Shed Bodyfat—Fast! Here's how...
Metabolic Factors:
How to Turn Your Body Into a 24-Hour Fat-Burning Machine... And LOOK BETTER NAKED!
To shed pounds successfully, you need more than diet and exercise. You need to influence the metabolic factors that will unlock your full potential to beat fat, for good. Here's how...
By Stephen Adelé
 "It seems no matter how different we are, we all have one thing in common—we want to build a leaner, more defined, head-turning body." Have you ever viewed yourself as a healthy person trapped inside an unhealthy body? Or been quick to criticize your body in front of the mirror?
At one time or another, we probably all have. Face it, you know you're happier without a flabby, ugly belly... that "trouble area" we call the gut. It seems no matter how different we are, we all have one thing in common—we want to build a leaner, more defined, head-turning body. We want to look better naked!
Yet, just when you thought you had it all figured out—your new workout and nutrition plans in place; your decision to make the change for good made—along comes new research that shows even if you diet and exercise, if you're not in control of the factors that influence your metabolism, you absolutely, positively will not be able to reach your full potential.
In others words, that body you're so enthusiastically seeking doesn't stand a fighting chance if you don't pay attention to and control each and every one of the metabolic factors that determine your ability to shed the excess, unwanted bodyfat that covers your hard-earned muscle. However, once you're in control of those factors, you're sure to enjoy a leaner, more defined body, sculpted like a Michelangelo statue, in record time.
What Is Metabolism?
Metabolism is the body's process of turning the calories we consume into energy. And the time this process takes place is called the metabolic rate. Thus, the metabolism is the rate your body burns calories for fuel and breaks down bodyfat.
Though all individuals are metabolically different, it's been scientifically proven that as we age, the metabolic rate declines. And with it, our ability to burn bodyfat also drops. That's why it becomes harder to take the weight off and easier to put it on the older we get (and that doesn't just mean when we're "old" but when we're merely past the age of 25). For this reason alone, it can seem literally impossible to shed unwanted bodyfat, despite the amount of time we spend in the gym and how steadfast we remain on a diet.
Why Is the Metabolism So Important?
Even the slightest upward "shift" in the metabolic rate can have a profound, lasting effect on our ability to burn bodyfat for fuel, instead of the dreaded alternative—storing it as fat.
Think of your body as having a thermostat you can turn "up" or "down" by modifying specific lifestyle factors. Turn the thermostat up, or "up-regulate" your metabolic rate, to burn bodyfat at a much faster rate. Turn the thermostat down, or "down-regulate" your metabolic rate, and your body will hold onto and store additional bodyfat. My goal then is to help you understand which lifestyle factors you can alter to give you complete control over your thermostat… (In other words, show you how to "up-regulate" your metabolism to get and stay lean.)
"My goal then is to help you understand which lifestyle factors you can alter to give you complete control over your thermostat… (In other words, show you how to "up-regulate" your metabolism to get and stay lean.)"
There are five distinct factors that have been scientifically shown to have a dramatic effect on the metabolism. Typically, we tend to pay little attention to these simple yet powerfully effective lifestyle factors that can influence the metabolism. So, to help you discover which obstacles are defeating your attempts to lose bodyfat as well as to learn how to positively "up-regulate" your metabolism, I've provided a list of common challenges on the following pages for each of the five metabolic factors.
If you have experienced at least one of the challenges, or find yourself in fault of not paying enough attention to it, chances are you need to read on about overcoming the corresponding obstacle.
Identifying and dealing with the obstacles that drop your metabolism will ensure that you're in complete control and on your way to revving your metabolism into high gear—turning yourself into a 24-hour-a-day fat-burning machine.
The 24-Hour Metabolic Cycle
Like clockwork, the metabolism follows a definitive (and highly predictable) pattern each day. It looks something like this…
"Normal" Metabolic Rate
- Just before you wake up, your metabolism is at its all-time lowest.
