Want to lose fat? Understand how does fat accumulate!

Before talking about how to lose fat, we need to know some facts about the fat.  We need to understand well how does fat accumulated in our body.  All of us know that we eat food to get energy in order to keep our bodies going and to allow us to be active.  Any energy that we do not use will be stored in our body as fat.  This fat is stored as a reserve that we draw on when we use more energy than we take in.

We will gain weight if we take in more energy than we use, which measured in calories.  If the calories we take in less than we use, we will lose weight and lose fat too.  Of course, if we keep taking in more than we use, then in the end we become obese.  This is the most basic thing you should know, and i assume you know it if you want to lose fat for healthy weight loss purpose.

Want to lose fat? Understand our body mechanism!

If you want to lose fat, you need to understand that our body has mechanisms for regulating our weight.  It controls the amount of energy we take by letting us feel either hungry or sated.  In addition, it also controls the amount of energy we use by various means, such as by changing our metabolic rate.  For example, if someone try to lose fat through diet, our body will sense it after a while and then reduce the body metabolic rate, align with the reduce calories taken in.  It means you need to take lesser and lessor food in order to lose fat.  This definitely not serve the healthy weight loss purpose.

Our body mechanisms are difficult to manipulate from the outside. Something might work for a short time and when the body somehow senses what is happening and finds a way of countering it, which is why many diets do not work well but only for a week or two to lose fat or weight.

Want to lose fat?  Understand fat can be addictive!

You need to know fat could be addictive if you really want to lose fat.  Study reveals that it takes up to twelve weeks to wean off one’s taste for fat.  When we eat foods with a relatively high calories content, which includes most junk or snack food, we tend to take in more calories before we feel sated.  Our blood sugar level will shoot up when we eat junk food.  To lower the blood sugar level, our pancreas may also secrete additional insulin to prevent the blood sugar level from rising, and this can make us feel hungry again sooner than we otherwise would.  As fat can be addictive, we will tend to eat back the jack food as it tastes so good.  At this stage, we are much more sensitive to the amount of food we consume than its calories content, which contributes to fat gain.

You really need to alert these if you really want to lose fat.  Besides understand these fat concepts, you also need to understand well the right exercise for you to lose fat for healthy weight loss purpose.

One of the most common reasons why people want to join a weight loss program is to enhance their physical attributes.  Anyway, health conscious should be the main reason if those who are really obese intend to lose weight.  Then weight loss surgery can be considered as a major procedure and for healthy weight loss purpose.  Of course, there are few complications and risks that are involved in weight loss surgery, even though it is quick, effective and simple.

Basically, there are two types of weight loss surgery that are commonly used in weight loss industry:  Malabsorptive procedure and restrictive procedures.

Malabsorptive Procedure

Malabsorptive procedure in the weight loss surgery works on altering digestion system, causing food to be poorly or incompletely absorbed and subsequently is eliminated in the stool.  There are several different types of malabsorptive weight loss surgery.  The common weight loss concept of this technique involves a bypass of the small intestine, thus limiting the absorption of the nutrient or calories intake.  When your body absorbs fewer calories, you will lose weight with the assumption that other factors remain the same.

Restrictive Procedure

Restrictive weight loss surgery refers to gastric bypass surgery, one of the popular weight loss methods.  Restrictive procedure works by altering the stomach size, thus reducing the amount of food that can be consumed at one time.  However, this procedure does not interfere with the normal absorption or digestion of food.  Patients emerge from this surgery are no longer able to eat really large meals as their appetites have shrunk, and they begin to feel full after small portioned meals.

Under restrictive weight loss surgery, it involves the creation of a small stomach pouch in the upper portion of the stomach, with its capacity of about one half to one ounce.  Through an outlet named stoma, the pouch is then connected to the rest of the stomach.  With reduced stomach capacity, it allows less food to feel full, so the patient can achieve weight loss results.

