The Path to Burning More Calories 

How many times have you heard the promise of a quick and easy path to weight loss? Chances are, if you bought into it, you were soon disappointed.  The sad truth is that losing weight is neither fast nor easy.  You can follow the details of your diet down to every small detail--and still find that the weight is lose to come off.  Is it your fault? Not necessarily.  Part of it is probably just your body's natural actions and reactions.  When the body feels it is being starved (as happens when you go on a diet), it reacts by slowing your metabolism in order to protect the fat supplies it has stored for the future. 

However, there is hope.  Armed with a little information and a lot of willpower, there are things you can do that will once again jumpstart your weight loss plan and start burning calories in an effective, efficient way.  Here, then, is the best path to burning more calories at a quicker pace. 

• Make green tea a regular part of your daily diet.  Health experts recommend drinking it three times a day or more, because it energizes your metabolism, preventing it from getting too low as you burn calories.  The benefits of green tea are due to both the caffeine content as well as certain other chemicals that help keep your metabolic rate at a high level. 

• Make sure your exercise routine never becomes--well, routine.  Change things up on a regular basis.  This means change the time of day you exercise and do different types of exercises.  Here's why.  When you stay stuck in the same patterns all the time, your body becomes accustomed to it and will develop defense mechanisms that will prevent weight loss.  When you change things up regularly, it doesn't have time to adapt, and weight loss happens at a faster and higher rate. 

• Analyze how you're going about your exercise session--and next time, take it up a notch or two.  You don't necessarily have to work out for longer.  Figure out ways that you can make the exercises you're doing more intense. Add a few pounds to the weights, or add some twists to your pushups to make them harder.  By doing this you burn more calories in about the same amount of time. 

• Develop some "nervous habits."  Really!  Start tapping your fingers or your legs; click your fingers.  Every little movement adds to the number of calories you burn. 

• Avoid the temptation to starve yourself.  It will only make you sick, and your body reacts by slowing your metabolism and consuming muscle tissue. A better option: Eat low-fat, nutritious foods instead. 

• Don't forget the liquids.  Fluids, especially water, should be a part of any healthy diet.  Most health experts suggest the equivalent of five bottles of water daily. Add more water, and your metabolism will increase, which causes you to burn more calories faster.  

• Get out and enjoy the sun!  Some people get caught in the rut of staying in the gym.  Instead, spend some time walking or running outside in the fresh air.  Research shows that people stick with their exercise program longer when a significant portion of it is done outside.  

So now, armed with these suggestions for how to burn more calories at a faster pace, it's up to you what you do with this information.  If you'll put it to use, in no time at all, you'll be the more fit person that you desire to be.