- As you proceed through the course of the day, your metabolism gradually increases.
- After dinner (~7:00 p.m.,) it reaches its peak, at which time it starts to level off.
- Finally, when you go to sleep, your metabolism slowly decreases until it reaches its slowest point, which is near the time you are about to wake up.
- Then, the cycle repeats itself over again.
During this cycle, our metabolism is regulated up and down (increased and/or decreased) by various dynamics but can be positively influenced by FIVE key metabolic factors:
 METABOLIC FACTOR #1
Food—What's on your plate?
 "The key then with nutrition is to work with your body, not against it. To eat smart, not less." You're not in control if...
- You eat whenever you're hungry.
- You eat "three square" meals a day.
- You regularly skip meals, especially breakfast.
The Problem With This:
Restricting your food intake too much leaves you hungry and downright irritable. (You know that!) When you restrict calories, such as when you start a traditional "diet" or skip meals, the body instantly goes into "survival mode" and sends very powerful signals, telling your body to hoard fat and your brain to find food fast. Right now! Why? Because it thinks its starving, and it doesn't know when it will get food again. Realistically, you can expect to hold off your uncontrollable urges for only so long before you give in. And voila, instant weight return, plus some extra bonus bodyfat.
The bottom line: restricting foods, skipping meals, or eating only three times a day, is the absolute worst way to lose fat and will only decrease your metabolism.
The Solution to Take Control:
The key then with nutrition is to work with your body, not against it. To eat smart, not less. Rather than running around with your calorie-counter book, you must instead pay attention to the types of food you eat, the respective proportions of each type, and how often you eat. Let's just call it meal patterning.
By spreading your meals more evenly throughout the day, in five or six smaller meals, rather than two or three large meals (or an overindulgence in snacks whenever you're hungry), you can maximize the absorption of nutrients (so your body can use more of the food you eat) and supply your body with a more stable (non-spiking) level of insulin—levels your body can adequately manage—to keep your body from storing and trapping fat and steadily increase your metabolism throughout the day.
METABOLIC FACTOR #2
Weight-training—Pack your gym bag
"If you want to look and feel your best, while achieving your fat-loss goals, you've got to exercise."
You're not in control if...
- You only work out once or twice a week, at best.
- You perform cardio longer than you weight train.
- You regularly skip workouts, especially on "leg day."
The Problem With This:
Clearly, no respectable authority on fitness would prescribe to the notion that you could ever expect to lose any significant amount of fat without exercise. Regular, intense exercise that is. If you want to look and feel your best, while achieving your fat-loss goals, you've got to exercise. There are no two ways about it. And skipping your workouts, well, that's a sure recipe for disaster that doesn't require any explanation.
However, if you were to perform only aerobic exercise (with no weight training) yet still follow a sensible diet, you'd run the risk of breaking down and using your muscle tissue as fuel. Then, as you might have guessed, since muscle is like a metabolic furnace (it knows how to burn the calories), your metabolism would slow down as a result, literally paralyzing your fat-fighting efforts.
The Solution to Take Control:
With weight training, you can not only help your body burn more fat but you can also change the entire shape of your physique. By building additional muscle, you essentially "rev up" the metabolic rate, all of the time—something aerobic exercise cannot do. Increasing the body's muscle mass, even slightly, increases the basal metabolic rate—that is, the total amount of fuel (calories) the body requires to maintain that new muscle... and burns fuel, even while at complete rest. (Yes, as in snoozing on the sofa!)
Thus, the more muscle tissue you have on your body, the easier it becomes to stay lean. Now how great is that?
Most experts and scientists agree on one thing, though, when it comes to weight training. That is, they recommend brief, intense bouts of lifting weights of about 30 to 45 minutes as the most effective method for producing results, in both muscle gain and fat loss.
