As a personal trainer, the most common answer I get when I ask new clients what their goals are say it is to ‘lose weight’.
I then ask ‘Do you want to lose weight or fat?’ Most people don’t know if there is a difference or what the difference is.
Well the difference is massive actually.
Someone who has lost 5kg of fat compared to 5kg of weight will have massively different results. Most people who say they want to lose weight probably do mean fat.
When people start dieting, I’m talking about the kind of diets which will promise you that you will drop 7 pounds in 7 days, Initially the weight will come off, this is mainly because your food intake has been dramatically reduced. You are probably not much closer to your ideal body shape because you haven’t just lost fat you have lost muscle as well.
As well as loose looking arms and legs, another problem with this dieting approach is if you returned to your old ways the weight would come straight back on, this time with extra body fat though!
So I would just like to summarise how losing fat compared to losing weight would affect our body:
• Losing fat would help to boost our metabolism and protect our muscles. Losing weight would mean you lose mostly muscle.
• Losing a lot of weight can leave you feeling weak and unwell where as losing fat makes you feel healthier and energised.
• You can lose weight without exercising; you will need to exercise to lose fat.
• Fat takes up a lot more space than muscle so by losing fat you will take more inches off your body.
• Muscle is firm, fat jiggles. Losing the fat will give you the best body you can hope for. Losing weight will only make good reading on an average set of scales.
The best way to drop fat
The best way you can go about this really is fairly straight forward on paper. Nutrition is crucial and regular exercise is important. Here are a few tips to keep you on the right track:
• Eat good quality protein with most of your meals
• Cut out bloating refined carbs such as white bread, pasta etc.
• Eat a small portion of high quality carbohydrates like brown rice instead with meals
• Eat as many vegetables as possible with each meal
• Eat fruit and nuts for breakfast and sometimes as a healthy dessert
• Drink plenty of water
• Exercise regularly through challenging cardio training as well as strength building training
So you are definitely on the right track to shifting a little bit of unwanted fat!
Keep it up,
Jamie
