Kick It Up A Notch (or 2 or 3)

Depending on who you ask, the most important aspect of losing weight varies. Some say calorie control. Some will breakdown what those calories should look like in terms of fats, proteins, fiber, etc. Or some will point to portion control. Other's say exercise. Still other's might say the correct supplements are the key. I've even seen people say the best way to lose weight is to keep a journal.

In some ways, they are all right, but my experience and research suggests that each of those are results of dealing with the real key to weight loss (and keeping it off for that matter) – metabolism.

The metabolic rate of your body is the single most important element in weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight.

Any active High Schooler can tell you calories really don't matter. Their metabolic rate is ticking at such an insatiable rate that they can consume anything - and whether it is fats, proteins, or fibers, it ultimately has very little influence on their weight (their health may be another question). The same is true for adults with highly active lifestyles. Why? Because their metabolism (either by virtue of genes or lifestyle or both) is ticking away like a second hand on a stopwatch. The trick for people like me (and maybe you) is to get that metabolic rate ticking away again. The first thing to do is measure it. And there is an amazing new tool for measuring your metabolism. You may even have one – a scale.

OK, technically, it doesn't actually give you your metabolic rate, but it will tell you if your calorie intake is out pacing your body's ability to burn up those calories. You can actually find sites that help you calculate your resting metabolic rate (RMR), but I for one was never that big on math...and quite frankly – you don't need to.

Now contrary to popular wisdom on weight loss that says “don't weigh yourself everyday,” I say you should defiantly weight yourself everyday. This is the best way to get feed back on how your personal weight plan is effecting you metabolism. The trick is to understand that there will be days were you GAIN weight. If you are not psychologically prepared for this, well, my method is not for you.

By weighing in at the same time every day, on the same scale, dressed in approximately similar clothes, you will begin to get an idea if the techniques you are using to balance your metabolic rate and calorie intake are working. You don't have to do it forever, but to start things off, it sure will help to measure whether you are making choices that contribute positively or negatively to your weight program.

So, yesterday I started using some of the techniques that I have found for increasing my metabolic rate and I managed to keep my calories under 1700 with over 100 grams of protein. The last time I started losing weight I learned (by weighing in every day and paying attention to my calorie intake) that my target calories for the day was 1500 to 1800 with 100-175 grams of protein.

The results: today's weigh in (at the same time as yesterday, using the same scale and wear basically the same clothes): 268. Sounds crazy, I know, and I had to weight twice because I couldn't believe it, but those are the numbers – I lost 7 lbs on my first day. Now, there will be days, as I build more muscle and sometimes slip on my program, where I will gain weight, but the first week or so is usually good.

Tomorrow, we'll start looking at some of the things I do to get my metabolism off and running and how I try to keep it there.