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Best Exercises to Lose Weight and Raise Metabolism

By: Jimmy Norton

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To understand what is considered a good metabolic rate, we have to understand what metabolism is in the context of diet and weight loss. Metabolism is the name of a complex biochemical process by which our body transforms food into energy as well as for body repairs. It also stores fat for use in the future. The rate of metabolism is important in the sense that if we have a faster metabolism, we are able to burn calories more efficiently and store less amount of fat.

When the rate of metabolism is slow, we also burn calories slowly and tend to store more calories as fat. Thus to put it very simply, metabolic rate is the efficiency with which our body can perform these fundamental metabolic work to keep us healthy and fit.

The basal metabolic rate of our body is the amount of calories we need to burn to enable the body to function optimally and keep our organs and tissues in working order. Normally this takes up 60% of our calorie intake. So, when a person is very heavy, he will need more calories to fuel his body processes. What happens to the other 40% of the calories we consume? It is used to produce additional energy we need to perform other activities depending on what type of physical activity our bodies have to do every day.

Though there are several factors which determine our metabolic rate, like genetic factors, age, gender, activity level, muscle-to-fat ratio and our eating habits, the bottom line to keep a healthy metabolic rate is to do regular physical exercise as the more exercise you do, the higher will be your metabolic rate.

As mentioned earlier, metabolism is a series of complex biochemical reactions. To perform these functions properly, the body needs adequate vitamins and nutrients. The best way to supply good nutrition for proper metabolism is to follow a balanced diet.

So how can you raise your metabolic rate and become healthier? It is important to remember that the various weight loss pills and supplements hardly do you any good for getting the right metabolic rate. Metabolic rate can be calculated based on height, weight and several other factors. The first step to find the right metabolic rate is to find out how many calories you would need as your total daily energy expenditure plan. This is also called the TDEE (Total daily energy expenditure).

This is the total number of calories you burn per day, including the calories you burn during physical activity. It is also known by another name: maintenance level. Thus, knowing your TDEE gives you a starting point from which you can start making adjustments in your diet as well as calorie expenditure plan, that is, your exercise plan.

According to exercise physiologists William McArdle and Frank Katch, the average maintenance level for women in the United States is 2000-2100 calories per day and the average for men is 2700-2900 per day. Remember, these are only averages and individual maintenance levels may vary widely for athletes or even very active individuals.

The Harris-Benedict Equation is the way people have been calculating their Basal Metabolic Rate since 1919. Though views differ as to its accuracy, you have to consider many factors if you were to find it more accurately, like activity level, genetics etc.

Calculating Your BMR:

Women: BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)

Men: BMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in year)

If you have calculated this number, then you would know how much energy your body would need for performing some of the very basic functions for you to survive.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

And now, learn why this one group of foods will rarely be stored as body fat (also... how to take maximum advantage of other highly "thermogenic" and "non-metabolizable" foods) at www.blackbookofsecrets.com

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