Sorry, If anybody doesn't want me to make these posts let me know,  I figured it would be easier to find if I tag them like this, as opposed to my endless favorites lists.  So, if somebody asks a question, ya know??

Why is it that your girlfriend can inhale a pint of Chunky Monkey and not gain an ounce, while even the thought of chocolate seems to make your jeans feel tighter? In a word: metabolism.


We all know that exercise gives your metabolism a boost. But, "your resting metabolic rate (RMR) is 60 to 75 percent of your total metabolism, so you actually burn more calories in the 23 hours a day that you?re not exercising than you do during an hour at the gym," says Melinda Safir, a registered dietitian in Dallas, Texas. The trick is to boost your RMR by avoiding metabolism mistakes ?- something you can do without even breaking a sweat.

But if you're skimping on meals you may be doing more harm than good. Are you guilty of one of these top four metabolism mistakes?

Dehydration: Caffeinated beverages, alcohol, lack of water -- they all cause dehydration. When you?re dehydrated, your body temperature drops and causes you to store fat. Avoid this by easing up on the liquid vices. If you must imbibe, down more water ?- and make it cold (cold water burns more calories going down the pipe than water at room temperature).

Cardio-loading: While heart-pumping workouts will burn calories, it's your body?s level of lean muscle mass that has the biggest impact on metabolism. Since energy is required to maintain muscle tissue, the more muscle you have, the more calories you?ll burn ?- even at rest.

Fueling up With Carbs: Eating and digesting food requires energy, and protein boasts the greatest food-generated calorie burn. ?RMR increases two to three times more after eating protein than it does after eating carbohydrates and fat,? says Safir.

Skipping Breakfast: Your body slows down when you sleep and it doesn?t speed back up until you put fuel in it. In fact, skipping any meal is a recipe for metabolic disaster. If you allow yourself to get hungry your body will start to conserve energy by burning fewer calories.
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Forget body mass index (BMI) and percent body fat. According to Tara Gidus, M.S., R.D., national spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, you only need to pay attention to four key figures to keep weight-loss going.


Circumference: Waist and hip measurements are unaffected by water, muscle or other outside influences. "In many ways, these numbers are even better than BMI, weight or even body fat percentage because they?re more stagnant," says Gidus. And they tell you if you?ve lost inches -- not just water weight.

Weight: Research shows that people who weigh themselves regularly are the most likely to maintain and lose weight. Even though weight fluctuates -- you can gain a few pounds just from being, er, a little backed up -- checking in with the scale every day will give you a better idea of your progress.

Calories and Fat: Need a no-nonsense way to determine your daily allotment of calories and fat grams? Take your goal weight and multiply it by 11 if you?re a woman and 12 if you?re a man. So a woman who wants to weigh 140 pounds should get about 1,540 calories each day (140 x 11). Since experts recommend that 30 percent of calories should come from fat, multiply your calorie goal by .3 (30 percent) and then divide by nine (since there are nine calories in one gram of fat) to get your daily quota of fat. So the woman in this example should shoot for about 51 grams of fat.

Target Heart Rate: To figure out your target heart rate, subtract your age from 220 and then multiply by 60 to 85 percent. ?That?s the range you hit during exercise for maximum calorie burning,? says Gidus. Using a heart-rate monitor during your workouts can help you make sure you?re in the ?zone.?


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Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach to exercise (think 30 minutes of cardio followed by 20 minutes of weights and 10 minutes of stretching), fitness experts are increasingly touting ?tailor-made? programs based on personality type.


?If it doesn?t suit your personality, it won?t work,? says Grace Lazenby, celebrity trainer and founder of Move with Grace. You're not likely to stick with something that cramps your style, either.

The trick is finding the workout that suits the real you:

Do you recognize yourself in any of these basic types?

Wild Child: If you crave new experiences and excitement, outdoor workouts may be best. Try hiking, rock climbing, surfing and extreme sports. Love to run? Take a different route -- maybe even rough terrain -- and vary your pace along the way. If you prefer indoor activities, strip aerobics and kickboxing are the more daring options.

Social Butterfly: Always on the go and naturally gregarious, you?ll thrive off of the enthusiasm in a coed gym or in high-energy classes like spinning and aerobics. Chances are, you also enjoy working out to tunes. ?Music keeps things exciting,? says Lazenby, ?and it has a social context.?

The Silent Type: Need your "me time"? Hit the road with a morning walk solo, or try long distance running and cross-country skiing. Each of these provides ample time for self-reflection. If you want a more spiritual connection in your workout, yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi videos may be good options -- and you never have to leave the house.

Task Master: If you love structure and plans, scheduled workout sessions and "routines" are a natural fit. But, you?d be better off leading yourself through a cardio or strength-training workout than taking guidance from a fitness instructor. "These people take charge of their own exercise routine and will make sure it gets done,"

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Diet long enough and you?re bound to reach a stage where the losses level off and the scale is stuck on the same three digits for weeks. What causes the stall? Routine does.

