Health Fitness

Get those sexy washboard abs at home and save gym membership fees

There are tons of ways to get those sexy abs you’ve always craved. With so many home workout routines like p90x and the hip hop abs fitness program, it just gets easier every day. Most of these workouts place a heavy emphasis on eating right, and diet plays a big part in your weight loss odyssey. In this article, we would be looking at an ancient Indian art of self-eating called Ayurveda, which is a good complementary diet and can be followed with whatever exercise plan you are following.

Ayurveda has been around for thousands of years and has its origins in India. It is basically a holistic system of curing diseases using healthy foods and some ancient herbs (most of which are commonly available or can be replaced by other ingredients). The basic motto of Ayurveda is to lead a healthy life of well-being without the need for external medical help and simply by focusing on proper nutrition. Basically ‘ayur’ means life and ‘Veda’ means knowledge and hence the term Ayurveda means ‘knowledge of life’.

The whole concept of Ayurveda revolves around the fact that our body consists of five natural elements: air, fire, water, earth and space. Ayurveda gurus believed that these elements are present in every part of our natural environment, including our food. Therefore, by eating something that has the right ratio of these elements, we can stay fit and healthy without having to wait for conventional medicine. Therefore, the use of the Ayurvedic diet is beneficial for those undergoing a fitness program, as it is one of the most balanced forms of diet available today.

In addition to Ayurveda, there are specific diets that have been designed to give your abs the boost you’ve always wanted. The most common strategy adopted by most of the health coaches around the world is to introduce 5 or 6 smaller meals and eliminate 3 large meals. Snacks are good sometimes, and there is virtually no hunger involved in such diets. The basic principle these diets revolve around is that they make you feel full throughout the day, but in reality, you end up consuming fewer calories than you would if you had followed your 3-meal diet plan. The six meals are planned so that you have three main meals, as usual, and have a snack 2 hours before each meal. With this setup, you won’t feel hungry all day, and snacks and meals are designed so you don’t end up filling up on calories.

Most of these meals revolve around lean protein: turkey, duck, and chicken are some of the most common lean meats available. Fish is also a good snack option, as it contains a large store of “good” cholesterol levels, which are great for your heart’s well-being. You can include negative calorie foods like cucumber, watermelon, and apples in your snacks and combine them with soy-based foods to make a delicious snack salad.

Health Fitness

Tips to lose weight naturally

Many people have problems with obesity. Fat people will feel uncomfortable and lack confidence. Due to this problem, many people want to reduce their weight. Everyone is happy and proud that they have a slim and healthy body. Although there are those who think that the physical is not everything. Now many ways to lose weight fast. You can use natural materials or use medicine, you could also go on a diet to lose weight, but not too hard because it can cause disease.

Here is a quick way to lose weight naturally:

Drinking water
The easiest way is to drink a minimum of two liters of water a day. Because water helps the processes in the body to convert food into energy. Water also serves as fuel to stimulate the body’s metabolic reactions. So if you don’t drink water, then you can’t burn calories. Water as fuel to drive metabolic reactions. So if you don’t drink water, then you can’t burn calories.

Sports
Sports are the most reliable ways to lose weight. Exercise regularly to maintain healthy body conditions.

food
From some research on foods that can help you lose weight, experts say that there are certain foods that have been shown to be helpful for weight loss. That food is a fruit wine, sardines, pumpkin, beef and green tea.

avoid alcohol
Many people think that consuming alcohol will make us relax; Actually, alcohol will increase our body’s caloric needs, so our body will get fat.

I always have a breakfast
Breakfast is useful for weight loss. If you eat breakfast in the morning, you can reduce your lunch intake. You will feel full just by eating a banana, yogurt, cereal, bread, etc., and a snack that contains a lot of fiber and protein will give you a feeling of satiety.

carbohydrate restriction
Protein-rich foods like fish are the best dinner option for weight control. If you follow these tips in your life, you will get a slim and healthy body.

Health Fitness

The T-Bow – a great piece of exercise equipment for the home

Breaking into the home fitness market, the T-Bow is a new idea in exercise equipment that combines heart-pumping cardio with muscle conditioning and toning and adds core stability for a full-body workout every time.

I am a Personal Trainer, and I specialize in training clients in their own homes. Some lucky clients have their own gym and swimming pool, which makes my job easier. Most, however, only have a few square feet in the spare room to exercise in, and it’s my job to figure out how to give them the results they want. Most are on a budget and want equipment that can be easily stored in a closet when their workout is over.

