Tips for Burning More Calories

Main Document

There are three main ways to lose weight and slim down your physique. Each of these ways focuses on changing a few habits to give yourself the body that you have always wanted.

Increase Your Metabolic Rate

One of the quickest and most effective ways to burn calories in your body is to increase your metabolic rate. This rate simply refers to how fast your body burns up calories. An example of this would be someone eating 2000 calories in a day and then burning off that same amount. This person would not gain any weight and would probably be on the path to losing some weight. A person that eats 2000 calories in a day but only burns off 1500 will gain a slight amount of weight each week. There are many ways to speed up the rate at which you burn calories. All it takes is a little bit of knowledge about how your metabolic rate is influenced.

We burn calories to give the body energy for three main functions:

1. Basic Metabolic Rate - this is the rate that the body uses to burn calories all throughout the day. This rate is in effect even when you are not doing anything. For most people, this rate accounts for about sixty percent of the calories burned in a day.

2. Burn Calories during Activity - this is the rate that the body uses to burn calories during activities. This does not only refer to exercising or working out. This rate goes into effect when your body is doing any activity, even things like mowing the lawn or doing dishes. This rate will go up when the body does more strenuous activities like running or swimming. This rate accounts for about thirty percent of the calories burned by an average person.

3. Dietary Thermogenesis - this is an effect that is produced when the body heats up as it takes in food. The body has to work to eat, absorb, use and digest food. This process all requires calories to make it work. This is the final ten percent of calories burned for most people.

All of the factors mentioned above can be influenced and in turn your metabolic rate can increase. The following are just a few tips on speeding up your metabolism to burn more calories.

Muscle Mass - many studies have shown that the more muscle a person has on their body, the more calories they will burn throughout the day. For every pound of muscle that is added, up to fifty more calories can be burned each day. The reason for this is that muscle will burn more calories even when the body is not active. Working out with weight just a few times each week can help build muscle mass.

Move Your Body - in order to reach the thirty percent of calories burned on a daily basis, people need to move their bodies. Again, this does not have to be marathon running, just some simple activity. Many inactive people only reach about fifteen percent of calories burned during activity and that can lead to weight gain. Some examples of moving your body to burn calories would be: walking stairs, parking further away from the shops to walk, stretching and dancing.

Spice it Up! -eating certain "fat burning foods" has been shown to raise the metabolic rate for a few hours after the meal. A similar effect can be achieved by drinking caffeine.

Raise Your Heart Rate - along with basic movements in the body, doing an aerobic workout is another great way to burn calories. Getting your heart rate up through activities like running, brisk walking or swimming for thirty minutes at a time can really help the body out.

Spread Out Your Meals - there is overwhelming evidence that eating several smaller meals throughout the day rather than three large meals can help boost metabolism and fight off hunger cravings.