Slow MetabolismMost diets fail because they slow metabolism making it impossible to lose fat! When you are slow to metabolize your food you are not using it efficiently and you tend to store fat. Most diets, especially the fad diets that promise losing pounds quickly, require serious restriction of calories. Our bodies can't tell the difference between deprivation and starvation so they go into survival mode. Just the opposite of what we are hoping to accomplish happens. Instead of losing fat our metabolism slows down and our bodies begin to store fat. No wonder diets become an unproductive cycle of what we call the "roller coaster effect." Ever wonder why you gain more weight back after dieting? Our fat cells don't go away - they expand and shrink depending on whether we are storing fat or our energy balance is right. And they multiply when our energy balance is greatly out of whack. That means you are putting more food into the body (fuel) than the body can use. So this up and down cycle expands and increases our fat cells. Slow metabolism is not a formula for how to lose fat.  Basal Metabolic RateA key concept for success in getting to a healthy weight range is to get the energy balance right. This is the relationship between energy expended and fuel (food) eaten. The key to balancing your metabolism: think of food as fuel. We have lots of tools here to help you increase your slow metabolism. When we are not moving our bodies enough and consuming too many high glycemic foods, our energy balance is incorrect. Our metabolism slows and we become fatter. So what does BMR (basal metabolic rate) refer to? You know that the rate at which our bodies use energy and burn calories is called the metabolic rate. The BMR is the resting metabolic rate - how much energy you use and calories you burn when you are at rest. Restrictive low calorie diets cause your bmr to drop by 20 - 30%!
It's easy to get stuck in a pattern that leads to low energy, slow metabolism and eating high glycemic foods to boost energy. You get fatter and fatter in spite of periodically starving yourself, in fact, because of it! It's not surprising that only 5% of the population loses fat on a diet. What they do lose is often water and lean muscle. If you know your BMR you know how many calories you burn without getting out of bed. Your BMR calculator tells you how many calories you need a day to function. Generally active women can lose weight if they consume 1200 - 1500 calories a day of the right type of food. If you eat less than you need your body will have to slow your metabolism and store fat. Diets that have you consuming too little food are counter productive. It's important to strike the right balance in order to reach your healthy weight range. Your Best Weight Loss Plan - Use a PedometerYour best weight loss plan includes using a pedometer to increase your activity and speed up your metabolism.
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