You may use this image in your ezine or website if you choose to publish my article. Click here to see the picture full-sized.--- Kamau Austin

Have you ever started a weight loss program with a friend
and found that your weight loss buddy lost much more weight
in the same time period? It seemed like the weight just
melted off of him or her with little effort on their part.

While you had to sweat for every ounce you lost their extra
pound just seemed to melt away. Well, this is not
necessarily because you did something wrong.

Nor does it signal any shortcoming on your part. It may
simply be a matter of the difference in your friend's
metabolism as compared to your own. But what is your
metabolism and can it be boosted?

The best approach this problem is to find an effective way
to boost your metabolism and increase your level of fat
burning.

Metabolism is simply speaking the rate which food is
consumed by the body and converted into energy by various
processes. The word metabolism is derived from the Greek
word 'meta' meaning change or transformation.

Metabolism is an essentially important function of the body.
It allows the body to break down the food consumed to
perform various tasks.

Metabolism is responsible for the successful actions like:

- maintenance and upkeep of the muscles and tissues
- repairing and healing damaged and injured parts of the
  body and
- keeping the body running by providing energy and ridding
  the body of harmful toxins.


Metabolism is essential for a healthy body because it aids
in the system of digestion. It also allows the body to
comfortably absorb nutrients in food.

The kind of food you consume affects the metabolism of the
body. If you eat healthy nutrient rich food you will more
positively affect the metabolism of the body.

The body's metabolism is affected by a few key factors such
as...

- proper nutrition
- adequate quantities of water, and
- properly planned physical activity.


Each of these factors is crucial to maintaining a perfectly
balanced rate of metabolism. If we ignore even these
factors then the metabolism of the body tends to decrease.

The process of losing excessive weight and weight management
is also related very closely to your body's metabolism.

Weight loss is achieved by burning the excessive fats
accumulated by the body. The rate or speed you burn fat is
dependent upon the your body's metabolism.

Therefore, the easiest way to lose or manage your weight is
to boost your metabolism. The trend du jour is for people to
adopt a certain diet low in sugar, carbohydrates, fats, or
calories.


-- Beware Trendy Diets --

What tends to happen in low calorie diets is you often lower
your weight but at the -- expense of your metabolism.
Avoid diets built on the myth: ALL FAT IS BAD!!

The body cannot function without fats. In fact if any one
of the basic food groups is eliminated from the diet then
the metabolism and the overall health of your body will
suffer.

The most effective way to boost your metabolism rate is to
follow an exercise and good nutritional program. The
program should allow you more energized physical activity
that will increase your metabolism.

To bust a very powerful and popular myth, your metabolism is
not something you are born with. You can increase your
metabolic rate.

Take care of your health with a sensible diet and exercise.
These simple steps will help to increase your metabolism
rate.

The metabolism of your body is directly related to the
intensity of the exercises done by you. It is important to
maintain continuity and a consistency when working out to
increase your metabolism.

A few simple exercises when performed with rigor and
intensity can yield very good results. Moreover changing
your food habits, does not mean you discard all familiar
foods and replace them with tofu.

Carefully chart out a plan where you specifically name which
exercises and with what frequency you will adopt them.

Cardiovascular and strength training is a great way to
increase metabolism. The body's metabolic rate responds
enthusiastically to rigorous activity and trying new
exercises with greater intensity forces the body to use up
its fat reserves and activates your metabolic rate.

Sports nutritionists understand that the more fat that can
be eliminated from the body the better. Proper
supplementation can help get rid of stubborn fat. We found
a product called Cardio-Stack™ available from Amazon and
www.BODeStore.com, that show great promise to release fat
from the body into the blood stream where it can more easily
be eliminated.

You can increase your metabolism provided you eat healthy
and exercise regularly. Don't forget to drink lots of water
to consistently flush out the toxins in the body. Fitness
guru Denise Austin suggests drinking cold water helps boost
your metabolism because your body has to expend energy to
help keep you warm. 

Visit http://www.HealthandFitnessVitality.com for the latest
in Timeless Health and Fitness Tips for 2006. Discover the
newest trends at the Fit After Forty Blog. Find them at...
http://www.healthandfitnessvitality.com/blogs/fitnessblog.htm
Article courtesy of Kamau Austin, (c) Copyright 2006

This Article must be published with a disclaimer as such...
This article is for general information purposes only. Before
under taking any exercise or treatment program always first
check first with your doctor and health professionals.