Increase Your Fat Burn

4 simple strategies to boost your metabolism and jump-start weight loss By Myatt Murphy

When you work out and the pounds still don’t come off, it can be incredibly frustrating. But certain habits and physical changes can undermine even proven weight loss strategies, especially after you turn 40. When Australian and UK researchers reviewed nearly 100 studies on exercise and weight loss, they discovered why those extra pounds wouldn’t budge. Try these tips to keep the number on the scale dropping.

1. Make More Muscle
   

   After you turn 40, your metabolism starts to decline at a rate of 2 to 4% per decade, and weight loss can slow it down even more in a University of Colorado Health Sciences study, losing a mere pound a week for 12 weeks lowered metabolism by 165 calories a day. Part of the reason is that it’s nearly impossible to slim down without losing some muscle-your body’s calorie-burning engine-along with the fat. Each pound you shed is about 70% fat and 30% muscle. But you can counteract the effect.

   Simple Strategies:

   • Lift weights three times a week. It’s the fastest way to build muscle and get results when the scale is stuck. “Regulars strength-training can increase your resting metabolic rate by up to 8% “says Wayne Westcott, PhD, author of Get Stronger Feel Younger. In one 8-week study, women and men who did only cardio exercise lost 4 pounds but gained no muscle, while those who did half the amount of cardio and an equal amount of strength-training shed 10 pounds of fat and added 2 pounds of muscle.
   • Break up your meals. Eating five small meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus two snacks) instead of three large ones helps keep metabolism high. Spreading calories throughout the day “keeps blood sugar levels even and controls the release of insulin that can cause your body to store more calories as fat” says Leslie Bonci, RH, MPH, director of sports medicine nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
2. Outsmart a Plateau
   

   As you drop weight, your body doesn’t have to work as hard, simply because there’s less of you to move around, says Michele Kettles, MD, medical director of the Cooper Clinic in Dallas. That means your workouts produce a smaller calorie burn. For example, if you weigh 180 pounds and lose 35, you’ll melt about 100 fewer calories in an hour-long cardio class-which can slow down further weight loss.

   Simple Strategies:

   • Get your heart rate up. Watching TV or reading while you exercise can lower your workout intensity-and your calorie burn. Instead, pay attention to your pulse, suggests Kettles. For best results, stay between 60 and 80% of your maximum heart rate. To estimate your MHR, subtract your age from 220. Then multiply your MHR by 0.6 for the lower end of your target heart rate zone and by 0.8 for the upper end. For example, if you’re 40, aim for 108 to 144 beats per minute. (For easier tracking, invest in a heart rate monitor.)
   • Diversify. The more comfortable you become with an exercise routine, the less effective it gets. To continue to lose weight, you need to challenge your body in new ways. “Even replacing one exercise can create enough of a surprise to keep results coming, “says Kettles. Try this: The first week of every month, do a new upper-body exercise; the second week, a new lower-body one; the third, a new abs move; and the fourth, a different type of cardio (cycling instead of walking, for example).
3. Sweat the Small Stuff
   

   It may happen subconsciously, but the studies show that some people move less after they begin an exercise regimen. When women and men, average age 59, started to work out twice a week, their everyday activity decreased by 22%, according to research from the Netherlands. The reason for the slowdown, experts speculate, may be post workout fatigue or the perception that if you exercise, you can afford to skimp on the small stuff.

   Wrong! Little activities such as standing (instead of sitting), fidgeting, and walking more throughout the day can add up to an extra 350 calories burned per day, according to Mayo Clinic studies. Other research shows that a decrease in these everyday actions may shut down an enzyme that controls fat metabolism, making weight loss tougher.

   Simple Strategies:

   • Track nonexercise activity. Record your daily step counts with a pedometer on a couple of days when you don’t work out. Then calculate your average (add up your daily totals and divide by the number of days tracked). If you don’t maintain at least this level of activity every day, your fat-burning ability will decline. For instance, if you normally log 5,000 steps a day but skip half of then on days you work out; your weight loss could slow by up to 50%.
   • Set up weekly physical outings. You’ll be less likely to blow them off if you make a commitment to someone else. Plan a hike or bike ride with your family, or volunteer to walk your neighbor’s dog.
4. Halt Hunger Hormones
   

   When 35 overweight women and men started exercising, researchers found that some of them compensated for their workouts by eating up to 270 extra calories a day-negating more than half of the calories they burned, according to a study in the International Journal of Obesity. “Some research shows that exercising regularly can trigger the release of ghrelin, an appetite-stimulating hormone meant to protect the body from losing weight too quickly,” says Bonci. To make matters worse, appetite also appears to increase as you approach menopause because of declining estrogen level, according to animal studies.

   Simple Strategies:

   • Snack before you sweat. “Exercising on an empty stomach lowers blood sugar, which can increase your appetite and set you up to overeat afterwards,” says Bonci. To ward off post exercise hunger, have a light carb-rich snack 20 to 30 minutes before you work out.
   • Write before you eat. Keeping a food diary is a proven weight loss tool, but don’t wait until after your meal. “When my clients record what they’re going to eat, it puts their dietary habits on pause long enough to decide if their food choices are really worth it,” says Bonci.
   • Time your meals. If possible, schedule your workouts before a meal. In studies where meals were served 15 to 30 minutes after exercise, participants ate less than those who had to wait an hour or more to eat.
   • Sip often. People who regularly drink water eat nearly 200 fewer calories daily than those who consume only tea, coffee, or soda, reports one study. Bonus: Make it ice-cold water. Researchers found that drinking 6 cups of cold water a day raised metabolism by about 50 calories daily. And every little bit helps!

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