Want to burn more fat..try these 3 things
chicklidell
Posts: 275
I'm curious to see opinions about this article that came by my desk this morning....I did not write this, or necessarily agree with it, just curious to see what others think.
Although weight loss is part of getting back in shape, I find that people focus too much on it. Body weight represents the weight of your total bodily content which is mainly composed of water, muscle and fat.
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.
1.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.
2.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.
3.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!
Keeping your focus on these 3 principle factors will help you make consistent progress while avoiding the most common traps and pitfalls of overexercising and chronic dieting that leads to eventual failure
Although weight loss is part of getting back in shape, I find that people focus too much on it. Body weight represents the weight of your total bodily content which is mainly composed of water, muscle and fat.
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.
1.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.
2.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.
3.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!
Keeping your focus on these 3 principle factors will help you make consistent progress while avoiding the most common traps and pitfalls of overexercising and chronic dieting that leads to eventual failure
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Replies
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Sounds good to me. Thanks!
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In short - do strength and weight training as well as cardio!
*stands back and waits for someone to yell "muscle doesn't weigh more than fat!"*0 -
I really couldn't allow for myself to keep going after reading this: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)...
I think I know where the author is getting at, but he made is sound extremely confusing. Furthermore, anybody who begins a sentence to include "...muscle weighs more than fat" has an inherent risk of losing my attention. Maybe I have A.D.D.? Who knows.0 -
Excellent and helpful post, thanks.0
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I like it and concur with the statements made.0
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In short - do strength and weight training as well as cardio!
*stands back and waits for someone to yell "muscle doesn't weigh more than fat!"*
That's pretty much what I took from the article as well...and knock off the marathon cardio. lol0 -
In short - do strength and weight training as well as cardio!
*stands back and waits for someone to yell "muscle doesn't weigh more than fat!"*
HAHA I was thinking the same thing! :laugh:0 -
Thats a great article Chicklidell.
In my 20s, I was quite fit and lean yet all I focussed on was strength/weight training, not much cardio. I ate reasonably well of course, plenty of protein.
In my 30s, I put on significant weight. Stopped training, poor lifestyle choices, too much focus on career and other things.
I have now become serious about making my health a much higher priority. I am probably doing more cardio now than in my 20s, however do not forget the importance of strength training as I recognise its body fat percentage rather than sheer weight that is the important number.
As the article predicts, most of my initial weight loss was water weight, but - again as predicted by the article - I have steadily noticed that I seem to have added water weight and have decreased by body fat percentage (as well as my overall weight) over time.
I have quite a few friends/relatives/colleagues who are heavily into cardio (mainly running, including marathons). Whilst they are very fit and seem to be healthy, I cannot quite help to quietly think to myself that they still lack the definition and strong look of a bodybuilder (although they still certainly look better than me)
Whilst I still have a while to go in my own personal journey and with a relatively high body fat percentage, my focus is still on weight loss which is why I will need to focus on cardio. However I know that once I get towards my goal weight, I will have to increasingly focus on strength training more as a way to maintaining my goal weight and looking better.
PS - we all read what we want into anything that we read. The above may not necessarily reflect all the things the article was trying to say.0 -
Honestly I didn't bother reading it because you didn't cite it.
What is the source, please?0 -
bump!0
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Just don't forget to pee a lot. You somehow lose fat when you pee.0
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In short - do strength and weight training as well as cardio!
*stands back and waits for someone to yell "muscle doesn't weigh more than fat!"*
That's pretty much what I took from the article as well...and knock off the marathon cardio. lol
Unless you're running a marathon...0 -
Honestly I didn't bother reading it because you didn't cite it.
What is the source, please?
Ditto0 -
I really couldn't allow for myself to keep going after reading this: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)...
I think I know where the author is getting at, but he made is sound extremely confusing. Furthermore, anybody who begins a sentence to include "...muscle weighs more than fat" has an inherent risk of losing my attention. Maybe I have A.D.D.? Who knows.
Ditto! :drinker:
Never thought I had A.D.D. though! :happy:0 -
I really couldn't allow for myself to keep going after reading this: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)...
I think I know where the author is getting at, but he made is sound extremely confusing. Furthermore, anybody who begins a sentence to include "...muscle weighs more than fat" has an inherent risk of losing my attention. Maybe I have A.D.D.? Who knows.
