Archive for December, 2009

Some people used the term “weight loss” while others call it “fat loss” whilst many use the terms weight loss and fat loss interchangeably. Do they mean the same thing? To many people, they do mean the same thing. But the terms may be entirely different in meaning. You must know the difference if you want to lose weight or lose fat effectively and healthily.

When you step onto your bathroom scale every morning, what you will be reading from the scale is weight loss and not fat loss. Bath room scales are never accurate in determining fat loss.

Why? Because it measures your overall weight and not your body fat per se. If you weigh yourself in the morning before breakfast after your bowel movement, you will probably get your lowest reading of the day because your body is dehydrated through hours of non fluid replenishment when you were sleeping and after emptying your bowels, more water and wastes are flushed away so much so that you are you are lighter. After a night of sleep and not eating anything, your carbohydrate store is running low and therefore you are even lighter without the stored carbohydrate known as glycogen. What happened then? You just loss weight not loss fat! Your body fat is still there while the weight of other substances such as glycogen, wastes, water etc are depleted.

Now go weigh yourself again after dinner when you are fully replenished through meals and consumption of water and it may surprised you that you may probably weigh 2kg or more heavier and that is at least 4.4 pounds! You just gained weight and may even gained fat! Now you can see that it is such a misnomer when people think weight loss and fat loss are the same thing.

Why must you know the difference? Because for most of us, especially those who are on the fat side want to lose fat and not necessarily want to lose weight. Getting the drift?

Now for the more important part. Mere weight loss may cause you to lose muscle and in turn, make you gain body fat later. Yes, it is ironical. That is because the more muscle mass you have, the more you burn fat efficiently because muscle is an active tissue and it requires calories to function. Body fat just sit there doing nothing and thus do not burn calories on its own. So the less muscle mass you have, the less calories your body will burn. The fewer calories your body burn, the more calories ended up being stored as body fat! Therefore it is important to lose fat but not merely lose weight which may include the loss of muscle tissues.

How is it that a person may lose muscle on a weight loss program? Well for starters, we commonly hear about people going on this diet and that diet. Most diets demand a severe restriction of food or calorie intake. Your body will then signal to your mind that you are in a starvation mode and the body is designed to store fat for the impending famine and will use up your muscle for energy in your daily activities.

Some diets advocate a severe cut in carbohydrate. Carbohydrate is your body’s first source of energy. When your body is depleted of carbohydrate, it turns to your protein (muscles) and body fat indiscriminately for energy. Now to make matters worse, because of the restricted carbohydrate consumed, there will be fewer carbohydrate calories to be used as energy calories and that again will signal the onset of starvation mode again. The vicious cycle of your body cannibalizing its own muscle is set in motion again. The same applies to people on slimming pills or salon fat loss programs.

So some people say ok, Chris, I see your point, so I will just do plenty of cardio exercises to lose weight. Another grave mistake. Have you ever wondered why marathon runners, those who run many kilometers often and are doing cardio exercises almost everyday are so skinny with no muscle tone? Because your body is a wonderful machine. It is designed to adapt. When you run or skip or swim long enough, it will say, look, I better get lighter so that I can take the stress better and improve the endurance. Guess what? Your muscles are heavier than fats and what will your body shed more when it wants to get lighter? Muscle or fat? Your body will shed both but more muscles than fats.

Anyway, why would you want to lose weight only to become a smaller you with the same body shape without any muscle tone? Why would you want to be on a weight loss program that eats your muscles and lower your fat burning rate so much so that when you are off the program, the fats come piling back on again?

Therefore, while you are on a lose weight program, you must also be on a build muscle program. That will mean a combination of correct dietary habit, cardio exercises and weightlifting exercises to maintain muscle preservation and a fat loss result.

From now on tell people you are on a fat loss program and not a weight loss program. That you are on a correct eating habit instead of just simply dieting.

With the distinction clearly in mind, you will then know how to lose fat effectively, preserve and grow your muscles and at the same time losing weight on your bathroom scale. That would be an ideal way to achieve your weight loss objective because you will lose body fat instead of muscle and mere body wastes.

