Maximizing Fat Loss
As a personal trainer, something I hear often when I start to work with a new client is, “I eat right and exercise but I am still not losing weight.” Many people sincerely think they are doing everything right when in fact they are not doing exactly what needs to be done to maximize fat loss. After all, weight loss should be about losing only fat, not losing water weight and lean tissue. So before you set out on a weight loss plan be aware that the goal is to lose body fat. Step 1 is to understand metabolism. Metabolic rate refers to your body’s energy expenditure or amount of calories you burn. As you age your metabolism slows, effectively replacing muscle weight with fat weight. You eat the same way for years and then suddenly you have gained 10 to 15 pounds. Thank your metabolism and inactivity. If you have not been active or exercise sporadically, you have lost muscle (a calorie burner) which in turn results in gained fat. For example – suppose you burn 100 fewer calories a day due to a slowing metabolism as you age. That is 700 extra calories each week that you don’t need. Eating as you always have with this slowed metabolism adds 1 pound of fat to your body in 5 weeks. That’s 10 pounds a year!
On to the second step, understanding how many calories you need to maintain your current weight and how many you need to lose weight. There are many places to go to for this information, here’s one: mayoclinic.com has a great calorie calculator. It’s no surprise that one of the things you will need to do is input your age – remember your calorie requirements will decline with age. Don’t go searching for calorie counters yet, there is one more step to go.
Step 3 to maximizing fat loss is consistent and intense exercise. Just as people underestimate the calories they eat in a day, they tend to overestimate the frequency and intensity of their exercise. Don’t fool yourself by measuring intensity by sweat or thinking back over the week and trying to remember, “Was that 2 days or 4 days this week I exercised.” Sweat during exercise varies based on age, gender, environment and fitness level, not calories burned. Short of buying a heart rate monitor, the most practical way to measure intensity of exercise is using intuitive measures. Your heart rate and breathing should be elevated. You should be able to talk but not carry on a full conversation. That walk with a friend around the block catching up a week’s worth of news or that magazine you read during 30 minutes you spend on the treadmill is not helping you maximize your burn fat. You have to feel that you are challenging yourself. Start with walking and use intervals of a steady pace for long periods of time to burn fat mixed with intervals where you go harder and push yourself to use more calories. Stored carbohydrates and stored fat are burned the moment you start to exercise with the percentage of fat burned increasing with the duration of exercise. Maximizing fat loss during exercise means exercising most days of the week, consistently each week. Exercise with bursts of intensity, for as long as you can with a minimum of 30 minutes to 60 minutes, in addition to a warm up and cool down of 7 to 10 minutes. Strength training on two non-consecutive days during the week will build that calorie burning muscle, offsetting the aging effects of a slowing metabolism and help shape that new leaner body.
With the understanding that eating the same calories as you age with an inactive lifestyle, and a slower metabolism adds to weight gain you need to find out what your calorie needs are now. Get those calorie needs and subtract 500 calories for a goal of one pound a week of weight loss. To make sure that weight loss is actually fat loss get moving. Start walking at a good pace with intervals of pushing harder, for as long as you can, most days to maximize fat loss. Add 2 days of strength training with dumbbells or resistance bands to shape your new low fat body. Keep a notepad with your daily calories and exercise information to keep yourself honest and then get some sleep.
Step 4, get a lot of sleep. Studies have found that sleep deprivation increases levels of a hunger hormone (ghrelin) and decreases levels of a hormone that makes you feel full (leptin). The effects may lead to overeating and weight gain. With less sleep the hormone for hunger rises in your blood.
Maybe a link to weight gain: Sixty-five percent of Americans are overweight or obese while an estimated 63% of American adults do not get the recommended eight hours of sleep a night.
So, TIVO your favorite shows past 10pm, tire yourself out during the day with long, intense exercise, have an eating cut off time each night and get some sleep to maximize your fat loss!