That’s asking a lot! Most small exercise machines only do one thing: cardio, muscle toning, or core and abdominal work. But, and this is what gives me a headache, you need to do ALL 3 types of exercise to optimally burn fat and tone muscle. Tell the customer he needs, say, a stepper, some dumbbells, and a fitball, and he’s likely to give up before you get started.

So for people like me, the entrance of the T-Bow is as welcome as the January sun in England. Heaven sent! (The weather is miserable here in the UK. Cold and wet in the winter, mild and humid in the summer. Give me Florida winters any day.)

The T-Bow will do all 3 types of exercises, fits easily under a bed or stacked in a closet, and comes with its own exercise bands and a great DVD for under $200. And it makes exercise fun!

This is how I create the perfect workout using a T-Bow:

cardio exercise

Essential for burning fat and calories and making the heart and lungs healthier. My client warms up using the T-Bow curve as a Step; up and down, side to side, knee raises, single leg kicks, you name it. Then we flip the T-Bow inside out and really rock out! Balancing on the unstable side uses more muscles, including your core, and really works those legs. We go from slow to fast, we twist to rock back and forth (that takes a bit of balance, let me tell you!) and we sing all those cheesy songs from the 80s when pop stars could really sing… I’m showing my age here!

Muscle Strengthening

No workout is complete without muscle work. Ladies, forget about those worries about building big, bulky muscles; that won’t happen (unless you specifically want it to). Toning muscles makes them leaner, shapely and smaller. And having muscle burns fat, all the time. Cool huh?

So we attach the exercise bands to the sides of the T-Bow, now curved side up again, and my client tones her legs, shoulders, buttocks, arms, chest, and back.

 Core stability and stretch

Trim that waist and elongate those legs! We go down to floor level now and use the T-Bow to lie down, lean on and sit up for a core and Pilates workout that uses muscles you didn’t even know you had! Pilates exercises are unrivaled for sculpting long, lean leg muscles and a trim waist and hips, as well as strengthening your back and helping you walk taller. We end our workout with some stretching on the T-Bow, which lengthens the muscles and makes them feel good!

So, with just 1 piece of equipment, you’ve had a perfect workout, as good as running your own gym (and certainly much cheaper).

Health Fitness

5 foods that are much less healthy than you think

There are several “healthy” foods that are not as good for you as you think. Food manufacturers advertise these products as effective in providing plenty of nutrition, helping you lose weight, keeping your mind sharp, and offering other physical and mental health benefits. Unfortunately, all the publicity gimmicks in the world don’t change the chemical composition of a food.

If something isn’t healthy for you, it’s just not healthy. Skip the following 5 foods that aren’t as healthy as you thought they were, and your mind and body fitness efforts will get a boost.

1 – High fiber protein bars and bars

The key here is to read the labels. There are some energy bars, protein bars and high fiber bars that are very good for you. Start reading food labels. Find the ones that are free of sugar, salt, added flavors, and a long list of ingredients ending in -ite, -ate, and -ose.

You also shouldn’t eat a full day’s worth of fiber, about 25g, in a single snack bar, as this can have a dramatically negative effect on your digestive system if you don’t eat fiber all day.

2 – Low-fat foods

I bet there are some low-fat foods that you really like. They taste delicious, don’t they? Well, think about this for a second. If the fat is removed and the fat provides amazing flavor, where does its flavor come from? The answer is, in most cases, incredibly high doses of unhealthy refined sugar. Your body needs healthy fats in moderation, which means enjoying guacamole or hummus instead of a fat-free food item.

3 – Orange Juice

Did you know that it could take 5 to 7 oranges to make a single glass of orange juice? Unfortunately, when you drink the juice, you get all the calories from all those oranges in one drink! That’s why even 100% juice is packed with tons of calories.

The natural sugar in all those oranges can also cause a blood sugar spike. The natural sugar in fruit (fructose), which gives many fruits their sweet taste, tricks your body into gaining weight by not letting you know when you’re full. Skip the orange juice and drink a glass of water instead.

4 – “Healthy” drinks

There are plenty of drinks that show amazing health properties. If they have more than 3 ingredients, you should probably skip them. No matter how the ingredients are disguised—and manufacturers are very good at disguising empty calories and simple carbohydrates like sugar—if there’s a long list of ingredients, your healthy drink is probably anything but.

5 – Store Bought Veggie Burgers

When you make your own veggie patties and black bean burgers, you know exactly what you’re putting into your body. Unfortunately, many of the frozen and processed vegetable patties you find in the frozen food section of your local grocery store have more fillers and binders than healthy vegetables. Many of the so-called healthy vegetable patties are also extremely high in sodium and sugar.