METABOLIC FACTOR #3
Cardio exercise—Sweat-shop time
 "Performing your cardio exercise in high-intensity mode (like riding a bike, walking on the treadmill, or running outside), is highly encouraged..." You're not in control if...
- You do cardio only when you feel like it.
- You eat an energy bar before an intense cardio session.
- You perform cardio as long as you possibly can.
The Problem with This:
Common sense (and some so-called "experts") might have you thinking you burn more calories in 30 minutes of aerobic exercise than you do in 30 minutes of weight training exercise, right? Wrong. Well, okay... actually, it is true, but it's only a fraction of the whole story. Let me explain.
You see, it's not just the calories you burn during the exercise session that matter. It's also important how many calories your body continues to burn throughout the day.
And, studies conclusively show weight training to be a superior form of exercise for activating the metabolic rate because it causes you to burn more calories in a 24-hour period. Aerobic exercise, on the other hand, causes your metabolism to increase only temporarily, during the time of the exercise, plus shortly thereafter.
In addition, scientific studies have shown us time and time again that after about 90 minutes of cardio, the body begins to become more efficient, not at burning off fat but instead at breaking down muscle for fuel... and with intense accuracy. Clearly, this is not what you want!
The Solution to Take Control:
Performing your cardio exercise in high-intensity mode (like riding a bike, walking on the treadmill, or running outside), is highly encouraged, as long as it's for at least 20 to 30 minutes, but no more than 45 minutes, at least three times per week. Again, science has proven that intense, short durations of cardio exercise are a great way to expend some "extra" calories and to help tap into fat stores.
Remember, it's not just about how many calories you burn while you're working out. It's what effect cardio, combined with weight training, has on your metabolism throughout the day that makes the biggest difference.
However, much like the way the body quickly "adapts" to a restriction in calorie intake, the body is just as fast to "adapt" to aerobic work—it becomes more energy efficient. Thus, after about four weeks, the body requires less energy to perform the same amount of aerobic exercise. In essence, your metabolism begins using less and less fuel to perform the same work. As science has shown, the only way to "override" this adaptation then is by performing your cardio exercise upon rising or in the afternoon, on an empty stomach.
So for goodness sakes, to optimize fat burning, don't eat an "energy bar" or a sugar-loaded "energy drink" just before your cardio session; you'll completely negate your body's ability to burn fat while you work out!
METABOLIC FACTOR #4
Age—How old are you really?
"Though aging is inevitable, you can still positively influence your metabolism to turn back your body's 'internal clock' with the use of certain nutritional supplements."
You're not in control if...
- You've let time take its toll on your body.
- Age is your "excuse" for being out of shape.
- You already think you're "over the hill."
The Problem with This:
Try as you may, holding back the years is impossible. Aging is an inevitable part of life. Unfortunately, as we age, our bodies also experience drastic changes, one of which is a progressive slowdown in energy expenditure and metabolism, which contributes to increased fat storage. Remember the days, in your early 20's… when you could eat nearly anything you wanted and not gain a single pound (maybe just a few pimples instead)? Your body seemed to burn calories faster than you could even imagine. This wasn't your imagination. It was the result of your metabolism raging in high gear—burning calories, fat, and anything else that stood in its way—allowing nothing (or almost nothing) you ate to turn to fat. Unfortunately, as we age, a natural decline in the metabolic rate occurs, and many of these calories that would have burned off in youth now get stored as fat. And, even the most expensive cryogenics can't stop old Father Time from ticking away.
The Solution to Take Control:
Though aging is inevitable, you can still positively influence your metabolism to turn back your body's "internal clock" with the use of certain nutritional supplements. Specific supplements have been shown to "shift" or "re-set" the metabolic rate to a more youthful, active metabolism.
Plus, changing some of your habits or assuring you don't acquire them in the first place—habits that "zap" your metabolism and bring your fat-burning efforts to a screeching halt—could prove to be equally important.
Metabolic Zappers!
At all possible costs, void your life of these habits that can negatively impact or "down-regulate" your metabolism.
