Blast The Fat: Work Hard, Work Smart and Eat Right

There is a flood of information about weight loss out there in the marketplace. Some of it is just garbage. A general rule for you to follow with regards to weight loss is this: Don’t waste your money if the program offers a quick solution to your weight problem! Why? Because what you need is the permanent solution to your weight problem. A permanent solution takes hard, smart work and sacrifice on your part. Human nature always seeks the path of least resistance. So, you can see why commercial weight loss programs promote things such as “in 2 weeks….” The promotion may be partially true, but what they don’t tell you is the most critical part of the fitness equation: fat loss is the key to permanent weight loss.

So, here is my Top 5 List to get you started on the way to Blasting The Fat and getting the lean and toned body that you want:

1. Make a commitment to a lifetime of fitness. This commitment trumps all other fitness commitments. Without it, you will always fall prey to the inevitable obstacles and pitfalls along the way.

2. Be willing to change your eating habits! Sixty to 70% of your fitness goal success or failure will depend on good nutrition. Since we must eat to survive, get ready to change! Get rid of the fad diets! Start planning your own meals using a mix of carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

3. You must change your body composition! You must increase lean muscle mass to become a “fat-burning machine.” You don't need to be a body builder but you need to replace the fat (to an acceptable level) on your body with muscle mass.

4. You must do more than cardio exercise to change your body composition!

5. Make a commitment to full-body strength training! Among other things, it speeds up your metabolism (the body has to work harder to maintain muscle) and helps improve your bone density. And, you’ll look great!

My Fitness Hut Blog

Tags: body, cardio, composition, exercise, fat, full, lean, loss, mass, muscle, More…nutrition, training, weight

Comment by Carol on February 25, 2008 at 4:59pm: I have a question for you Mark...but first a comment....

My last "diet", I ate healthy food, exercised and did cardio and I lost a lot of weight. (not at my goal but I still lost) Then I joined a gym and did some cardio (about 30 minutes worth) but concenrated on weights and I didn't lose anything for about 5 months. Was I doing something wrong? Should I lose most of my weight first concentrating on cardio and eating right, and THEN lift weights?

I know I was probably building muscle and muscle weighs more than fat etc. but the bottom line is I want to lose this weight and go down in size!

Comment by David on February 25, 2008 at 7:18pm: It looks like we covered some of these points before here:

The “Weight Loss” Plateau Syndrome

http://iowaavenue.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=774881%3ABlogPost%3A10914

Today's article is exactly what we advise, and recommend, so I present it in its original format.

This is important information, so “digest” it carefully; it will help you achieve your Healthy Lifestyle Goals.

To wit:

You’ve been dieting and exercising and successfully losing weight. Then, after a while, the scale stops showing any weight loss resulting in frustration. Does this sound familiar? You’ve likely hit a weight loss plateau that can mean one of several things.

You Need to Eat.

Weight loss requires taking in fewer calories than you use in a day. Unfortunately, many people go to extremes and eat too few calories thinking this will speed up the process. It may work at first, but eventually you will stop losing – and may even gain weight again. Why? Because your body thinks it’s being starved and has entered “survival mode”. Your body needs a minimum amount of calories each day to function and to maintain the muscle mass you have. If you eat less than this (including not enough carbohydrates), and because carbohydrates cannot be stored in great quantities in your body, your body only has 2 options for survival: 1) use fat for fuel or 2) use protein (i.e. muscle) for fuel.

Protein provides your body with 4 calories per gram, whereas fat provides 9 calories per gram. From a survival standpoint, your body can live more than twice as long if it holds onto the fat and uses protein for fuel. This is precisely what it does. The problem is that when you lose protein and muscle, your metabolism drops. This means you can’t eat as much as you used to and leads to the yo-yo effect.

If you have really stepped up your exercise program, or perhaps just started one for the first time, you need to realize that your body will need more calories. You need to eat to lose weight, or your workouts will be in vain.

You Need to Move!

Face it; you cannot expect continued weight loss and long-term success in keeping it off if you don’t move. There are no excuses; no magic pills; no secret formula yet to be discovered that will dispute this. Besides, your metabolism slows with age, making it harder and harder to lose weight with diet alone. If you’ve hit a weight loss plateau and are not exercising, start moving!

You Need Muscle.

