Get Your Metabolism Into Shape

For people looking to lose those extra pounds, their metabolism is either their best friend or their worst enemy. The fact is, no matter how many calories you cut out of your diet, if you have a sluggish metabolism you are going to struggle with weight loss. On the other hand, if you are able to increase your body's metabolism you can burn off more calories, even when your body happens to be at rest.

Clearly, the way to weight loss success is to get your metabolism in shape. But how do you wake up your metabolism and get it to work for you?  Realize that most of the calories that your body burns in a day are used to keep your body functioning even when it is at rest. This is referred to as the Basal Metabolic Rate. The BMR accounts for as much as 70% of the calories used on a daily basis, according to experts.  

Exercise is the key to increasing the number of calories that your body will need to go through while it is at rest.  Muscle takes more energy to maintain than fat does, so every pound of muscle will burn around 14 calories a day.  Increasing your muscle mass means that your body will need to go through more calories every day just to keep going, regardless of the activities that you take on.  Thus, exercise can help you lose weight in two different ways: through helping you burn calories directly and by helping you increase your muscle mass to burn more calories throughout the day.  Keeping your body fueled with high protein products, such as those from Herbalife, can help you build up that extra muscle as well.