Health Fitness

Supplements to improve memory and tips to reverse memory loss

It is quite normal to have memory lapses from time to time. For example, forgetting where you left your car keys, not remembering an appointment time, or forgetting to buy some items at the grocery store. These types of memory problems happen most of the time when you are worried. In fact, they could be signs of a normal brain that constantly prioritizes, classifies, stores, and retrieves all kinds of information, according to the National Institute on Aging.

In fact, from the age of 65, the brain (partially) loses its ability to store new information. So if you’re 65 or older, you may forget the names of people you’ve met. Sometimes he may not even be able to remember what he did a few hours ago; however, you will perfectly remember events that have marked your life. Apart from these natural phenomena, there are abnormal memory losses, which disrupt daily life.

Some of the main causes of memory loss are:

o Medications: Some anti-anxiety medications, antidepressants, some medications used to treat schizophrenia, and sleeping pills can affect the reception and transmission of information.

o Alcohol and drug abuse: Excessive use of alcohol and certain drugs can change chemicals in the brain that affect memory.

o Depression and anxiety: These disorders disrupt general daily functioning. Also, it’s harder to retain information when you’re depressed.

o Hypothyroidism: inadequate functioning of the thyroid gland can slow down intellectual functions and cause memory disorders.

o Brain injuries – Strokes and brain tumors can damage the neurons responsible for intellectual functions.

o Malnutrition or vitamin deficiencies: B vitamin deficiencies can affect memory. Most of the time, the problem resolves once the intake of B complex is increased.

o Sleep deprivation: can negatively affect brain function and eventually cause memory loss.

o Certain diseases: Human immunodeficiency virus, Parkinson’s disease, encephalitis and meningitis, Wilson’s disease, Lewy body disease, Pick’s disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, etc. can cause memory dysfunction.

Helpful Tips

Little Techniques – If you suffer from memory loss, pick up some good habits: always put your keys in the same place; learn to write down what you do not want to forget; Talk to yourself out loud, etc.

Learning to relax – Stress and daily worries can affect your memory. Set aside time to relax each day.

Keep your brain fit: Many recent studies show that sustained intellectual activity throughout life can help protect against Alzheimer’s disease. Read a lot, do crossword puzzles, play Scrabble… in short, feed your brain.

Exercise regularly: Some research suggests that physical activity can also boost memory. Pick up an activity (bike, swim, walk, etc.) and do it at least three times a week for 20 minutes each time.

Seeking Support: Memory Impairment May Be A Sign Of Alzheimer’s Disease; feel free to contact the Alzheimer’s Society in your area. You will find support and advice.

Nutrition for your memory: Many studies confirm that vitamins B12, folic acid and antioxidants are effective in treating memory loss. Increase them in your daily diet.

What else can you do?

The performance of your memory has a close relationship with your physical health. It is vital to treat your health problems before having a complete solution to your memory loss problems. Visit our natural memory enhancement products, which can treat not only the symptoms, but also the causes. Visit our memory supplements website.

Health Fitness

The free penis: when is it appropriate to become a commando

The base unfurnished. Commands running. gringo style. There are a number of euphemisms for a free penis, that is, a tool that is not encumbered by underwear. Getting rid of boxers or briefs can be quite an experience (although men should take steps for proper penile care to prevent cracking). While letting it all hang down under a pair of jeans or slacks can be pleasurable, a man is wise to remember that some occasions are appropriate for this style of nudity and others are not.

Go commandos!

In general, here are some situations in which it is acceptable to remove your underwear:

– When wearing cycling shorts. Many cyclists or others who wear sportswear similar to cycling shorts choose not to wear underwear; as anyone who has participated in a triathlon can attest, the locker room between segments is often devoid of underwear (at least among the male participants). Going without underwear provides greater ease of movement and, according to some, gives men a bit of a competitive edge.

– If he wears a kilt. One is perfectly welcome to wear undergarments with a kilt, but many choose to let the children loose when putting on the plaid. There is some debate as to whether the traditional Scottish way of wearing kilts is without kilts, but regardless of when the tradition began, it is certainly common today.

– During pajama time (at least at home). A man’s member likes to have his freedom to stretch out in his sleep, just as his owner does. Wearing nothing under your pajamas is acceptable, although you may want to rethink this when wearing pajamas to a mixed-gender sleepover.

