For the last few decades losing weight was all about restricting food intake and adding lots of low intensity long duration activities in the hope of forcing our body to use up its fat stores. We have all been conditioned by the billion dollar weight loss industry to believe that it was all about losing weight and it did not matter much as to what sort of weight that was as long as the scales were coming down and saying lower numbers.
But now we know better and understand that weight loss is not necessarily fat loss. There is a big difference – one is made up of fat, muscle tissue and water (weight) and the other is just body fat which when reduced solely is what is going to give us a tight sleek body. If we just lose weight we tend to end up weak and flabby from the loss of precious muscle tissue and body fluids and feel awful in the process.
A fat loss program is not a weight loss program
Losing excess body fat is very different kettle of fish from just losing weight. A modern fat loss program focuses on balancing fat storing/fat burning hormones and is all about creating a healthy fat burning metabolism (the body’s engine) to burn excess fat from the body.
To achieve this the quality of food in a fat loss program is very important. Nutrient dense foods are favored along with quality protein which is the basis of each of 4-6 small meals eaten every 2-3 hours. You will even be eating more food than you think you should be but the reason for this is to boost your metabolism (your body’s engine) as it has to work much harder to process nutrient rich natural foods.
On a fat loss program processed non-nutrient foods are reduced or eliminated as it has been well proven the chemicals and additives used in food processing play havoc with the delicate appetite regulation hormones. Packaged, prepared foods work against our fat burning processes as they increase food cravings which make eating right much more difficult.
You can never call a fat loss program a diet in the sense that it involves harsh food restriction. Calories are reduced but only a fraction – maybe a hundred or two each day so you hardly notice it. The idea is to increase calorie burning through the use of proper strengthening exercise to tone up weak flabby muscles that have low energy requirements.
A fat loss program is about making your body more efficient at fat burning
You want your firm toned muscles back in the game working for you again like little factory workers gobbling up the excess fat every minute of the day and night. No matter whether you are exercising or simply horizontal on the couch watching TV or even sleeping they will be burning up to 15 percent more fuel (calories) each day. This is how you will not only lose that excess fat weight but keep it off for the long term.
On the old fashioned weight loss program the restriction of food was so cruel that the diet left one weak and tired after a couple of weeks. Sure the scales may have showed a large initial drop but once you fell off the diet (and we all did) the weight came back quicker than you ever believed possible as your body grabbed all the excesses it could and stored them in case you did some dumb dieting again.
A proper fat loss program is something that can be lived with long term and fits into your lifestyle without any major changes. A couple of strength training sessions each week will soon tone you up and boost metabolism and your small healthy meal plan will give you plenty of energy to do justice to your exercise program and put a some effort into it.
The best thing about a proper fat loss program is that is always gives you more, more food, more energy, more strength and more results. A weight loss diet on the other hand is about less, less food, less energy, less strength and a whole lot of misery.
When you create your new strong, lean, slim, healthy body doing it the right way you will look and feel fantastic. And the best part is your body is going to be doing most of the work while you simply get on with your life. There is no better or effective way of reclaiming your feel-good slim body than a structured fat loss program. The sooner you get started the sooner it will happen for you.
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