You don’t lose weight for many reasons. Primarily, you gain weight because you eat too much and burn too little calories. But, there are many other pieces that affect the weight loss and fat loss puzzle. If you focus more on the total health picture, you will succeed with weight loss and fat loss.
Focusing on total health forces you to think beyond next week, next month or next year. You will tend to have a lifetime health and fitness attitude. If you are going to live longer, you want to have a quality life. Its difficult to have a quality life if your health and fitness is lacking.
In an About.com poll, 65 percent of site visitors said they were losing weight for appearance. And, only 35 percent said they were losing weight for health. That's why quick weight loss programs (with no long-term benefits) continue to sell out.
You can have both health and great appearance. If you achieve the optimal weight loss and body fat percentage, you will look and feel your best.
Here are some things you can do to help your body work for you in your weight loss quest:
1. Don’t wreck your metabolism by jumping from fad diet to fad diet. This usually leads to yo-yo weight loss and even more weight gain. If you consistently eat too little (severe calorie restriction), your metabolism will shift to survival mode, slow down and store fat. And, when you do decide to eat more, you are likely to binge eat. Its best to eat small meals every three to four hours to keep your metabolism active.
2. Build muscle and you will speed up your metabolism, burn fat and lose weight. That requires full body weight training two to three days a week.
3. Follow your meal plan. You don’t have to be perfect. Just comply with your meal plan about 90 percent of the time and you will be successful. Rewarding yourself for reaching weight loss goals (like a reward meal) is good and protects you against binge eating.
4. You may need to get your body checked for hypothyroidism. If thyroid hormone levels decrease, your metabolism slows down and this can cause you to gain weight.
5. Chronic stress or stress with no end in sight has major health implications. Adrenaline will continue to be secreted but the body and the fat cells will build up a tolerance to it. This means that the fat cells won't be converted to energy and cortisol will continue to increase glucose in the blood. This means the weight gain and fat gain begins to happen, if left unchecked.
6. Get enough sleep! Researchers have found that the less sleep the test subjects got, the higher their body fat. The shorter sleep time altered the subjects hormone levels, energy decreased and appetite increased. And we already knew that decreased energy affects your workout performance. What's enough sleep? The general rule is eight hours of sleep a night. Some may need more sleep or a little less than eight hours. Don't sabotage your exercise program and weight loss goals by not getting enough shut-eye.
Your body will behave correctly if you treat it right. You may need to change up some things in order to achieve health and weight loss.
Mark Dilworth, BA, PES, CPT is a Certified Personal Trainer and former NCAA Division I athlete. Mark’s Fat Blaster Athletic Training System has been proven to give his clients the fit, sculpted and athletic-type bodies they want. Visit Mark’s sites:
MyFitnessHut http://myfitnesshut.blogspot.com
HerFitnessHut http://herfitnesshut.com
Sports Fitness Hut http://sportsfitnesshut.blogspot.com