If you have excess weight only in specific parts of your body, you still must look at yourself as a whole. It's not possible to spot reduce; in other words, you can't dictate that you only want weight to come off one place or another. In most cases your so called "trouble spots" is where the fat will come off last, so be prepared to lose weight in your fingers (rings fall off) and your face (friends may ask if you're feeling all right) first. There is hope for losing that belly fat though.
If you work toward building muscle and reducing body fat you will eventually tackle those trouble spots though, and develop a better physique in the process. Muscle tissue is active meaning it requires calories to be maintained. If you were stranded without a food supply, eventually your body would turn to its own muscle tissue as a source of nutrition first (muscles are protein) while saving the fat stores for last. Simply put, fat is nature's way of ensuring survival during times of famine. That's why the prevalence of heart failure kills someone who is severely malnourished. By building more muscle you become a more efficient energy burning machine which translates to mean you can eat more food! That to me is a good thing.
That explains why some people can eat so much more than others yet not gain weight; your efficient energy burning friend simply has a greater proportion of muscle to fat than you. Muscle is more dense than fat. It's often said that a pound of muscle is heavier than a pound of fat, but the truth is a pound is a pound. What they mean is a one pound volume of muscle is a smaller package than a one pound volume of fat, or put another way, fat is billowy and fluffy while muscle is sleek and compact. Lady No. 1 weighs 120 pounds with 30% body fat so she has 84 pounds of lean tissue and 36 pounds of fat, while Lady No. 2 also weighing 120 pounds but at 18% body fat is carrying roughly 98 pounds of muscle and 22 pounds of fat. Would you rather be Lady No. 1 or Lady No. 2? Which do you think takes up more space, 22 or 36 pounds of fat? I'd say 36 pounds of fat would be a lot bigger package than 22 pounds.
That is why body weight as a number by itself is meaningless, but your ratio of fat to muscle is very important and worth working to change. Strive to decrease your body fat and increase your muscle mass and you'll look better, you'll feel stronger and more energetic and you'll simply be healthier.
You can generally have your body fat tested at fitness centers and most gyms so ask about having it done. It's better to know you have 30% body fat and work to reduce it to 29, than not to know and only think in terms of body weight. Most people who think only of how much they weigh tend to do everything to reduce that weight, and it's usually at the expense of losing more valuable muscle.
The best way to increase muscle and decrease fat is through a consistent exercise program. Start at whatever is your beginning, but do start.
Begin with an overall body conditioning type exercise program, doing whatever you enjoy, whether it be a sport, gardening, weight lifting, biking, hiking, or any other activity. Any physical movement you do regularly counts as exercise even if it is doing laundry or taking out the trash. Get as much as you can out of every chore you do, and stop thinking of it as a chore but instead as an opportunity to move your body.
In the early 1900s a washing machine was a new invention. People used to wash their clothes by hand, and hang them outside to dry. Being a housewife was actually a pretty strenuous job. It's no wonder women were thankful for modern conveniences like automatic washers and dryers, but now we've come to where our daily activities are not taking our bodies at all, so unless we want to get fatter and fatter we must do something about it.
It doesn't make sense to drive around and around in the parking lot looking for the closest space when you're on your way to run or walk on the treadmill. Why take the elevator five flights every day at work and then pay a monthly fee to do the StairMaster after work? What if we all started to notice that our world is full of exercise equipment.
We could become so much more fit if we'd just start to notice all the opportunities for physical movement we miss in the name of convenience. Look around and see if you can spot some exercise opportunities, and then get busy and get fit.
~~ Kathryn Martyn, Master NLP Practitioner, EFT counselor, author of the free e-book: Changing Beliefs, Your First Step to Permanent Weight Loss, and owner of onemorebite-weightloss.com
Get onemorebite-weightloss.com: Inspirational Mini Lessons Using EFT and NLP for Ending the Struggle with Weight Loss.
elite cleaning services Mundelein ..Want an after dinner snack? Jealously watching your family consume... Read More
When you are faced with the daily challenge of trying... Read More
A common question among weight loss professionals...If fad diets don't... Read More
Many people want to lose a few of those annoying... Read More
Do You Sometimes Eat Because You're Afraid You'll "Miss Out"... Read More
On a little island half way in between Guam and... Read More
Control that sweet tooth. Remember that sweet things generally mean... Read More
The holidays are definitely a special time of year. These... Read More
I was so embarrassed for her. After a grueling 45... Read More
Now that the temptations of the Holiday season have passed... Read More
Have you ever stopped to calculate how much time you... Read More
Browsing one of the Russian websites I have recently found... Read More
Losing weight on hips and thighs has always been a... Read More
Have You Given Up on Weight Loss? by Greg Landry,... Read More
Diet is a dreadful word for most of us because... Read More
A healthy pregnancy almost always involves weight gain. But now... Read More
What is cellulite? Ask a doctor and he will probably... Read More
Everybody you know is on the latest weight loss bandwagon:... Read More
Well, with the success of my article, "Wrinkle Remover That... Read More
Are you dieting your way to bone loss?Are you aware... Read More
Low carb diets, though popular, have met with much controversy.... Read More
"The sovereign invigorator of the body is exercise, and of... Read More
Whew! So how did you do on that last lesson?... Read More
Adverse Events with Volumetrics Dr. Barbara Rolls is a well... Read More
As I was saying in my past articles, others have... Read More
Airbnb cleaning service Mundelein ..With weight loss comes a lot of dedication and change... Read More
If you've been scouring the news, devouring as much information... Read More
Rejuvenation and the Protein Revolution in Your Kitchen?2003 Marilyn DiamondIf... Read More
A number of popular diets are focused on carbohydrates. Some... Read More
If you know someone that has been trying to lose... Read More
Staying Toned After Weight Loss ---------------------------------------- Following significant weight loss,... Read More
Visualization is a powerful technique that can help you make... Read More
As a weight loss coach I speak will people regularly... Read More
In our quest to get that "perfect" body, we actually... Read More
There's more to gastric bypass than surgery and rapid massive... Read More
As the holidays approach, a frequent question from my clients... Read More
When it comes to the matter of weight loss, peoples... Read More
The overweight and obesity epidemic is a worldwide problem. There... Read More
College weight gain is at an all time high, and... Read More
The long marginalized San tribe of South Africa has suddenly... Read More
ObesityToday, 64.5 percent of adult Americans (about 127 million) are... Read More
Repeat a lie often enough and people take it as... Read More
1. What is Atkins Diet? Dr. Atkins diet, first introduced... Read More
Natural therapies uphold the importance of minerals, vitamins and herbs... Read More
How do we know what we know? Often, our knowledge... Read More
Everyone who has ever been on a diet has hit... Read More
Are you often overcome with an urge to splurge on... Read More
Are you overweight? Then you probably want to lose some... Read More
It is much safer to your long term health to... Read More
Here are seven tips for getting the calories out of... Read More
Weight Loss |