Raise Your Heart Rate To Lose Weight

When our live-in maid just left us about 3 months ago, I lost weight as I had to do everything that she used to do on my own, on top of my existing workload. I was on my feet most of the time. I felt hungry all the time and my weight slid down though I snacked the whole day. However, about a month later, my weight went up again to where it was before our helper left. I knew this was going to happen as my weight had hit a plateau. Only fitness freaks and weight conscious freaks will know what I am talking about. When we lose weight too quickly, our metabolism can slow down as our body can sense that it is starving. Rapid or large amounts of weight loss can slow your metabolism by as much as 40% in six months. And when we reach our body’s particular set point (i.e. the weight and metabolic rate our body is genetically programmed to be), it will be very hard to lose further weight and even if we do, it is likely that we regain it. All in all, my weight is still hovering at 44 – 45kg. I was 43kg as a school girl, so I am still pretty satisfied with my weight now. I’ll be glad if I can go back to 43kg ;)

Though my weight is at my own ideal range now, I am still pretty fanatic about exercising. Though I no longer have the time to exercise everyday come rain or shine like I used to do, I try to exercise at least 3-4 times in a week. When I exercise, I try to ensure that my heart rate is raised to between 70% to 90% of my maximum heart rate to maximize the number of calories I burn and to continuously improve my fitness level. If you work out in a gym, the thread mill will help you monitor your heart rate but if you run on the road, you can get a heart rate monitor from HeartRateMonitors.com to help you track your heart rate. For those of you who have not started exercising yet, give yourself a try. Squeeze out some time everyday to exercise and you will notice a difference in your life – physically and mentally. And you will love the glow in your complexion too!