Many people mistakenly believe that they should focus on cardio exercise in order to lose weight. While cardio is important, resistance training is critically important in helping your metabolism and increasing your muscle tone and definition. The only way to have a long-term impact on increasing your metabolism is to build muscle; you only do that through resistance training. If you’ve hit a weight loss plateau and are not doing any resistance training, it’s time to add it to your program.

You Need to Shake Up Your Routine. Your body has a profound ability to adjust to the demands placed on it. When you first start a new form of exercise, it may be challenging. However, as you get stronger and your body adapts, it is no longer a challenge. Over time, your body becomes so efficient that this same exercise no longer has an effect on your weight. If you’ve hit a plateau, it’s time to add some variety into your routine. Try a new activity or increase the intensity level of your current workouts. Perhaps add an additional workout into your week, or simply change the order of your routine. The key is to constantly keep your body guessing so it is forced to adapt.

Consider Other Measurements Besides the Scale

If you’re eating enough and of the right kinds of foods, are exercising and including resistance training (and varying your routine) but are still not losing weight, it’s time to think differently. What does that number on the scale tell you, anyway? As you gain muscle, your weight may increase; however, your body fat will decrease. In addition, your clothes will likely be looser as you lose inches.

Weight is only a number

It does not define who you are. If your goal for health, fitness, and size has been met; but the scale doesn’t agree, don’t sweat. You may be surprised to know that many fit, athletic individuals are considered to be overweight or even obese based on height/weight and BMI charts; these do not take body fat percentage into account.

So before you get frustrated and decide your efforts are in vain, consider if what you’re using to measure your success is appropriate.

Because, after all,

It’s about a Healthy Lifestyle!
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Threre was a previous post by LisaN aka IAAdmin, where she wrote how calories consumed - calories expended = net caloric value.

It's in the archives.........................)

Comment by Mark on February 25, 2008 at 11:36pm: Carol....If you have been lifting weights and doing cardio without any significant changes to your body composition, then it sounds like you need to "ramp up the intensity" of your workouts. By this I mean: instead of doing 30 minutes of cardio, do 20 minutes of high intensity interval cardio (like sprint for 30 seconds/walk for 30 seconds.....do this for the entire 20 minutes). Research has proven that high intensity interval cardio is superior to steady-state, longer cardio sessions in that intervals help you burn more fat during and after your workouts. Interval cardio also improves your heart health more than steady-state cardio.

Ramp up the intensity of your weight lifting also. Do full-body circuit style weight training which is doing one exercise after the other with no rest between exercises (8-10 repetitions per exercise). Rest for 2-3 minutes and repeat the circuit 1 or 2 more times (total workout time is 1 hour). Circuit style weight training is superior to regular weight lifting when it comes to burning fat. Lift weights 3 times a week (such as M-W-F) and do interval cardio 5-6 times a week. You will see changes (fat loss and weight loss) providing your diet is sound. Also, change up the exercises in your circuit every 1-2 weeks to keep your body from adapting.

I use this type of training myself and for every client that wants to burn fat and have a lean and toned body.

Go get 'em!

Comment by Carol on February 26, 2008 at 12:44am: Thank you David and Mark for your advice.

My problem wasn't a plateau, I was losing weight just fine UNTIL I started lifting weights - then it stopped.

Mark,
I'm still looking for a gym - (just moved here recently) but come to think of it, I wasn't changing up anything and my cardio wasn't that intense. I can definitely do that interval cardio. I've never done that before. When I was at the gym, that's the type of workout I did per my personal trainer. I LOVE lifting weights!!! I'm not opposed to getting muscles either - big ones! But not until I find a gym. The ones around here are weak! (and only have free weights - for he-man types like yourselves. haha :)

I'm going to do my elliptical now, then run for 30 seconds and walk 30 seconds like you said. This should be interesting. haha :)

Thanks Marks for the info and thank you David for your info also. I have to make sure I don't lose this page to copy and paste your article.

Comment by David on February 26, 2008 at 11:08am: Carol just peruse through the archives. Not to counter Mark's advice, but weightlifting isn't for everybody. However, that being said, it can play a huge positive role for others. Pay attention to what your body is telling you. LisaN also posted some of the numbers about calories v weight loss, I'll retrieve that also. Sounds like you have the right attitude, determination, and openenss for suggestions--you came to the right place!