What do you find extremely confusing? Maybe I can help clarify, or the OP will list the source. Yeah, we all see the "muscle weighs more than fat" mistake. Overall I don't see it as a bad contribution to the forums here. Do you?
* editing to add that I'm pretty certain anyone can find a whole bunch of research to back whatever they want to believe.0 -
I really like this article. Thanks for posting!0
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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.
What is considered a long period of time? 60 min? More? I try to do 30 min of cardio 4-5 times a week. I also don't have access to heavy weights so I try to do squats and lunges to build muscle. I seem to have stalled in both weight loss and inches. I think this article explains it well, but could be a bit more specific.0 -
Skimmed through it. It's a good alternate take to the mindset of just losing weight.
After you learn a bit more about your body, you realize what role muscle has in the way your body looks. And losing mass isn't necessarily what you're totally after.
That, and if you don't see progress on the scale, doesn't mean you ain't makin it.0 -
This article seems to be a beginners crash course on:
Worry about measurements rather than pounds.
Worry about body fat % rather than pounds.
Its better to be "healthier" than wither away from strictly dieting/cardio forever.0 -
Just don't forget to pee a lot. You somehow lose fat when you pee.
LOL!! You read that too, eh?0 -
Thank you this was very helpful info and I will keep going. I started to freak because Im not losing weight. I need to start to measure myself because the scale hasnt moved but I am feeling different in my clothes. Thanks again.0
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I am kind of confused on the 'muscles don't weigh more than fat' thing. Yes, I know a pound of X weighs the same as a pound of Y, however if you have a cube X filled with muscle and an identical cube X filled with fat... ahh... density. Got it. Sorry, a bit slow today.0
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Makes sense to me. I plateaued in May, and increased my strength training in June. I stayed on the plateau until October. I got very frustrated with the plateau (as anyone would!) and started tracking measurements, and went back and re calculated body fat % and such from the time I started. While on the plateau my measurements changed every week, just not the scale. I had lost 30% of my body weight by May, but by October I had GAINED 10 pounds on my lean body mass in comparison to my beginning numbers.0
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The source is Shin Ohtake, google him, maxworkouts.com I think the author is irelevant, it could have been written by a kin student for all I care. No one is claiming medical science here, it's someones point of view, someone who I respect and admire, and have worked with. That being said, I don't always agree with his point of views, but he does get results. Some of his stuff is redundant and not applicable to my lifestyle, but definitely could be of value to someone else.0
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That one part really bugged me too. But I do agree 100% with strength training and weight just being a number. I track body fat percentage.
Take it from an ex skinny fat girlI really couldn't allow for myself to keep going after reading this: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)...
I think I know where the author is getting at, but he made is sound extremely confusing. Furthermore, anybody who begins a sentence to include "...muscle weighs more than fat" has an inherent risk of losing my attention. Maybe I have A.D.D.? Who knows.0 -
Oh, I'm wounded. I love cardio, not just to lose weight but because it's fun. I can ride my bike for a couple hours just because I enjoy it and I frequently go running with friends. I don't find standing in my living room lifting hand weights to be enjoyable. I honestly have great leg muscles from all the running and biking I do, but my core is pathetic and my arms are skinny-fat. But I don't have access to a gym. I do have a weight bar, although I'm not sure how much it weighs, as well as 3 pound, 5 pound, and 8 pound hand weights. And a resistance band and pull up bar. I've also recently taken up yoga. Any suggestions about what I can do with those items in a limited space, ideally in 30 minutes or less?0
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@Chicklidell (love the name by the way) - I think you explained it perfectly. So many people become obsessed with the # on the scale, when it is so much more than that!! Well said!!0
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Oh, I'm wounded. I love cardio, not just to lose weight but because it's fun. I can ride my bike for a couple hours just because I enjoy it and I frequently go running with friends. I don't find standing in my living room lifting hand weights to be enjoyable. I honestly have great leg muscles from all the running and biking I do, but my core is pathetic and my arms are skinny-fat. But I don't have access to a gym. I do have a weight bar, although I'm not sure how much it weighs, as well as 3 pound, 5 pound, and 8 pound hand weights. And a resistance band and pull up bar. I've also recently taken up yoga. Any suggestions about what I can do with those items in a limited space, ideally in 30 minutes or less?
If you're really serious...inbox me..I can get you toned with no weight, simply your own bodyweight as resistance...lol0
This discussion has been closed.
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