"If you do the same workout over and over again (and eat the same foods), your body adapts and becomes more efficient," says Jason Parsons, Fitness Manager, Columbia Tech 24 Hour Fitness in Vancouver, Wash. "The trouble with that is that now it requires less energy to do the same activity." Here are four ways to nudge the scale back to its downward trend:

Create Diet Drama: Busting through a plateau requires change. If you eat the same "healthy" foods every day, your body will eventually use less energy to metabolize them. Load up on different fruits and vegetables -- those you?ve never tried before -- and seek out new seasonings, dressings and condiments.

Move It: Park your car at the opposite end of the parking lot, take the stairs instead of the elevator or walk around the building during your lunch break, says Parsons. Even just five minutes burns an additional 24 calories. Eventually all of those extra calories add up.

Crank It Up: When the workout that used to leave you huffing, puffing and sore for days barely makes you break a sweat, it?s time to add intensity. Instead of logging in your regular half hour on the treadmill at a steady 4.5 mph pace, try the interval option or take your workout on the road and use the terrain to act as intervals. Run in the sand or up hills and use landmarks to signify a change of pace.

Get Uncomfortable: To continue losing weight, you have to get out of your comfort zone. Someone who has never tried yoga will exert more energy and burn more calories during a class than an experienced yogi. Find something you don?t know how to do and give it a go.


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HELPFUL LINKS

1. Retrain Your Brain

2. Walk It Off

3. Food & Fitness Combos

4. Just Breathe

5. Your Workout Personality

6. Metabolism Mistakes

7. Go Slow

8. Put On the Gloves

9. The Gym 101

10. Get a Coach

11. Blast the Belly Fat

12. Know Your Numbers

13. Recess!

14. Clean House

15. Be a Yogi

• 16. Beat Boredom
• 17. The AM Advantage
• 18. Dance It Off
• 19. Tone With Tai Chi
• 20. Food Court Survival
• 21. Forget Lattes, Try Pilates
• 22. The TV Workout
• 23. Be the Outdoorsy Type
• 24. Buddy Up
• 25. Take a Memo
• 26. Punch the Plateau
• 27. Get Tricky
• 28. Under 100
• 29. Get Your ZZZs
• 30. Reward Yourself 

great post!

This is a great and a very helpful post, thank you.   

Thank you!! Great information that I could really use today.  I really needed alot of info in here.

This is a fantastic post! Great compilation and links! Thank you!

applause!!! this is the most helpful post I've seen in a very long time, thank you so much.  I definately need to try a few of the things listed since I'm at that "stuck" stage :)

Thanks again! *ribbet*

wow, gyp, that must've taken you a lot of time to put together, but i really, really liked it!  i'm gonna tag it - great post..thanks!

Wicked post! Have tagged it! Thank you :D

Keep doing it!  I tag these posts.

Amazing Post!

great post! already got it tagged! :D

GREAT POST, TAGGED!! im gona read all that later, it looks fantastic!!

only one i dont agree with:

Circumference: Waist and hip measurements are unaffected by water, muscle or other outside influences. "In many ways, these numbers are even better than BMI, weight or even body fat percentage because they?re more stagnant," says Gidus. And they tell you if you?ve lost inches -- not just water weight.

Explain to me why my inches on the 20th were 29 around the waist, then 27 the next DAY? hump, not affected by water wight my a*se! mine was water weight. *blows a raspberry at the Expert" you wrong! lol

*bump* Still reading/processing, but this is a great post! Tagged! :D

Great post - tons of great information. I'll tag it as well!

This will come in very helpful, thanks for posting.

's good.

Thanks!

Awesome, thanks!

great post, but i agree with han...every month just before my period i put on at least 2kg and it is ALWAYS on my hips and legs, i mean i can't even fit into certain pants and 2 days later..all ok!

Gypy,
where have you been all my adult life? LOL
I couldn't believe my good fortune at having found your post, i'm tagging it immediately. I think everyone should read it, you've got a lot of knowledge and great ideas. Thanks for the links you put in also, I can't wait to go thru them and learn a lot more.
Thanks so much!

hmmm, great information, but according to the formula, of multiplying your goal weight by 11 to determine how many calories you should get, mine, 109, comes to 1199 calories.  And 109 is within the healthy range for my height.

I think that is unnecessarily low.  So, I'm sticking with my 1350-1550 range. 

But I do agree, determine your calorie intake by what your goal weight is, not by subtracting a certain amount from your current maintenance calories. 

Is there a "preferred" BMR/RMR calculator out there?  My BMR varies by several HUNDRED calories depending upon which calculator I use.