– At a nudist camp. Well, d-uh, this goes without saying.

– Any time embarrassment is not a factor. Walking around town with just your khakis covering your muzzle is perfectly fine, as long as one isn’t embarrassed by it, and one isn’t causing undue discomfort among onlookers.

– At any time when self advertising. Guys who like to show off go for the commando look to make sure potential partners know what they’re getting themselves into.

Think twice.

Naturally, there are times when it is not advisable to show off a free penis. Among these would be:

– When buying clothes. Sorry, a man can love his own crap, but no man wants to try on pants or shorts that have been pressed against another man’s bare tool. Respect for others outweighs personal freedom in this circumstance.

– In drip situation. One of the drawbacks of going as a commando: Those little droplets that drip after you pee (or, in the case of semen, before and after ejaculation) don’t have an underwear barrier to catch them. Post-bath stains may be obvious; Potentially even more embarrassing, a man’s pre-cum can cause a stain when his bare member becomes over-aroused, ruining his efforts to appear calm and in control.

– In a yoga class. Sorry, but yoga puts the body in way too many weird and exposed positions for commando style, unless of course it’s a nude yoga class.

– If you know your parents. The last thing a guy wants is to get a boner in front of his girl’s parents without wearing any underwear. The mother is likely to blush, while the father may put you down as a pervert who never approaches his daughter with that stuff. Even if a guy is always on the loose at other times, he needs to dress up for these occasions.

One downside to a free penis is that friction from jeans, pants, or other fabrics can cause quite a bit of pain. To counteract this, lather up with a premium penis health cream. (health professionals recommend Man1 Man Oil) that has a high-end emollient (such as shea butter) and a natural moisturizer (vitamin E, for example). These can soothe irritated and raw skin. Men may benefit even more from a cream that also contains acetyl L-carnitine, which is neuroprotective. Sometimes the rubbing of the raw penis against the rough fabric can cause a loss of sensation in the tool; this ingredient can help restore sensitivity.

Health Fitness

How to lose belly fat while driving!

Many diet programs will never share such a secret with you.

Maybe they don’t want you to know this simple trick because they’re afraid of losing a customer, or maybe they don’t know any better.

Fortunately for readers looking for such information, I am going to share this insider secret for free.

Just to briefly introduce myself to this topic, I’ll give you a quick overview of myself and why I know this type of information.

I am an actual customer myself and am lucky to have Mike Geary, a professional and certified nutritionist who is also my personal trainer to help me with my health program.

I started seeking his advice and actually got into his training program after getting bored of my beer belly, even though I haven’t had a beer in what seems like decades! This simple exercise will probably surprise you because it does NOT burn fat itself, but the results will speak for themselves once you start flattening your stomach.

This simple but effective exercise is called “abdominal vacuums.”

In Mike’s own professional words, he says that this “abdominal tuck” exercise helps immensely in tightening the lazy stomach muscles that will be toned through this type of physical activity. He even wrote a Fitness Training Guide and goes into detail explaining exactly why this is happening and the exact methods needed to circumvent such another occurrence.

Through its simplicity and my personal daily hectic work life, I have found that the best time for me is to do it while driving on my daily commute.

Now, a word of warning: doing it while driving may not be for everyone. Make sure you continue to be a safe driver.

If you find that this exercise may distract from your driving ability, do not attempt this exercise while driving.

After all, this exercise can be done anywhere and at any time of the day that you prefer.

The sit-up exercise strengthens the deeper transverse abdominis muscles and thus pushes back that “beer belly” as I like to call it.

The main reason I chose to do them while driving is that no matter what position you are in, you can do them standing up or even sitting down. It also makes my boring and obligatory commute worthwhile as I don’t waste precious time just driving but also get exercise on my commute.

So, let’s move on to this simple procedure for this abdominal workout.

I’ll break it down into four simple steps for you to follow:

  • Step 1: Begin by inhaling as deeply as you can.
  • Step 2: Begin to exhale, while pulling your stomach in as far as it will go.
  • Tip: Try to imagine that you are being challenged to try to touch your spine with your belly in. This works wonders for me.
  • Step 3: Hold this position for about 10 seconds (at first) while taking a short breath.
  • Step 4: Repeat this procedure several times.

It’s! You just managed to do the “Ab vacuum” exercise successfully.

An advice…

As with all workouts, start slowly and increase intervals when you feel like the exercise is getting too easy for you.

For example, start tummy tucks in for about 10 seconds before increasing this interval to a longer period, say 15 or 20 seconds, as you get used to this simple but highly effective exercise.

