Of course, we all need to move and be active in order to stay healthy, keep our muscles toned, our cholesterol ratio appropriate our heart and lungs conditioned, our joints limber and our stress level down. But why specifically is
Of course, we all need to move and be active in order to stay healthy, keep our muscles toned, our cholesterol ratio appropriate our heart and lungs conditioned, our joints limber and our stress level down. But why specifically is it important to exercise when trying to reduce body fat?
The first and most obvious reason is that exercise will assist with the goal. The more exercise you can fit in the more body fat you will burn as energy to sustain the activity.
By burning more calories from increased activity and in-taking less calories by restricting calorie laden foods or simply restricting portion size, you will create a calorie deficit that results in body fat loss.
The important thing here is that you are going for fat reduction not simply body weight reduction.
I have over the course of my long career as a personal fitness trainer and nutritional consultant met many people who are small in size but are fat. They don’t have a shred of muscle on their little bodies and when I test their body composition with my fat calipers they actually come up “over fat,” although to look at them, you would think they are lean.
Very little muscle just skin and fat. So it is important to focus on what counts here by changing your body composition with exercise and also reduce the fat level by strategic diet and exercise.
So you notice that I use the term lose body fat, not lose body weight. The reason is that muscle weighs more than fat.
It is a more dense tissue and by exercising as you lose body fat you may actually weigh a little more. You have improved the quality of your body tissues. You can’t “turn muscle into fat” by stopping exercise and you can’t turn fat into muscle either. They are two entirely different types of tissue. Muscle is built from protein which is comprised of amino acids.
You may be familiar with protein powders and shake formulas that bodybuilders and other fitness enthusiasts use. The protein drinks give their muscles the raw materials that are required for muscle growth and replenishment after a good workout.
Fat, on the other hand, is comprised of fatty acids and serves as a storehouse of energy, acts as padding for tissues, and assists in nerve conduction, assists as a carrier in the blood and in the formation of certain hormones and vitamins.
Some body fat is required. The generally accepted healthy range of body percent fat for adult women is from 19 percent to 25 percent and for men from 15 percent to 19 percent.
Over 30 percent body fat for both genders is considered at risk for things such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart and vascular diseases, cancer and inflammatory diseases associated with metabolic syndrome.
Athletes tend to be on the lower end of the spectrum and can approach single digit percent body fat reading simply because they are muscular and active.
So here’s the wonderful thing about using exercise to get lean. The more muscular you become, the higher your metabolic rate becomes.
That means that just sitting around you burn more calories than the average person. This is because muscle requires energy to be sustained whereas fat does not. Fat is an energy storage tissue not an energy burning tissue.
Sometimes when people embark on a weight reduction project they get very focused on the weigh scale (some weight loss companies also preach this line of reasoning).
This typically is not a good idea. The scale can be fickle. If you restrict calories but eat something salty or carbohydrate laden you will retain water, which will make you appear to weigh more.
Many things can affect your weight on a scale that have nothing to do with the reality of reducing fat and gaining muscle. The best guidelines are how your clothes look and feel and what the fat calipers tell you.
Exercise not only helps you lose the fat but helps you keep is off. It is a natural and healthy thing to do. I always point to the activities of little kids.
They love to run, play actively and eat well until we shove them into a desk, feed them junk and then expect them to sit still and pay attention.
As much as possible try to go as naturally as possible through your life and include a good amount of activity to optimize your body and free spirit.
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Jane Riley certified personal trainer, certified nutritional adviser and certified behavior change specialist. She can be reached at janerileyfitness@gmail.com (808) 212-8119 cell and www.janerileyfitness.com