- Addiction to stress
- Sleep deprivation
- Overuse of stimulants
- Too much sugar (at one sitting!)
- Alcohol binges
- Regular consumption of high-fat foods
METABOLIC FACTOR #5
Supplements—Energy is everything
 "...the patented form of Citrus aurantium (Advantra-Z®), and the patented the form of Coleus forskohlii (Forslean®) are all found in the new MX-LS7 high-performance fat burner from iSatori Technologies." You're not in control if...
- You think supplements are only for bodybuilders
- You're using stimulants/appetite suppressants to lose fat
- You're not taking any supplements at all
The Problem With This:
Today, supplements have been shown in research to be useful for everyone... every shape, size, age, and gender—to help you achieve any type of goal. However, many of today's more popular weight-loss products claim to boost the body's metabolism, but upon closer inspection, you'll find they are actually stimulant-based supplements, like ephedrine (or ma huang), which have only a minimal beneficial effect on the metabolic rate.
Instead, the primary mechanism of action for these stimulants are suppression of the appetite center in the brain by way of central nervous stimulation. Obviously, by suppressing the appetite, less food is consumed; thus some type of weight loss occurs (either water or fat), though usually at the expense of muscle tissue. While these stimulant-based products certainly work for increasing weight loss, the negatives of long-term use are extremely clear.
Over stimulation of the brain and nervous system cause negative effects, including increased heart rate, blood pressure, insomnia, nervousness, and, once use is ended, general feelings of lethargy settle in—making them highly addictive.
The Solution to Take Control:
In response to the need to find supplements that can aid the body in fat loss, increasing the metabolic rate, only without the stimulant effects, researchers worked feverishly to discover a patented micronutrient called 7-Keto®. After 8-million dollars and 10 years of research and development and 9 patents by Dr. Henry Lardy, 7-Keto offers solid scientific proof that it imparts the positive benefits in promoting an active metabolic rate—by increasing the body's thyroid production ("T3")—only without the negative effects associated with most amphetamine-like stimulants (such as ephedrine or ma huang).
Dr. Lardy discovered what's been revered by many researchers to be the most potent "metabolic enhancer" available in aiding safe, effective fat loss... and for good reason. Several clinical studies have offered proof that 7-Keto works to safely increase the body's production of T3. In fact, one study even showed that 7-Keto users lost three times more fat than the placebo group (who did not use the supplement), and who followed the exact same diet and exercise regimen.
Researchers have also shown some very promising alternatives to stimulant-based supplements, such as a natural herb called Citrus aurantium (sometimes referred to as bitter orange) and another herb, Coleus forskohlii. Both Citrus aurantium and coleus have been shown, like ephedrine, to enhance thermogenesis and thus increases metabolic rate, but more importantly, without causing any of the jittery "agitation" or increased blood pressure/heart rate associated with ephedrine use. In summary, it looks like Citrus aurantium and coleus might prove to be excellent alternatives to ephedrine-based supplements for those interested in increasing metabolism and reducing bodyfat.
And, you'll be interested to know that 7-Keto®, the patented form of Citrus aurantium (Advantra-Z®), and the patented the form of Coleus forskohlii (Forslean®) are all found in the new MX-LS7 high-performance fat burner from iSatori Technologies.
Closing remarks
Once again, good or bad, you're permanently stuck with the DNA and genetics of your parents. You can, however, adjust your lifestyle and take control of the factors that influence your metabolism. So where do you start? The above five metabolic factors go a long way in helping "rev up" your body's ability to burn fat, all the time—and can help turn your body into a 24-hour fat-burning machine, so you really can get rid of ugly bodyfat and sculpt the body you've always wanted and deserve!
Fill out the no-obligation form below to TAKE your free issue of the printed version of Real SOLUTIONS Magazine now! Still not sure? Click here to listen to a special audio welcome from our editor, Stephen Adele. |