As I mentioned earlier, this exercise doesn’t increase fat burning, it just helps you flatten that bulging stomach that has deep, lazy abdominal muscles.

If you really want to have a deep stomach line with those strong “ripped abs” you need more help in the form of a professional training program, definitely much more than this simple exercise.

Remember that there is no real price value when it comes to your health and looking healthy and attractive. You will need to get some weekly exercise and eat properly. The funny thing I’ve learned through my own personal experience is that you can still eat almost anything you want as long as it’s in moderation when you train weekly for just a few minutes a day. Our bodies can maintain a good tone as long as the correct exercises are done.

A good typical example would be the belly push, where through misinformation and logical sense I would suggest that most people think they should start doing a lot of crunches. That can’t be further from the truth, unfortunately. Crunches will tone your abdominal muscles, but will still be below your belly bulge, especially if it’s belly fat.

So even though your abdominal muscles would become rock solid with lots of painful crunches, you still can’t visually see them!

The typical example given above is one of many more problems where professional advice should be taken, either through a professional trainer or at least invest in a professional authority book on the subject, where the author has or had a career. as a professional trainer and Nutritionist. This way, he won’t waste his time and energy on bad training practices, which will get him nowhere or, at best, have minimal results. Take this friendly advice from my own personal experience, as I’ve learned it the hard way.

Health Fitness

home workout routine for ectomorphs

There are three main body types to consider when evaluating strength or fitness goals. The ectomorph, the endomorph and the mesomorph. This article will primarily deal with the ectomorph frame, which we’ll be familiar with as one who tends to be long and lean, possesses a high metabolism, a large appetite, and finds it difficult to gain weight. In the world of bodybuilding many people refer to this build as the “hard gainer”, however in truth it would be better to refer to the ectomorph as a “different gainer”.

So are you an ectomorph and want a good workout at home? Well, a good workout will depend entirely on your goals. The first thing with any routine is to establish your goals, after all, without a planned destination, how will you plan the route?

Ectomorphs want to get fat and some simple truths that can help you. The first truth concerns calorie counting. I mean, you should! The simple fact is that if you take in more calories than you regularly expend, your body will have more energy potential for growth. The first part of your routine then is the diet. This comes before supplements like whey protein too!

Your diet should consist of five or more meals a day, in smaller portions and never leaving more than 2-3 hours between meals. I am an ectomorph and I had to get used to spending a lot more money on food. It’s unavoidable if you’re training hard anyway and certainly unavoidable if you want to train and gain mass.

The key to a good ectomorph diet is a balance of good fats, complex carbohydrates, and protein. Simple carbs are good right after a workout. Do a lot of research on your own about the different foods that are good for an ectomorphic diet.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, what kind of training will get an ectomorph good results? For dough, the answer is the same as for everyone else. One must use large amounts of weight with low repetitions to increase muscle size. If you want to get stronger and more athletic (instead of just bigger), just lower the weight and increase the reps. This is a good idea if you are not doing any other form of exercise.

Action cannot always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action. {Benjamin Disraeli}”

There are two basic types of elevator, the isolation elevator and the compound elevator. The first focuses on a small set of muscles, such as the biceps in a bicep curl. The second works many muscle groups and a good example would be the weighted squat or even all Olympic lifts. The compound lift is always recommended for ectomorphs who are looking to build muscle, they will be working their entire body and especially targeting the large muscle groups like the buttocks. gluteus maximus muscles which will cause a slightly higher hormonal response from your body.

Health Fitness

The best protein bars

Protein bars are a relatively inexpensive and convenient snack, providing the body with pure protein equivalent to one serving of a protein shake.

Every muscle building diet suggests that you eat at least 5 to 6 protein-rich meals a day. Considering the daily rhythm of the average person, it’s almost impossible to cook five meals a day or even bring those meals to work. This is exactly why protein bars are really useful. You can put it in your bag or keep it in your office and it gives your body about 30 grams of pure protein. That is what you finally expect from a meal, the intake of a 30-gram dose of protein.

How can we determine which are the best protein bars on the market? As for any bodybuilding supplement product, there is a wide variety of protein bars. You will find protein bars with whey protein, protein isolate, casein protein, etc… However, to know which is the best we must compare three factors: a) price b) total amount of protein c) additional ingredients and d) flavor.

After some research, I have done it on the market; here is a list with the 5 most popular brands:

1) ISS Research Oh Yeah Bars, 28 grams of protein per bar.