Chris Chew
http://www.articlesbase.com/fitness-articles/weight-loss-or-fat-loss-important-differences-to-lose-weight-and-fat-healthily-10477.html

I’m Male 15 years old, 180 lb. 5’6" , and looking to lose fat and build a decent amount of muscle. I want to go down to about 160 by the middle of September or so. I need to know what i should be eating, and what tricks and tips to use for weight training. Thanks!

Here are a few tips;

WHEN to eat…

Eat (at least) three times a day.
Because when you eat only once a day, your metabolism gets slower than it already is! That’s the main reason. Sounds funny, but to lose weight… you must eat (the right things, of course)
Eat low-fat, high-fiber foods such as salads and vegetable pastas.
Your last meal should be before 18:00. Try.
OK, one apple after 18:00
Don’t starve
Starvation is not good for losing weight, nor your health.
Starvation is the worse thing you can do in a weight loss diet.
Try oatmeal instead of cornflakes for breakfast–eating oatmeal can help reduce cholesterol levels, and its high fiber content will keep you full longer.

WHAT to drink…

Drink 6-8 glasses of water every day !
Can be tap, plain, mineral, sparkling. I just love mineral sparkling water!
This improves your bowel, reduces the "hunger" sensation, and hydrates your skin. Your skin will look much better after the first weeks!
Don’t believe the slogan "water makes me fat". Beside being stupid… you might get into serious troubles with your kidneys.
Drink ONLY natural juices, freshly squized!
Don’t drink Coca Cola, Pepsi, Spite etc. during the diet. Even lite or light versions.
I thought this was not possible for me to achieve. Now… I don’t even LIKE them anymore!
Nothing compares to the the smell of a fresh natural fruit juice! Not speaking about health…
Avoid those vending machines by carrying around your own healthful foods and leaving pocket change at home.

exercise for losing weight…

If you want quicker results – exercise would be good.
Start a regular exercise program and stick with it. Don’t be afraid of those sweat suits and Lycra pants!
Start swimming. Swimming is an excellent exercise to get involved with, since it increases blood flow and uses muscles we don’t regularly use. Start a swimming program and try to do it 3 times a week. You will feel excellent and rejuvenated.
Choose an exercise program that you enjoy, and don’t shun the unconventional. For instance, did you know that regular vigorous dancing is exercise too?
Also Cardiovascular exercises such as running, jogging, or aerobics will help you lose that unwanted belly fat. Weight training can also help you lose body fat because the more muscle mass you have, the more ability your system has to burn body fat.

Good luck!

I do crunches and push-ups now, about 100+ of each everyday, do they build muscle and burn fat at the same time or what?

Yes, they build muscle, and burn fat! But to burn even more fat, you could add cardio and eat healthy. Then the weight will fall off!

I’m 13 and i’m pretty small compared to everyone else and i want to play football again next year so i want to gain some muscle and lose my excess fat….equipments i have are 5lb dumbells, jump rope, ab lounge, and a treadmill.

Don’t lose any fat, since you are "pretty small" you’re gonna need all the weight you can possible take on. As long as you exercise and stay in shape, you couldn’t care less about your weight. Remember: muscle weights more than fat, and muscle that replaces fat, for the most part stays muscle. Invest a couple of allowances on heavy weights. I got door stops that are heavier than your dumbells. And if you exercise with light weights you are only burning fat without gaining volume. The way to gain muscle mass is low repetitions with as much weight as you can handle, one day on and one off since muscle grows when it’s resting after exercising, not while exercising. Jump rope is also a fat burner, that’s what boxers hit to lose weight quick, stick to jogging (not running) to stay fit without losing much mass, ab lounge you should definitely use, again, low reps with lots of resistance, you’ll need strong abs for any sport. Again don’t worry, eat as much as you can, you’ll need the calories.

I want to get a six pack and tone my hole body and drop the fat that i do have. i need to lose the fat and gain the muscle SUPER FAST!! also i want to just drink these shakes and have 1 meal a day as my diet is that crazy.

Make sure you use a pure whey protein with No artificial Sweeteners, No artificial Flavors, No artificial Fillers etc.

http://www.buybulkwhey.com/

These guys sell the highest quality and best priced pure whey protein.