How to Burn Calories More Efficiently

Losing weight and staying fit requires you to burn enough calories throughout your day. In order to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you are consuming; to maintain your weight, you need to burn the number of calories you consume each day. Your metabolism factors into the amount of calories your body burns daily; however, there are many things you can do to ensure a more efficient calorie burn. Exercising, eating properly and building muscle all help to up your daily calorie burn.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Fitness attire
• Weights

1. Get cardiovascular exercise four to six times per week, for at least 20 minutes. Cardio is essential to burning calories.

2. Start lifting weights. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you will burn throughout the entire day. This is because muscle requires more calories to maintain than fat. Aim to lift weights two to four times a week, focusing on various muscle groups. You want to get a total body-toning workout completed each week.

3. Split your workout into two smaller workouts throughout the day. After you exercise, your body continues to burn calories at a higher level. If you work out twice a day, you have this elevated calorie-burn level twice, rather than once. The result is more calories burned, without you having to work out longer.

4. Incorporate interval training into your workouts. Rather than jogging at a steady speed for 30 minutes, add short sprints into your jog. This type of training encourages your heart and muscles to work more efficiently and recover better. You'll see that you burn more calories throughout a workout when you use intervals.

5. Increase your protein intake. Protein aids in muscle-building. This will help to speed your metabolism, resulting in more calories burned overall.

6. Eat breakfast. When you get up in the morning, your metabolic rate is at its slowest. This is because you have just been sleeping for a long period of time. When you eat breakfast, it jump-starts your metabolism back into high gear.

7. Eat small meals throughout the day. Every time you consume food, you wake up your body, readying it for digestion. If you eat smaller meals throughout the day rather than three large meals, you'll have the benefit of waking up your metabolism more. This results in more calories burned. Make sure that you are still consuming the same number of overall calories when you split up your meals. You shouldn't be eating any more food, just eating more frequently in smaller portions.

8. Drink water. If you are dehydrated, your body isn't able to perform as it should, which means a reduction in calories burned. Aim to drink at least 64 ounces of water each day, and more if you exercise. Water rids the body of metabolic waste, making your body cleaner and more efficient.

9. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. While you can take a multi-vitamin, it's better to get as many nutrients as possible from fresh food. Avoid processed foods, as these contain lots of hidden fats and sugars. Instead, aim for a well-balanced diet made up of fresh, natural foods.

Tips & Warnings

• Slowly build up your exercise regimen over time. As you become more fit, you'll find you are capable of more.
• Do not take diet pills in order to lose weight. These pills can have many negative effects on your health.

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[denia115]

on 8/4/2009 Very good article. I do a 2 mile walk/jog in the morning at 6 am then the 30 day shred by Jillian Michaels at 4:00. Better and faster results.