The best way to reduce weight without slowing your metabolism is to slightly decrease daily calorie intake below your maintenance level and substantially increase your aerobic activity.

Most women burn around 2100 calories per day so to lose weight, try restricting calories between 1500 and 1800 daily calories. Men burn around 2500 calories per day so they should restrict intake to 1800 to 2200 calories per day.

Now the secret to greater weight loss is to increase your aerobic activity to about 1 hour per day. It’s important to keep your heart rate in the target fat burning rage, which is about 65% of max.  The formula to find the best fat burning heart rate for your age is:

 [ 206.9 - (0.67 x age) ]  x  .65

Example,  your age is 45

[ 206.9 – (0.67 x 45) ]  x  .65

[ 206.9 – (30.15) ] x .65

[ 176.75 ]  x  .65 = 114.8  or  115 beats per minute

The type of exercise you choose is very important in terms of burning calories. The elliptical and stationary bike are two of the best calorie burning equipment available and they place no burden on your joints. You can easily extend your workout from 40 minutes to an hour without feeling tired or run-down . Typically 1 hour burns about 750 calories and 45 minutes burns 562 calories.

An extra 750 calorie burn per day equals a deficit of 5,250 calories per week. That’s 1 and ½ pound per week weight loss from exercise alone if you ate at your normal maintenance calorie. Reduce your calorie intake by no more than 20% and you will lose a steady 2 pounds per week without slowing your metabolism or plateauing.

The secret is keeping your heart rate in the fat burning zone and exercising each day for at least 45 minutes. Losing weight takes hard work and dedication and there is no easy way to lose weight but you can lose weight without depriving yourself or feeling exhausted from strenuous exercise.

Staying in your fat burning zone is easy and non stressful to your body. Invest in a heart rate monitor for constant feedback. Many of the gym equipment have “built in” heart rate monitors. If you don’t have access to a heart rate monitor, a good rule of thumb is to increase the intensity to the point where you are still able to breath through your nose and hold a short conversation while exercising.

The only downside to staying within your fat burning zone while exercising is that you need at least 45 minutes to burn substantial calories. Commit 1 hour a day to aerobic exercise and reduce your calorie intake by 20% and watch the weight fall off ….  2 pounds each week

-------------------------------

We specialize in personal diet plans that will help you lose 1 to 2 pounds each week. Our menus are sensible and easy to stick with. Click personal diet plan to get started.

For more ideas on foods that burn fat, please see our home page ….  Super Foods that Burn Fat

Learn more about burning calories and increasing metabolism at burning more calories