In order to lose body fat, you must be in a caloric deficit. You consume calories by the foods you eat and burn calories in three ways. The majority of calories that you burn daily is through your resting metabolic rate (RMR), which is what your body uses to burn calories in order to function and exist. You also burn calories through daily activities such as cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, walking up the stairs, etc. Finally, your body burns calories during exercise. In order to lose one pound of fat, the body must be in a caloric deficit of 3,500 calories. Let’s say you burn 500 calories more than you consume every day for one week, you will lose one pound of fat by the end of the week (500 x 7 = 3500).
Resistance training creates a faster metabolism by sending a signal to the body to build and maintain muscle tissue. A faster metabolism simply means that your body will burn more calories throughout the day at a faster rate. Muscle is a desirous tissue, meaning it needs a copious amount of calories just to maintain itself. The more calories your muscles use for rebuilding and repairing, the more calories your body will be burning at rest. This means your RMR will be higher throughout the day and will burn more calories, whether you are sitting all day at work or while you are sleeping.
Resistance training doesn’t just mean lifting heavy weights. Performing body weight exercises or using resistance bands can still work against a force that resists movement, sending that signal to the body to maintain muscle, expending more calories. You can also use free weights, like dumbbells or kettlebells in your strength training workouts to build and maintain muscle. So start incorporating strength workouts (2-3x/week) in your exercise routine to create a faster metabolism!