The eye-catching feature of restrictive weight loss surgery is the fact that patients can lose an average of 2/3 of their excess weight within the first two years following the surgery.  They can shed their extra weight very quickly with dramatic results.  However, the success of this weight loss surgery ultimately depends upon the ability of the patient to alter his or her eating habits.

Risk of Weight Loss Surgery

As I mentioned earlier, there are risks and dangers connected with the weight loss surgery.  Studies show that there are about 30% of people who develop vitamin deficiency after the weight loss surgery.  Besides, 10% to 20% of post op patients for restrictive surgery require follow up operations to correct resulting problems.  In addition, there are approximately 1/3 of the patients of this weight loss surgery develop gallstones.  There are also other issues that have frequently occurred in patients after the surgery, that normally not being told by your physician when you want to do the weight loss surgery.

Conclusion

Weight loss surgery may seem like an awesome answer for those who are really obese, and struggling with health complications.  However, you are only slightly overweight, weight loss surgery may not be the good solution to your weight issues.  In fact, perform right exercise and eat a well balanced diet is the best way in a healthy weight loss program.  Although weight loss surgery is a quick one with dramatic and immediate results, it is important to realize that it should be your last choice of healthy weight loss method.

In a healthy weight loss program, fighting FAT is always the key to a healthy, long term weight management program success formula.  That is why a well balanced, multifaceted approach is important in any program for weight loss so that you can lose weight in a healthy way.

Below are the mechanisms of a well balanced, multifaceted approach in a healthy weight loss program:

1) Control carbohydrate cravings
One of the important rules in a healthy weight loss program is: Do not go hungry!  If you feel hungry and do not eat, it will create unnecessary cravings and thus cause you eat a large quantity of carbohydrates.  Therefore it is very important for us to maintain the blood sugar at a normal level to avoid unnecessary cravings.

One of the ways to help you to maintain normal blood sugar level is through adjusting diet habit:
* Have mini frequent meals, the best is 5 times a day
* Eat more food that is high in fiber and low fat
* Consume plenty of essential nutrients including macronutrients and micronutrients
You might refer “calculate calories if you want to lose weight” article if you would like to have a simple diet habit.

2) Control stress
People tend to be stressed in any ways to lose weight (please get detailed information from this article).  That is why in a healthy weight loss program, this is one of the most important parts that needed to be highlighted so that you can lose weight in an easier and more effective way.

3) Control fats storage
Some people do take slimming pills or supplements to inhibit fats storage.  It is not wrong if you know how to choose a correct one.  In a healthy weight loss program, you need to aware this and take consideration of possible side effects of any slimming pills taken.  Please read my weight loss method article for weight loss methods and some ingredients that might be harmful to your health.

4) Increase metabolism
One of the good ways to increase your metabolism is no doubt through exercise.  What is important here is performing right weight loss exercise if you want to lose fats, NOT only lose weight as recommended in a healthy weight loss program.

Please consider a healthy weight loss program that provides a well balanced, multifaceted approach to lose weight effectively and healthily. It is your life, so you need to select the best weight loss approach for yourself and your loves one.

If you are being overweight and have excess body fat, you need to clearly know losing fat is totally different with losing weight.  In a healthy weight loss program, a loss in weight might just be a loss in body fluid or loss in lean muscle tissues.  Only loss in body fat and gain in lean muscle mass will let you enjoy lasting weight loss results, and thus be the correct weight loss method in the market.

Below are some of current weight loss methods in the market and possible side effects for your references.

Weight loss method #1: Slimming Drugs
Ephedrine: Controls cravings.
Side effects: Insomnia, constipation, hallucination

Diuretic: Loss of water, causing decrease in weight for temporarily
Side effects: Nausea, dizziness, lower blood pressure

Slimming pills (prescription): Lipase inhibitor
Side effects: Diarrhea, bloating

(Note: please refer weight loss supplement article for other ingredients that bring side effects to our body)

Weight loss method #2: Diet
Atkins Diet: Consumes only meat and no carbohydrates
Side effects: Increase kidneys’ burden.  May cause spasm or osteoporosis

