How to Boost Daily Energy Expenditure and Metabolism to Aid Fat Loss

Energy. It's what your body uses to live. I can be neither created nor destroyed - it can only change its form. All energy comes from the sun as solar energy and is converted into chemical, mechanical or electrical energy for various uses by the body.

The process is:

Plants covert solar energy to chemical energy -> we get hungry and eat plants and animals -> we obtain chemical energy stored in the form of carbohydrates, fats, protein and even alcohol.

Our body's use of energy can be equated to that of putting petrol in a car. The more you drive your car (move your body), the more fuel (energy) you will use. However, in today's society where the remote control is king, we are putting more energy into our car (body) than we require and we end up storing lots of fat!

Metabolism is the process by which carbohydrates, fats, proteins and alcohol are broken down by our bodies to provide energy. You can think of your body as a fire, which constantly burns fuel. Our fuel burns in the following ways:

• Carbohydrates e.g. fruit, vegetables, soft drinks, pasta, rice, bread, cereals. Burns like paper and is the body's preferred fuel source.
• Fats e.g. butter, cream, cheese cakes, pastries, chocolate, oils and avocado. Burns slowly like logs on our fire and produces lots of sustained energy.
• Protein e.g. meats, dairy, poultry, nuts, breads. Burns like a brick on a fire. It's our last resort for energy production, but is very important for building and repairing tissue such as muscle, hair, nail and skin.
• Alcohol Burns like petrol - wow! If it's present in your body, the body will use it first primarily because it wants to get rid of it!

Now we have the facts, lets burn some fuel! How do we ensure we burn more fuel than we consume? Here are some tips:

Increase your Incidental Exercise

In the developed world the majority of the population are becoming more and more overweight. This is due to our reliance on labour saving devices such as remote controls, washing machines, cars, escalators etc. As an expat living in Asia, we have the added problem of having domestic help which reduces the workload even more. We can greatly increase our everyday energy expenditure, by simply moving more in our everyday lives. For example, a busy business executive may find it difficuel to find time to get to the gym for a workout, but there are many things she could do to boost her daily energy expenditure, e.g. walk to work, use the stairs instead of lifts, get off the bus or train one stop early, go get her own tea or coffee! I remember moving from Jakarta, where I had a driver to Kuala Lumpur where I drove myself. I lost 4kgs in 2 months because I was now parking the car and walking to wherever I was going instead of being dropped off at the door. 4kgs!!! Can you think of any ways that you could boost your energy consumption today? Maybe you could walk the dog (instead of having the helper do it) or walk to get your groceries or play ball with your kids. Look at these activities as an opportunity to burn energy rather than an inconvenience.

Increase or Start Your Planned Exercise

This is the exercise we plan into our lives with the specific purpose of improving our health and fitness. These activities can by undertaken in a gym, swimming pool, outdoors, on a golf course and include walking, running, swimming, cycling, tennis, rowing, dancing etc. It is recommended that a minimum of 100 minutes per week is set aside for cardiovascular (huffy puffy) exercise to maintain a general level of fitness and to keep our heart and lungs healthy. This can be broken down into a variety of time periods e.g. 5 x 10 mins, 2 x 50 mins, 10 x 10 mins. The health benefits will be the same.

Did you know that a person with good cardiovascular fitness will burn more fat than an unfit person even when they are sitting watching TV!

Start a Weight Training Program

Muscle requires fuel to survive. Every pound of muscle you can gain or put on, burns up an extra 70 to 120 calories per day, therefore increasing your metabolic rate. Heavy strength training programs can increase your metabolic rate by up to 2% in as little as 10 weeks of training. Ladies, don't be afraid to gain a little muscle. Where do you think the tone in your arms and legs come from? It's your muscles increasing in size! You don't have to look like a body builder to get the benefits.

Did you know that the more muscle mass you have on your body, the more fat and glucose is used at rest, during exercise and even when you sleep!

Maintain a Healthy Diet

It's a very simple concept. If the energy we put into our bodies is higher than the energy we use, then we will store energy in the form of fat and our body weight will increase. However, it would be unwise to go on a crash diet or fast as this would decrease our metabolism. This is why it is very important to maintain a healthy diet where we eat regular meals, especially breakfast.

In summary:

• Cut down on sitting, internet surfing and remote control worship
• 2-3 times every week do strength training - aim to get stronger.
• 3-6 times every week do some huffy, puffy exercise - aim to get fitter.
• Everyday - walk the dog, take the stairs, play with the kids, walk to the shops, MOVE YOUR BODY!