Are you ashamed of your weight? Do you have a goal weight that you want to reach through weight loss? I’d say so, it’s been pushed into our brains many times over and over again that “weight loss” is what we want to accomplish. There are weight loss guides, weight loss supplements, and many other things that push “weight loss”. Many people even set their goals to be at a certain weight. Additionally, the medical community has developed an “ideal weight” chart, which can further add to the confusion about weight loss.
Now, let me ask you a question. Is your goal really weight loss? Unless you are trying to make a weight class for wrestling or some other sport with weight classes, you may think that your goal is weight loss, but it really isn’t. You are trying to lose that flubbery stuff attached to your body called FAT. Correct?
So then, why do we measure our progress by how much we weigh? Why do we step on the bathroom scale and hope that those numbers will be lower than before? You see, our weight is affected by more than just how much fat is on our body. Some other factors include water, muscle, glycogen, and obviously if we have eaten anything earlier or used the bathroom lately.
Our water weight fluctuates constantly. For instance, when we exhale water vapor comes out. When we sweat, we are sweating out water. There are also many more factors that can affect the amount of water in our body. Water is what usually causes those random gains or losses of a pound or two in weight that can make you happy or sad. It is almost physiologically impossible to lose a pound of fat in one day.
One reason the low-carb or no-carb (also called ketogenic) diets are so attractive is because of the large initial loss of weight. However, this weight is not necessarily fat. When carbohydrates are restricted the body has a backup store of them located in the liver and muscles in the form of something called glycogen. The human body can store approximately 400 grams of glycogen. In larger individuals this number can increase. In addition to this, for each gram of glycogen stored in the human body, 3 grams of water are also stored. If you figure it out, this would equate to about 1600 grams (3.5 pounds) of glycogen and water.
When you stop or limit your consumption of carbohydrates, your body starts using its glycogen stores. After a couple of days that 1600 grams (3.5 pounds) of glycogen and water are gone. Also, as an adaptation to the restriction of carbohydrates, your body produces these things called ketones. Ketones also appear to have a diuretic effect, which would mean an even greater loss of water.
In addition to water, if you have been working out lately to speed along your “weight loss” (you mean fat loss, right?) progress you probably have gained some muscle doing so. This gain in muscle can also affect the numbers you see on the scale. Muscle is also more dense than fat.
You may be wondering how you are going to measure your progress now that the scale doesn’t mean as much as it used to. Well, there are several methods to measure your body fat percentage. None of these methods are 100% accurate, but they will be much more useful than the use of a scale.
One of the simplest ways is to use a caliper. You can usually find these at your local sporting goods/fitness shop. If you can’t find them locally, you can order them off the internet. Calipers measure the thickness of a skin fold on your triceps. Then there are directions that come with the caliper that show you how to use the number you get to derive your body fat %.
If you don’t want to go out and buy some calipers, there is a body fat % calculator on my website. The calculator uses the circumference of several parts of your body and then plugs them into a formula developed by the U.S. Navy to derive an approximation of your body fat %.
You can find this calculator here: http://www.weight-loss-resources.com/calculators/bodyfat.html
There are also much more accurate ways to measure your body fat % like buoyancy testing or the use of special lasers.
If you insist on knowing your progress by weight loss and want to use a scale, try to weigh yourself at the same time everyday. Probably the best time would be right when you wake up in the morning and before you do anything.
So, your new goal should be to shoot for fat loss and not weight loss. Don’t necessarily trust the scale all the time as it can be deceiving - your weight is affected by more than just how much fat you have gained or lost. In addition, it is almost physiologically impossible to gain or lose a pound of fat in one day.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nathan Latvaitis runs a website at http://www.weight-loss-resources.com where you can find even more fitness/weight loss articles, product reviews, book reviews, calculators, a message board, and more.
Monday, July 23, 2018
Monday, January 10, 2011
Fast Weight Loss Plan - Intermittent Fasting Tops Them All!
I have been searching for a fast weight loss plan that is effective and easy to follow for years. After doing many different programs and getting varied results, I am going to touch on what I have found to be the best that there is.
For a weight loss plan to be effective, it will have to be easy to follow and cause you to lose significant fat, as well as provide lasting results. First of all, lets scratch off any of the fad diets and magic pills that never really work. If it seems too good to be true, it often is. I am more interested in showing you a fast weight loss plan that is not built on hype or results that depend on you buying a bunch of useless supplements.
To lose weight you need to have a calorie deficit
Of all of the different ways to lose weight, the common theme for any of them that work is causing a calorie deficit. In order to achieve weight loss, you need to use more calories on a consistent basis than you are taking in. It is pretty cut and dry and obviously no secret. All diets are geared towards you cutting calories in some way.
The problem with most diets though is that they are too hard to follow and you don't have much of a chance of sticking with them long term. If you need to depend on straight will power and desire to stick with your diet, you may as well quit now.