Fasting: Loss of water
Side effects: Loses lean muscle rapidly.  May cause palpitation, weakness and even death

Low calorie meal: Short term effective results
Side effects: May cause malnutrition in the long run

Weight loss method #3: Surgery
Liposuction: An operation that removes unwanted fats from specific areas, including abdomen, hips, buttocks, thighs.
Side effects: Possibility of gaining weight again

Gastric restrictive procedure- Vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG): Reduce the size of stomach by 15% to 30%.
Side effects: May cause future digestive and absorption problem

Other Weight loss methods
Sauna, Steam bath:  Temporary water loss
Side effects:  Weight is gained back after water is added back to body

Acupuncture, Accu-pressure: Control appetite
Side effects:  Appetite resumes once the treatments is stopped

Slimming apparels: Increase your body temperature, perspiration
Side effects: Weight  is gained back after water is added back to body

Please understand thoroughly about weight loss method you decide to use in any program for weight loss.  No matter which weight loss method you choose, it is always to put safety at the first place.  In a healthy weight loss program, it is advisable to have right weight loss concept, perform right exercise as well as eat right food and nutrition so that you can enjoy optimal weight loss results.

A body fat analyzer is best justify why some people do not satisfied about their body shape although they are in the healthy body weight range. This is because they have excess of unwanted body fat.

How does body fat percentage read from body fat analyzer effects our appearance? Let me explain in example.  A person of 50kg and body fat of 22% has a totally different outlook with another person with same height and weight but different body fat of 32%.  The first one has 11kg of body fat while the other one has 16kg of fat.  Where do you think the differences of 5kg of body fat go?

Actually, the body fat goes mainly to two places in the body.  People who tend to store fat mostly in their hips and buttocks have roughly a pear body shape, while people who tend to store fat mostly in the abdomen have more of an apple body shape.

Get your body fat percentage from the body fat analyzer and compare with the body percentage range at following table.  You can calculate your excess unwanted body fat before you start any program for weight loss.

and

For example, if the body percentage of a 35 years old female with 60kg is 32%, this mean she is in the warning range.  Taking average percentage of 24% in the healthy range, she has excess of body fat of 8%, which equals to 4.8kg of body fat! If you cannot imagine how heavy is it, just assume you have a bottle of 5 liters oil with you day and night, no matter what you do where you are.

This is the reason why you need to stand on a body fat analyzer.  You would have a clear picture of your body composition especially body fat so that further action can be taken.  You cannot improve something from nothing.  So, get the measurement from body fat analyzer before enroll to any program for weight loss.  You might work out your own weight loss plan such as change your diet habit, try to do the right exercise etc to get rid of the excess body fat.

What is BMR Calculation?

Before any BMR calculation, you might ask what is BMR? Actually, BMR (basal or resting metabolic rate) is the number of calories that our body requires on a daily basis if we stay in bed all day and do nothing. It goes to the functioning of vital organs in the body such as the pumping blood to the heart, repairing the worn out cells, temperature regulation etc.

Most Popular BMR Calculation Method

The most well known way in BMR calculation is the Harris Benedict equation. This calculation is more accurate than determining calorie needs based only on total body weight. Anyhow, the Harris Benedict equation does not take lean body mass into consideration. Calculations will be accurate in all except for the extremely muscular and the extremely obese people.

English BMR calculation Formula:
Female: 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) – ( 4.7 x age in years )
Male: 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) – ( 6.8 x age in years )

Metric BMR calculation Formula:
Female: 655 + ( 9.6 x weight in kg ) + ( 1.8 x height in cm ) – ( 4.7 x age in years )
Male: 66 + ( 13.7 x weight in kg ) + ( 5 x height in cm ) – ( 6.8 x age in years )

Example for BMR Calculation

For example, a female of 35 years old with 50kg in weight and 160cm in height will get her BMR of 1253 after putting the figures into the BMR formula above. This mean the basic amount of calories her body needed to expend is 1253 even if she is just lying in bed 24 hours.