2) Optimum Nutrition Whey Crisp Bars, 25 grams of pure whey protein per bar.

3) Premier Nutrition Premier Bar, 30 grams of protein.

4) Labrada Lean Body Gold Bars, 30 grams of protein.

5) Detour Lean Muscle Bars, 32 grams of protein.

The question is whether the most popular are also the best. The answer in this case is yes. Established brands in the supplementation field offer high-quality products such as those mentioned above. Optimum Nutrition is one of the tops in all kinds of supplements. Your Whey Crisp protein bar can only be of high quality. 25 grams of pure whey protein per serving makes a great snack in between. The Labrada Lean Body Gold Bar is one of the tastiest bars and also provides 30 grams of protein.

In your search for the best protein bar, you can also find bars, which contain 40 grams of protein. Low sugars are something you should check for more on the product label. These five best protein bars range in price from $2.20 to $1.50 per serving.

Therefore, finding the best protein bars is not a difficult task after all. If you prefer to pass on our recommendations, be sure to consider the three factors mentioned above, before making your final decision.

Keep those muscles pumping!

Health Fitness

Basal Metabolic Rate: Starting Point for Weight Loss Plan

Their basal metabolic rate it is a tool that trainers and nutritionists use as a starting point when developing a weight loss program. We all know what basal metabolism is: the dictionary defines it as “the amount of energy consumed by an organism at rest simply to maintain its basic functions.” The basal metabolic rate (BMR) is a measure of the energy required to maintain the body at rest. These are the calories you burn doing nothing (apart from presiding over basic functions of your body like digestion, circulation, respiration, etc., of course). It’s nature’s way of keeping you from getting infinitely bigger. But how does the basal metabolic rate help us to start a weight loss program?

Basal metabolic rate is a benchmark used to determine our minimum daily caloric needs. We can calculate the BMR using simple arithmetic according to this formula:

Male: 66 + (6.3 x weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age in years) Female: 655 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4, 7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years)

To illustrate, let’s calculate the basal metabolic rate of a 40-year-old woman who is 5’6 tall and weighs 150 pounds:

655 + (4.3 x 150) + (4.7 x 66) – (4.7 x 40) = 655 + 645 + 310 – 188 = 1422 calories

His basal metabolic rate is 1,422. That means this woman burns 1,422 calories keeping her body running. So what does a coach (or you) do with this information? This number represents the minimum calories she needs to consume daily to sustain herself. But what if you want to lose weight? You should cut your calories, right? Wrong.

When you cut back on calories, your body naturally reacts by slowing down burning calories to ward off starvation. Even though you are eating less, your weight is staying the same. If you eat the same calories but exercise more, that should work, right? If your body works harder and doesn’t get more energy, again, calorie burning will slow down and the results will be negligible. So does that mean you have to eat more calories? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose? Not according to Josh Bezoni, fitness expert and co-founder of BioTrust Nutrition. He says, “Exercise increases metabolism. Eating increases metabolism. The trick is learning to balance the two so that you still create a negative calorie balance.”

Let’s say you calculate your basal metabolic rate and allow it to burn 2000 calories a day. Knowing this, you go on a diet and start eating 1,500 calories a day, creating a deficit of 500. That would seem like a good thing, but under-eating only slows your metabolism.

Now we are going to change some things. Your basal metabolic rate still allows you to burn 2,000 calories a day. But, instead of cutting your calories to 1,500, you start eating 300 more calories each day, but you also burn an additional 800 calories through exercise. The result? You get the same 500 calorie deficit (2800 calories burned – 2300 calories consumed) but you do it while increasing your metabolism by eating and exercising more. This process is especially useful for someone who has a low basal metabolic rate due to caloric restriction and a sedentary lifestyle. (By the way, a deficit of 500 calories per day produces a weight loss of 1 pound per week.)

Basal metabolic rate provides a good baseline for minimal calories. Obviously, the right foods and exercise are crucial to your success. A diet of sugary foods and/or an exercise program that consists of non-stop walking on a treadmill will make it difficult to lose weight. But if you use your BMR as a starting point, you’ll know not to go below that level and add food and exercise accordingly to create a calorie deficit.

Basal metabolic rate helps you get started. The next step is lifestyle changes. A diet rich in vegetables, fruits, lean protein sources, seeds, and nuts (in moderation) combined with strength training that involves both aerobic and anaerobic exercise is a good formula to follow for weight loss and overall good health. Certain sports can also give you a great full-body workout. The best starting point for developing a weight loss plan is calculating your basal metabolic rate.