Regardless of how strong you start out, maintaining that same level of desire is not realistic. The fast weight loss plan that I mention below does not require you to be strict for any prolonged periods, which makes it much easier to follow.
The right diet as well as a proper exercise routine are key to any weight loss plan
Exercise is a key part of any weight loss plan also, and an effective diet along with the proper exercise routine will really kick your fat loss in to high gear. Once you have your diet straightened out, you should do some form of resistance training for maximum fat loss.
Most people think of walking or running on the treadmill when they decide to lose weight. I think that the treadmill may have its place in your plan but you should first get on an effective resistance training program. This will be the topic of another article though. For now, I am going to focus on the diet part of the equation.
Intermittent fasting helped me to lose 31 lbs
In my experience, intermittent fasting is the most effective way to cut your calories and cause weight loss. If you are not familiar with this term or do not know what intermittent fasting is, you will be pleasantly surprised when you discover how easy and effective it is.
Personally, I have been fasting for weight loss for around eight months. I went from 201 lbs on January 1st to 170 lbs in July of this same year from intermittent fasting. I lost 31 lbs in less than seven months and have never looked better. At the time of this article, I am 41 years old and am leaner than I have been since I was in my early twenties.
I think the reason that intermittent fasting is so effective is because it allows you to eat every day and pretty much eat how you normally do in between fasts. Of course the better you eat, the better your results will be, and your overall health will also improve.
But the key to remember is that if you change nothing else about your current diet and just add in fasting, you will still lose weight. This is why intermittent fasting is the best weight loss plan that I know of.
The ins and outs of this type of fasting are too broad to go over in this short article but I invite you to learn more about it and how effective it has been for me at my blog, Fitness Overhaul.
By: Kelly U
I am a real person that actually achieved the results mentioned above and have documented my daily weight since starting this plan. You can easily reach me at my blog or from my author profile with any questions. If you would like to finally leave all of the hype and lies behind and learn the real way to lose weight and get the body that you deserve, check out my blog at http://fitnessoverhaul.com. Once there, you can get a free 23 page ebook that will show you the 3 simple steps to weight loss.
For a weight loss plan to be effective, it will have to be easy to follow and cause you to lose significant fat, as well as provide lasting results. First of all, lets scratch off any of the fad diets and magic pills that never really work. If it seems too good to be true, it often is. I am more interested in showing you a fast weight loss plan that is not built on hype or results that depend on you buying a bunch of useless supplements.
To lose weight you need to have a calorie deficit
Of all of the different ways to lose weight, the common theme for any of them that work is causing a calorie deficit. In order to achieve weight loss, you need to use more calories on a consistent basis than you are taking in. It is pretty cut and dry and obviously no secret. All diets are geared towards you cutting calories in some way.
The problem with most diets though is that they are too hard to follow and you don't have much of a chance of sticking with them long term. If you need to depend on straight will power and desire to stick with your diet, you may as well quit now.
Regardless of how strong you start out, maintaining that same level of desire is not realistic. The fast weight loss plan that I mention below does not require you to be strict for any prolonged periods, which makes it much easier to follow.
The right diet as well as a proper exercise routine are key to any weight loss plan
Exercise is a key part of any weight loss plan also, and an effective diet along with the proper exercise routine will really kick your fat loss in to high gear. Once you have your diet straightened out, you should do some form of resistance training for maximum fat loss.
Most people think of walking or running on the treadmill when they decide to lose weight. I think that the treadmill may have its place in your plan but you should first get on an effective resistance training program. This will be the topic of another article though. For now, I am going to focus on the diet part of the equation.
Intermittent fasting helped me to lose 31 lbs
In my experience, intermittent fasting is the most effective way to cut your calories and cause weight loss. If you are not familiar with this term or do not know what intermittent fasting is, you will be pleasantly surprised when you discover how easy and effective it is.
Personally, I have been fasting for weight loss for around eight months. I went from 201 lbs on January 1st to 170 lbs in July of this same year from intermittent fasting. I lost 31 lbs in less than seven months and have never looked better. At the time of this article, I am 41 years old and am leaner than I have been since I was in my early twenties.
I think the reason that intermittent fasting is so effective is because it allows you to eat every day and pretty much eat how you normally do in between fasts. Of course the better you eat, the better your results will be, and your overall health will also improve.
But the key to remember is that if you change nothing else about your current diet and just add in fasting, you will still lose weight. This is why intermittent fasting is the best weight loss plan that I know of.
The ins and outs of this type of fasting are too broad to go over in this short article but I invite you to learn more about it and how effective it has been for me at my blog, Fitness Overhaul.
By: Kelly U
I am a real person that actually achieved the results mentioned above and have documented my daily weight since starting this plan. You can easily reach me at my blog or from my author profile with any questions. If you would like to finally leave all of the hype and lies behind and learn the real way to lose weight and get the body that you deserve, check out my blog at http://fitnessoverhaul.com. Once there, you can get a free 23 page ebook that will show you the 3 simple steps to weight loss.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
