| Whoever said losing
weight is simple? Well, it’s not—it takes diligence, hard work,
knowledge and consistency. In order to lose weight, a person must
cause a deficit between the calories consumed and the calories
burned. Simply put, you must burn off more calories than what
you consume on a given day in order to lose weight. That may be
accomplished by consuming fewer calories than what your body requires
just to function, or by exercising in order to increase your calorie
expenditure. However, I believe the best way is a combination
of both, which means decreasing your calorie intake coupled with
exercise.
Even with a calorie deficit and exercise Monday through Friday,
if you overeat Saturday and Sunday you may find yourself right
back where you started. Rather than looking at your eating and
exercising habits only on a daily basis, try to also see them
from a weekly perspective. A lot of people out there with the
best of intentions possess fantastic eating and exercising habits
during the week, but on the weekend consume excessive calories
from fried foods, high-sugar foods, dining out with friends, or
alcoholic beverages. Remember, if you consume calories that you
don’t expend, they will be stored as fat.
There’s still more to this equation. Even when you’re doing the
above mentioned correctly, you still may find that you’re not
losing inches where you want to be. Well, for starters you can’t
spot reduce fat, which means it usually first comes off at the
last place it was put on. In your case, that may be you’re face
or neck. And secondly, fat is not your body’s first choice for
fuel, stored carbohydrates are. That means you need to encourage
your body to burn stored fat for fuel. This can be accomplished
by not consuming too many starchy foods like pastas and breads,
and extending the cardio portion of your workout to 40 – 60 minutes
in order to tap your fat stores. Don’t overlook the importance
of resistance training, as this increases your overall metabolism
so that your body is less likely to store fat in the first place.
Hopefully you have a little more knowledge concerning fat loss
than you did prior to reading this. Now you just need to put in
the hard work and consistency that it takes to see changes and
get results. Approach weight loss as a lifestyle change rather
than a temporary one, and with a little old-fashioned elbow grease,
you’ll reach your goal.
©Melissa Allen, Optimum Condition. Melissa is a certified personal
trainer, Blackbelt & fitness consultant, as well as the owner
of Optimum Condition—custom fitness services and mobile personal
training. She is a self-syndicated columnist who welcomes input
from her readers, so please contact her with any questions or
comments by calling (619) 252-4993, or visit her website at www.OptimumCondition.com.
|
