- 1. LOSE WEIGHT WHILEYOU SLEEPTerry Shintani, MD, JD, MPH,
KSJWebhealthforyou.com
2. NATURAL FAT BURNINGSTRATEGYWebhealthforyou.com 3. MAXIMIZE
FAT BURNING CELLSIn this section, were going to focus on howmuch
lean body muscle you retain and itsimpact on calories. Muscle mass
is relatedto the way our body burns energy.Webhealthforyou.com 4.
Lean body mass is just another way of sayingmuscle mass. Our
Resting Metabolic Rate(RMR), what you now know is the rate atwhich
we burn calories while we are at rest, islargely determined by how
much musclemass we have in our bodies. (This isespecially important
when selecting a weightloss program, because most diets cause youto
lose muscle mass as well as fat mass.)Webhealthforyou.com 5. Why is
lean body mass so important? Muscleburns more calories at rest than
fat. This isbecause muscle cells are much more activethan fat cells
due to their basic functions.Muscle cells are constantly burning
energy toallow our bodies to move, to repairthemselves, to grow in
response toexercise, and to replenish energy that theyburns during
activity. By sharp contrast, theonly real function of fat cells is
to store energy inthe form of fat. This requires very little
energy.Webhealthforyou.com 6. In other words, muscles burn about
threetimes as many calories as fat does whenthey are at rest and
when you are asleep.Thus, it stands to reason that the moremuscle
mass you have on your body and theless fat mass, the more calories
you willburn at all times. This is confirmed bystudies that
indicate that one of the mostimportant determinants of Resting
MetabolicRate (RMR) is body composition.Webhealthforyou.com 7.
Given the importance of lean body mass inburning calories, one of
the important things todeal with during weight loss is the loss
ofmuscle mass. In most diets, especially those inwhich calorie
intakes are very low, anotherproblem occurs besides the slowing
ofmetabolism. This consequence of dieting makesit harder to lose
weight. People losing weight tooquickly also begin to lose muscle
mass. Theproblem with this is that the loss of muscle
masseventually leads to an overall slowing ofmetabolism simply
because your body has lostsome of the muscle mass that burns
calories.Webhealthforyou.com 8. RESISTANCE EXERCISEBUILDS FAT
BURNINGMUSCLEWebhealthforyou.com 9. Research indicates that
strength training orresistance exercise can help prevent someof the
loss of muscle mass that naturally occursduring weight loss. For
example, in the studydescribed earlier in which weight loss
wasattempted through diet and exercise, it wasnoted that the group
that did strength trainingdid not lose a significant amount of
musclemass while losing weight. Those who attemptedto lose weight
by diet alone or by diet andaerobic exercise did lose some muscle
mass.Webhealthforyou.com 10. The results are clear: doing
resistanceexercise helps to prevent the loss of musclemass during
weight loss. Resistance exercise isdesigned to build up muscle
strength andmuscle tone. If done properly, it helps youretain and
increase muscle mass so that youhave more cells that burn calories
faster.So if you want to help your body burn energyand metabolize
stored fat, you need toincorporate resistance-training activities
thattone your body and build, or at leastretain, muscle
mass.Webhealthforyou.com 11. Get Friendly With ResistanceTrainingIf
nothing else, do simple, home-basedexercises that require strength
such as push-ups, sit-ups, or stair-stepping for starters.Make
strength training a part of your life, andyou can retain the muscle
mass that will helpyou burn calories faster and help you loseweight
while you sleep.Webhealthforyou.com 12. 9 Simple Things You Can Do
ToGet Resistance Training(Remember to check with your doctor
beforeundertaking any new exercise program)Webhealthforyou.com 13.
Understand how keeping lean body mass helps youburn calories. Lean
body mass or muscle mass burnscalories at a rate three times faster
than fat mass orbody fat. Thus, the more muscle you retain, the
betteryour chances at long term weight loss. Strength training or
resistance exercise (such asweight lifting, push-ups, sit-ups) are
the kind ofexercises that will help you retain and increasemuscle
mass. Ideally, strength training should be donedaily with a plan to
work your large muscle groups withincreasing resistance. However,
if this isimpractical, remember that any exercise is better thanno
exercise.Webhealthforyou.com 14. Remember to do warm-ups and
stretchingbefore doing any exercise to prevent injury. Join and use
a health club: For those of youwho are able and have a health club
nearby, oreven a YWCA or YMCA, with weight machinesand other
equipment, now is a good time toconsider making this a part of your
routine.The most important thing is go
regularly.Webhealthforyou.com 15. If joining a club is not
practical, considerexercise equipment or some simple homeexercises
at the very least. The basic idea isto exercise your large muscle
groups formaximum effect. This includes your legmuscles, abdominal
muscles, chestmuscles, back muscles and upper armmuscles. Try the
following four simpleexercises and youll get a feel for
exercisesthat will help maintain muscle tone in all ofthese
groups.Webhealthforyou.com 16. Tone your leg muscles with stand
ups. Ifyou are sitting in a chair, simply stand up rightnow and sit
back down ten times. Thisexercise tones your thighs and
gluteusmaximus (buttock muscles). If you do this untilyour legs
begin to feel a little burningsensation, you are doing well. You
can buildup your number of repetitions as you go andyou can do this
practically anytime.Webhealthforyou.com 17. Sit-ups are an
old-fashioned but very effectiveway to tone your abdominal muscles.
If sit-upsare too strenuous, you can do crunches by justcurling
your body forward from a lying positionwithout completely sitting
up. Push-ups are another old-fashioned, effectiveway to tone up
your chest muscles and triceps(the muscles in the back of your
upper arm). Ifyou cant do full push-ups, start with knee push-ups,
that is, push-ups that start with your bodyon its hands and knees
rather than hands andtoes.Webhealthforyou.com 18. Arm curls are an
exercise that requires somekind of weights. Hand weights are ideal
forthis. If you dont have any hand weights andare not very strong,
simply use a can of soupin each hand for weights. Start with your
armsin an extended position hanging at your sidesand curl your arms
forward and upward untilthe weight is level with your shoulder.
Then liftthe weight straight up and extend your armupward. Then
come back down and repeat.What this does is tone your upper arm
andshoulder muscles.Webhealthforyou.com 19. For More Info: Go
To:WebHealthForYou.ComWebhealthforyou.com
