burning muscle tissue for energy which slows the metabolism further. Small meals are the way to go to lose fat. Spaced 3-4 hours throughout the day and each containing at least 20 grams of protein. The balance of these meals should contain lots of raw and cooked vegetables to 1) fill you up so you do not suffer from hunger and intense cravings which can derail even the most dedicated dieter 2) restore health so your body will give up its fat stores. It is also important to ditch as much processed foods as possible from your diet and replace them with natural whole foods cooked from scratch. Although our metabolic motor slows as we get older it is mainly due to the loss of muscle tissue that goes hand in hand with our 'easy' and 'comfortable' modern lifestyles. But this is good news as it means if you want to lose weight you are in charge of making it happen. All you need to do is keep your muscular system strong right throughout your adult life. As there is not enough vigorous movement in our lives anymore you have to add a proper intentional strength training program into your life and do it 2-3 times each week. We do not have to starve ourselves or do hours of ineffective cardio type activity. All we really need to do is strength training with some effort put into it and eat small healthy meals to support your exercise program. You will be delighted by how quickly your muscles will respond and how good you look and feel with your new firmer trimmer body shape.
Discover how to create a leaner, firmer, younger looking body when you speed up your metabolism in 30 days or less. Carolyn Hansen is a certified fitness expert and fitness center owner whose goal is to show you how to burn fat - without starving yourself - by combining strength training exercise with the right foods that will increase your metabolic rate, decrease food cravings and get and keep you trim. Visit http://HotMetabolism.com
Carolyn has just released her latest healthy eating system designed to assist people with achieving their fat loss goals, one meal at a time. Come visit http://21DaysToHealthyEating.com to find out how it is done
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