And when you lose weight, it’s always a mixture of some water, muscle and fat. In the beginning, your weight loss is usually mostly from water since it’s the easiest and quickest weight to shed, but as you progressively keep losing more weight the ratio of water, muscle and fat mixture starts to change…and believe it or not in many cases the ratio shifts towards more water and muscle and not as much fat. And that’s because when you’re focused on losing weight only...you tend to do things that’s more conducive to losing muscle weight rather than fat. You see fat is inherently “lazy”, it’s doesn’t like to give itself up for energy unless it’s absolutely necessary…such as survival types of situations there’s lack food for prolonged periods OR only during times of low energy requirements like sitting, walking and even sleeping. But if the body is too demanding and requires lots of energy quickly, fat can’t be bothered, so it passes along the responsibility to your muscle which is more (metabolically) active and willing to provide the required energy that your body needs. So when you participate in typical “calorie burning” long cardio based activities that require large amounts of energy for long periods of time…it’s quite likely that you’re going lose muscle weight rather than weight from fat. So what’s the big deal…I mean you’re still losing weight which is ultimately your end goal…right? Well, not quite. See, although muscle weighs more than fat, it’s also more metabolically active than fat which means, it burns more calories. So, if you were to replace fat with lean muscle you may not see any immediate weight loss (in fact…it’s not uncommon to see a slight weight gain initially)...but in the long run you’ll end up getting leaner and more defined because you’ll burn more calories. AND guess where those calories come from? You guessed it…FAT! Ultimately burning off unwanted fat (not just water and muscle) is what’s going to get you that lean, toned and tight body. So you see…weight loss isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Don’t get me wrong, weight loss is usually par for the course when you get lean and fit, but it’s only one aspect. I think a much better gauge for getting lean, fit and healthy is your body measurements and improvement of overall strength, speed and stamina. Wouldn’t you rather look good and be really fit than just weigh less and be weak & tired? If you get lean and toned people will notice. They aren’t going to ask you how much you weigh? They’ll just assume that you lost weight because you look so good…even if you didn’t lose much weight at all. Chronically dieting and over exercising (especially doing long cardio types of exercises) will make you weak and tired. Usually these people have no muscle tone, so their body’s are pretty shapeless. They lack energy and often suffer from achey joints due to repetitive stress especially in their feet, ankles, knees and hips. They’re weak since they’ve lost much of their lean muscle mass from doing too much cardio and typically they’re chronic dieters (restricting calories) since losing lean muscle mass also means their body’s aren’t optimized to burn fat. Wasting away your number one fat burning arsenal (your lean muscle mass) means they have to constantly diet and watch their caloric intake in order to keep losing weight or (in many cases) even just maintain their weight. It’s no wonder so many people fail at keeping their weight off! (no pun intended) They’re focusing on the wrong things from the get go. So instead of focusing on weight loss, shift your attention to these 3 principal factors, so you can make your journey to a healthier, leaner and fitter body a successful one. Focus on keeping your lean muscle mass so you can burn more fat in the long run. That means don’t concern yourself with body weight since it’s not representative of what kind of progress you’re actually making. Take measurements of your body. This is a much more accurate way to keep track of your progress. Although muscle weighs more than fat, it also takes up less space than fat. Therefore burning off fat and replacing it with lean muscle mass will reduce the overall size of your body. NOTE: For men, getting lean and fit may mean reduce overall size BUT not in appearance. Losing fat and gaining lean muscle will make you look more defined and muscular. Focus on improving your overall fitness - strength, speed and stamina. If you’re able to lift more, move faster and increase your endurance, it’s a sure sign that you’ve improved your overall fitness. And it will also be reflected in how you feel. Since getting fitter means your body is more efficient, it requires less energy than before, enabling you to do more work or just have more energy in general to enjoy your daily life!
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 21:36:43 +0000