Managing body fat is often a feature of the conversations I have with patients and massage clients when discussing their general health and the causes for  some of the problems they present to me with. With this in mind, the following research caught my eye in an e mail from LWW journals. They had highlighted an article published in the official journal of the American College of Sports medicine titled ‘A 45-Minute Vigorous Exercise Bout Increases Metabolic Rate for 14 hours‘

My particular point from this article, which if you do read it all is it’s not just what you do in the gym or on the road running, cycling or just walking that initiates an increase in your metabolic rate. There is also the continued benefit of that exercise keeping your metabolic rate higher after you have finished and with a sensible diet you can reduce your body fat. Exercise of any type is widely agreed to make you feel better, and a reduction in body fat reduces the additional stresses and strains that this places upon the structures of your body. The encouraging factor here is that if you can maintain a regular regime of exercise your body will reward you with a raised metabolic rate that will help you feel better all the time. However ….. None of this will work if your nutrition is poor. Exercise is not an excuse to eat more, if you don’t keep on top of your calorie intake then no matter how hard you work the gains will be limited.