Friday, August 29, 2008

Trim your Tummy by Improving your Metabolism

By Teresa Brown


If you can eat right when you were pregnant, then you can certainly continue to do so postpartum but in this case you are only eating for one. To lose weight after giving birth the healthy way for the long haul also requires knowing what foods to eat, exercises or training to do and how to live a healthy lifestyle.

In our haste to lose pregnancy weight fast, we often forget that short-term gain doesn't necessarily lead to long-term gain. And this is especially true with regards to the quick fix diet or diet pill method because the weight lost is always short lived. Your goal should be about achieving wellness and from that being able to manage your weight from month to month, year to year. In order to do this, you need to focus on fine tuning your metabolism.

Fuel your Body with Fat Burning Foods

You teach your children to eat healthy so it's assumed that you will lead by example. Wanting to lose your tummy involves fueling your body with foods that require more energy to digest them than the energy it receives from them. This extra energy expenditure helps to increase your metabolism and keep it going on "active" mode instead of on "conservation" or resting mode when we skip meals.

It's time to start eating foods high in fiber and high in protein to get you en route to getting your metabolism up and the fat down. Because how you fuel your body can make or break your workout efforts and results. Thus, it is of great importance to execute an effective fat burning meal plan into your weekly menu.

Interval Training at maximum Effort

Be thankful for interval training. It is the answer to how you can trim your tummy with a 15-minute workout. In order to harvest the fat burning benefits of this type of training, you must be able to give each exercise your maximum effort. Essentially, your workouts should begin with a brief warm up followed by a series of short burst of exercise at high intensity followed by short interval of rest. This "fast-slow-fast-slow" method keeps your heart rate elevated and your metabolism humming to increase and sustain your metabolism above its resting rate.

Strengthen your muscles

Losing the baby fat is a feasible goal but you won't get there if you are only doing cardio. Lean muscles are fat burning tissues and can be developed by working your muscle groups with a form of strength training called resistance training. Resistance training uses any outside force of resistance to work against your muscles. And when done in intervals, it is an efficient way to get faster results.

You can trim your tummy and the rest of your body so that you look toned in a bikini with a few free weights and an exercise ball. The advantage of resistance training is that you can complete a workout within 30 minutes at home. Also because muscle burns fat and you are building back your lost muscle tissue, you will be able to increase your resting metabolic rate and burn more calories to lose the fat.

Keep on Moving

An active Mom, who is determined to lose the pregnancy weight for the long-term, will have to keep the momentum going by staying physically active. When the weight has come off, your new goal will be weight management. This can be done if you recruit your family into participating in physical activities such as a hiking, biking, swimming, skiing, rollerblading, etc. Not only will you be living a healthier lifestyle and keeping the weight off but you will have quality time with your loved ones.

Your metabolism is the biological key to sustaining your weight after losing the baby fat. By living a healthy lifestyle that includes balancing your time for your mind, body, soul and your loved ones, you will become successful at being the fabulous woman that you are.

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