Category Archives: Fat Loss

Truth about Fat Loss

Posted on by
Reply

In our bodies, fat is the primary form in which we store excess long-term energy. It is not readily available as an energy source like carbohydrates, and is meant to be used to sustain us in times of starvation, whether it is self-imposed or otherwise.

This is one of the main reasons why it is so difficult to lose body fat, especially when your drastically lower your daily calorie intake.

As soon as your body senses a sharp drop in your daily calorie intake, instead of burning unwanted body fat, as most people would like, it triggers the starvation response and starts to conserve its energy.

Converting your muscle to glucose and burning it as an energy source, is one of the ways your organism lowers its calorie burning ability, getting ready for starvation.

Your body can’t tell the difference between low calorie dieting and the beginning of starvation. As soon as your daily calorie intake drops below a certain point, your body will adjust to this new calorie intake by burning your muscle.

The other reason why it is difficult to lose unwanted body fat, is that our organism views body fat as a source of protection, and because of this, it is reluctant to give it up easily.

Throughout our bodies, fat is a component of cell membranes, it serves as a precursor to a variety of hormone-like substances, acts as an insulator against heat loss, and protects vital organs such as the kidneys and heart.

So if your goal is permanent fat loss, you must move toward this objective very slowly. The ultimate long term fat loss strategy is losing one to two pounds of body fat per week.

If you attempt to lose much more, your body will resist and fight you the whole time. In the end your body will always win by triggering its defense mechanisms and forcing you to eat what it needs to function properly!

What do you think of this post?
  • Awesome (2)
  • Interesting (1)
  • Useful (2)
  • Boring (0)
  • Sucks (0)

Cardio Burns Muscle Myth

Posted on by
1

Cardio-Burns-Muscle-Myth

Sure, it’s possible for you to lose muscle from doing too much cardio, but it’s highly unlikely. Shying away from cardio completely because you think you’ll lose muscle is a huge mistake. Only excessive amounts of cardio would cause you to lose muscle because over-training tips the scale towards the catabolic side. It’s difficult to generalize and pinpoint one specific amount as too much, but I think it’s safe to assume that just about anyone could do up to 45 -60 minutes of cardio a day, 6 to 7 days a week without losing any muscle – as long as the proper nutritional support is provided.

Losing muscle has more to do with inadequate diet than with excessive aerobics. If you suspect you are losing muscle there are four likely causes:

1. You are not eating enough calories to support muscle growth- This is the most common cause of muscle loss. When your calories are too low, your body goes into “starvation mode.” Your metabolism slows down and your body actually burns muscle tissue to conserve energy. Muscle is metabolically active tissue, requiring a great deal of caloric energy just to maintain it. That’s why your body will shed muscle if it thinks you are starving.

2. You are not training with weights- It is a common misconception that if you want to lose weight, you should start with cardio only and add the weights later – another big mistake! It is the weight training that keeps you from losing muscle while you are dieting.

You are much more likely to lose muscle from not eating enough than you are from doing too much cardio. All too often, people are afraid to eat a lot and do a lot of cardio at the same time. It doesn’t seem to make sense. Logically, it seems like the two would cancel each other out – but the opposite is true. Many people believe they must “starve” the fat by drastically lowering calories. Unfortunately, this approach can cause you to lose muscle along with the fat. The only way to maintain your lean mass while losing fat is to feed the muscles with plenty of nutritious calories and at the same time,burn the fat off with cardio.

3. You are not eating enough protein- Protein is the only nutrient that is actually used to build muscle. To stay anabolic you must eat five to six protein containing meals. Each meal should be spaced out approximately three hours apart. Research has proven that if you are physically active, you need a minimum of .8 grams to 1.4 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight.

4. Your carbohydrates are too low- Low carb diets are often used for fat loss, but it is a mistake to cut your carbs too drastically. Carbohydrates are protein-sparing , so even if you are eating large amounts of protein, you can still lose muscle if you your carbs are too low.




What do you think of this post?
  • Awesome (0)
  • Interesting (0)
  • Useful (0)
  • Boring (0)
  • Sucks (0)

Most Important Factors To Consider When Losing Weight And Burning Fat

Posted on by
Reply

Bruno.Abs

In general, people will practice cardiovascular activities and forget about weight bearing exercises when it comes to burning fat. Yet there are still many trainers who will say that aerobic exercises burn off fat and weightlifting is only used to build muscle bulk. This statement is not entirely correct because the more muscle mass one acquires through weight-bearing exercises, the more he will burn fat calories even at rest.

Cardiovascular activity combined with weight training will result in much more effective fat loss. Cardiovascular exercises will raise muscle metabolism during the activity and for a short time after the exercise session. Weight training, on the other hand, will raise your muscle metabolism during the exercise session and for a long time after the exercise session. Some high intensity trainers have even seen their metabolism rise for several days following their training session.

Performing adequate weight training exercises should limit your repetitions anywhere from 1 to 20 (more or less). Such resistance on muscles will make their tissue leaner and stronger. The muscle development will take place during the rest period following the resistance training. Therefore, sufficient rest periods are essential.

Whether your goal is to tone or build muscles, it is important to know what happens during the muscle training process. When lifting weights, muscle tissues are torn apart (at the microscopic level) from the stress, and it’s in the recuperation period that your muscles become stronger and, therefore, able to support the extra stress. Usually the recuperation period required is 24 to 48 hours after the weight lifting activity.

The last most important factor to consider when trying to burn fat or lose weight is that lots of muscle mass can be lost as a result. As muscle mass will keep your metabolism high, try to avoid quick weight loss through miracle diets or starvation. This weight loss will be regained just as quickly. Instead, opt for a gradual fat loss routine by combining weight training and cardiovascular activities, and allow muscle mass to build up and increase your metabolism. Results may take a little longer, but they will last for a longer period of time.

What do you think of this post?
  • Awesome (2)
  • Interesting (1)
  • Useful (1)
  • Boring (0)
  • Sucks (0)