Q: I am a 36 years old male. My height is 5 feet 4 inches and I weigh 76 kgs. I try to exercise (tread mill, stepper and tummy exercises) at least 4 days a week, for 45 minutes to an hour. My body looks fine except a little weight around the belly and on my face. I eat very less and am OK with skipping a meal, if required. I was told by a local dietician that my BMR is low. What should I do to sort this problem?

A:A good way to lose weight is to combine calorie-reduction with burning calories as much as possible. To achieve the first, you have to eat a balanced and nutritious meal. It may not be a good idea to miss any meal as that slows the metabolism down and hinders weight loss. To aid that process, you could add on any exercise that you can manage together. For best results, this exercise has to be regular and consistent. So you should try to find a way of incorporating some form of activity into your daily routine. This could be walking to the office, school, climb stairs, etc. The following things may help you. 1. Aerobics: You need to work on building your heart-lung (cardiovascular) endurance. Take up any activity, from cycling, to running or jogging to skiing to swimming to even brisk walking to get that belly into its original size. This kind of activity will draw upon the fat stores in the body for generating fuel to last that long. The presence of oxygen (controlled breathing during this workout, instead of huffing and puffing) will mobilise the fat to get utilised instead of stored. This will take care of the fat that lies above the muscles. Thankfully, any aerobic activity that elevates your heart rate can help you burn fat and take off unwanted pounds. Many experts recommend doing at least three sessions of 20 minutes of aerobic activity per week. Ideally, for long-term weight control, you should engage in at least four sessions per week, for 45 minutes each time. 2. Weight Training or Yoga: Get a yoga teacher to train you in the complete area of yoga or you can join a gym or work out at home with an overall weight training programme so that the lean mass percentage in the entire body increases. Balance your ab crunches and leg lifts with an equal amount of effort for the lower back to ensure it is not weak. Work out the rest of the body for the best results. And of course, concentrate on technique and quality of your ab crunches and pelvic lifts, rather than higher repetitions. And remember, exercises such as these, only improve the tone and endurance of the muscles, they don't burn fat. 3. Healthy diet: Eating the right food out of habit rather than as a fad, can work wonders for an extra middle. Keep the calories light and spread out through the day rather than bunching them all at night and then sleeping on it, when the body's metabolic rate is the slowest. 4. Holding tummy upright: Sitting up tall and straight all day with your tummy tucked in tight can assist in firming up the muscles in the mid-section, which in turn appears more slender and trim.