Next, let’s calculate the number of calories your need to support your daily activities. Simply multiply the figure getting from BMR calculation by the below number, depending of what type of activities you do.
=> 1.15 if you don’t exercise at all
=> 1.30 if you exercise lightly 1 to 3 times per week,
=> 1.55 if you exercise moderately 3 to 5 times per week,
=> 1.80 if you exercise hard 6 to 7 times per week
=> 1.90 if you have a physically demanding job or are trained for a sports competition such as a marathon.

Take for the same example. If she does exercises 2 times per week, the total number of calories she needs to support her daily activities is 1629 (1253 x 1.3).  As long as her calorie intake does not exceed 1629, this lady can maintain her current weight with the assumption that all other factors remain the same.

For those who want to lose weight, it is advisable that the calories intake should not less than your BMR calculation figure or 1000 calories per day.  If you consume less than this amount, your body will think it is under starving and thus slow your metabolism accordingly to conserve body fat. This is definitely not the desired effect you want in losing weight!

In a healthy weight loss program, we can have alternative ways to improve our weight loss results.  After getting the BMR calculation figure, we can easily lose more pounds by simply boosting metabolism through adjusting our lifestyle and diet habit.

Just do your BMR calculation today if you are serious in your program for weight loss.

The following simple equations are used to know your body weight workouts:
Calories Consumed > Calories Expended  = Body Weight Increase
Calories Consumed < Calories Expended  = Body Weight Decrease

We need to consume extra 7,700 calories to increase 1 kg of body weight. And of course we need to expend the same of amount of 7,700 calories to lose 1 kg of body weight.

To have a better understanding of the body weight workouts, let’s have a look of below example. If you consume 200 calories more than what you expend daily, you will gain 4.7kg in six months time. Mathematics never tell lies.

1 day => 200 calories
1 month => 200 calories x 30 = 6,000 calories
6 month => 6000 calories x 6 = 36,000 calories.
Divide by 7,700 calories => 4.7kg

(Note: 1 kg = 2.2046 pounds)

Decrease or increase in body weight will have direct effect on our body fat. The only ways to decrease our body weight | fat are :
1) Increasing calories expenditure by enhancing lipolysis and boosting metabolism

2)Decreasing calories consumption by controlling the desire for carbohydrates and managing cortisol levels, which helps deter the body’s tendency to store fat.

3)Decreasing body fat storage by breaking down fat molecules and enhance fat metabolism

You need to understand well how your body weight workouts and BMR calculation before any action taken to lose weight. Only know the correct ideas and tips on weight loss, you can enjoy a better and healthier life.

Healthy Body Weight Is Important

Nearly one over six of the world population is having overweight issue according to the World Health Organization. So, it is important for us to know whether we have a healthy body weight range.

Below are 2 standards we can use to know if we are in the healthy body weight range.

1) Body Mass Index (BMI)

In general, healthy body weight can be defined as a body mass index (BMI) equal to or greater than 18.5 and less than 22.9 among all people aged 21 or over.

BMI =

Weight (kg)

—————————-

Height (m) x Height (m)

Below is the World Health Organization guidelines for adults body weight classification:

Classification of BMI:

* Underweight: Below 18.5

* Healthy body Weight: 18.5 – 22.9

* Overweight: 23.0 – 27.4

* Obese: 27.5 and above

For example, the BMI of a female with height of 167cm and weight of 60kg is 21.51. This is under a healthy body weight range.

2) Know your Ideal Body Weight

You might get your ideal weight through the below equation:

Female: (Height (cm) – 70) x 0.6

Male: (Height (cm) – 80) x 0.7

* Normal Weight: 10% higher than ideal body weight

* Overweight: 10% to 20% higher than ideal body weight

* Obese: more than 20% higher than ideal body weight

(Note: 1kg = 2.2046 pound; 1 m = 100cm; 1inch = 2.54cm, 1 feet = 12 inch)

Don’t jump into any program for weight loss or try ways to lose weight before you know your current weight condition. When you start to concern to have a healthy body weight range, you are moving a step forward to manage your own health and beauty.