Your thyroid dictates much of your metabolism, any malfunction or disease afflicting this area may cause you to have problems in metabolism leading to a drastic problem with your weight – you may either gain weight, lose weight, or may find that losing weight is harder than usual.

Those that plan diets do not take into consideration how their thyroids and metabolism may affect their weight loss program. Most experts and even the media pitch in and recommend that the best way to lose weight is cut calories.

Those with a condition called hyperthyroidism suffer from an overactive thyroid leading to one having his or her metabolism skyrocket. If this is the case, then you will probably lose weight fast. This is a nice proposition for some who wish to lose weight. However, this is actually hazardous to the health.

Aside from the medical difficulties such a disease brings, one will also notice weight problems as a result. These people have trouble keeping on weight and may notice weakness and bulging of the eyes. This disease may need special treatment from doctors.

Hypothyroidism on the other hand works in the other direction – slowing metabolism until the body gains weight at an incredible rate. Like hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism causes a general weakness in the body. It too may need special treatment and may cause serious health problems if left unattended.

While cutting calories in itself can be very hard for most people – imagine, the people involved in life and death struggles at the supermarket regarding whether to buy that extra box of sweets, some have exactly the opposite problem.

Instead of eating too much calories – which is a problem in itself, they eat too little calories instead.

Problem? What Problem
The problem with some is that they believe that since the experts say that they have to cut calories, cutting calories to an inordinate amount will reap greater results. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. While cutting calories helps diets, consuming too little calories pushed the body into a hoard mode, the body’s metabolism slows to adapt to the lesser amount of available energy.

If your body enters this mode, your body will work with such a slow metabolism that losing weight becomes impossible. The technique here should be to reduce calories without the body slowing its metabolism. Only then can losing weight become easier.

Another problem that can arise from decreased metabolism is that when your metabolism slows due to a drastic reduction in metabolism, and then you suddenly eat a good, hearty, calorie-filled meal, you are bound to gain more weight owing to the increased surplus of energy.

This is why an imbalanced meal is highly discouraged among those that seek to lose weight. The sudden loss and increase of calories will cause an imbalance in one’s energy consumption directly affecting fat deposit.

Here is a simple computation to help you get to the right amount of calories you will need per day so that you get your nutrients in the right balance.

First of all, multiply your weight in kilograms by 30. If you only know your weight in pounds, divide it by 2.2 to get to its English equivalent. We divide this number by 30 because that is the number of calories you need to maintain your weight per pound of weight.

For example if your weight in pounds is 150, divide it by 2.2. That will give you a figure of 68.18. This is your weight in kilograms. Multiply this by 30 and you will arrive at the amount of calories you will need per day to maintain 150 lbs.

You may consult a nutritionist to help you lose weight. In the end it all comes down to math. If you consume more than your body needs, it stores it as fat. Now is probably a good time to start studying those food labels

Try to keep your diet at a 40% protein, 25% fat, and 35% carbohydrate meals at 300 calories per meal. Spread out these meals in a day for optimum results.

While it may be simple computation to get at numbers, do not forget the earlier mentioned fact that the body adapts to its condition. Expose it to extreme ones and you may find yourself getting results you never wanted. Consult a nutritionist for more advice.

Train Hard, Eat Smart!

Marc

Losing weight and getting in shape can be a pretty confusing task with so much misinformation out there. Everywhere you go someone is offering advice on how to lose weight and get in shape. Each piece of new information usually adds to the confusion as most of it conflicts with what you may have been told.

To help clear the confusion and speed you towards achieving maximum results from your fitness and weight loss program I’m going to share with you the 9 keys to fitness and weight loss success

1, Set goals. If you don’t know what you want to achieve from your fitness and weight loss program how will you know when you have been successful?

2, Find your starting point. Once you know where you want to go assess where you are in relation to that. If fat loss is your goal then get your body fat measured by a professional. If strength increases are your goal, test your strength in the exercises you want to improve.

3, Make a plan. Once you know where you are and where you want to go sit down and make a plan on how you are going to get from point a to point b. In effect you are making a road map that you can follow to your fitness and weight loss success.

4, Begin with nutrition. The key to all your fitness and weight loss goals lies in fuelling the body with the correct nutrition. Nutrition is the key to increasing your energy and repairing the body from the exercise that is to follow.

5, Eat balanced meals. Each meal should contain a balanced amount of protein, carbohydrate and good fats.

6, Eat frequently. I advise my clients to eat between 4-6 meals per day. By eating more often you will speed your metabolism and help maintain stable blood sugar levels. This in turn will help prevent those energy highs and lows often experienced when you eat sporadically.

7, Drink plenty of water. Water is essential to life, without it we will die. Water is also essential for clearing toxins from the body and helping in the fat burning process. Aim for a minimum of two litres per day.

8, Stick with it. Studies show that it takes up to 21 days to develop a new habit. Commit to your goals until they become habit.

9, Get a coach. Studies also show that people are more successful in reaching there weight loss and fitness goals when they employ the help of a fitness profession. A good coach will help you set your goals, provide support and hold you accountable to help you reach your fitness and weight loss goals.

Train Hard, Eat Smart!

Marc

As a Personal Trainer its my duty to tell you the truth about health and fitness. From losing weight and toning up, to nutritional advice for weight loss and weight gain. Now with summer fast approaching and the rush to get a beach ready body in record time many people turn to starving themselves in the hope of shifting the pounds. Im sorry to have to yell this to you but “STARVATION DIETS DO NOT WORK, SO DON’T BOTHER!”