Getting results from fitness weight control is the most powerful weight control formula. This is because it combines dietary modification with exercise.
Just about everybody seems to be interested in weight control. Some of us have the right weight. While others may need to gain a few pounds. So, whatever our goals in fitness weight control, we should understand and take advantage of the important role of exercise in managing our weight.
This is because excess body fat has been linked to such health problems as heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, diabetes, arthritis, and certain forms of cancer. Some evidence exists showing that obesity has a negative effect on both health and longevity.
Overweight Or Overfat?
Being overweight and overfat does not always mean the same thing. Some people are quite muscular and weigh more than the average for their age and height. However, their body composition, the amount of fat versus lean body mass is within a desirable range. So by assessing body composition, you are able to distinguish between “overweight” and “overfat.”
Overfat
While others weigh an average amount yet carry around too much fat. A certain amount of body fat is necessary for everyone. For example, experts say that percent body fat for women should be about 20%, and for men about 15%. So women with more than 30% and men with more than 25% fat are considered obese.
An easy self-test you can do is to pinch the thickness of the fat folds at your waist and abdomen. If you can pinch an inch or more of fat (make sure no muscle is included), chances are you have too much body fat.
Overweight
But if you exercise appropriately, your lean body mass increases, while your overall fat level drops. So, depending on the amount of fat lost, this can mean a loss of inches without weight loss since muscle weighs more than fat. However, with the proper combination of diet and exercise, both body fat and overall weight can be reduced.
Energy Balance
Energy balance is referred to as the number of calories you take in and use up during the day. By learning how to balance energy intake (calories in food) with energy output (calories used through physical activity) you will be able to achieve your desired weight.
The concept of energy balance is relatively simple, though the underlying causes and the treatment of obesity are complex. If you eat more calories than your body needs to perform your day’s activities, the extra calories are stored as fat. If you do not take in enough calories to meet your body’s energy needs, your body will go to the stored fat to balance up. But, exercise helps ensure that stored fat, rather than muscle tissue, is used to meet your energy needs.
So it is down to the fact that if you eat just about the same amount of calories to meet your body’s energy needs, your weight will stay the same. On average, a person consumes between 2200 and 2500 calories daily! An active person needs more calories than a sedentary person. Since physically active people require energy above and beyond the day’s basic needs.
Counting Calories
It is a fact that each pound of fat your body stores represents 3,500 calories of unused energy. Therefore, in order to lose one pound, you would have to create a calorie deficit of 3,500 calories. This can be done by either taking in 3,500 fewer calories over a period of time than you need. Or doing 3,500 calories worth of exercise.
It is recommended that no more than two pounds (7,000 calories) be lost per week for lasting weight loss. And by adding 15 minutes of moderate exercise, say walking one mile, to your daily schedule, you will use up 100 extra calories per day. Your body uses approximately 100 calories of energy to walk one mile, depending on your body weight.
If you adhere to maintaining this weight control schedule, you will use up an extra 700 calories per week. Or a loss of about 10 pounds in one year, assuming your food intake stays the same.
Calorie use through exercise
Let’s look at energy balance another way. For instance, just one extra slice of bread or one extra soft drink a day, or any other food that contains approximately 100 calories, can add up to ten extra pounds in a year.
On the other hand, if you already have a lean figure and want to keep it. What you need to do is to exercise regularly and eat a balanced diet that provides enough calories to make up for the energy you expend.
And if you wish to gain weight, you should exercise regularly and increase the number of calories you consume. At least until you reach your desired weight, exercise will turn weight gained into lean muscle mass.
The Diet Connection
A balanced diet should be part of any weight control plan. A diet high in complex carbohydrates, and moderate in protein, and fat will complement an exercise program. This means your diet should include enough calories to satisfy your daily nutrient requirements. Also an adequate number of servings per day from the “basic four food groups”. For example vegetables and fruits (4 servings), bread and cereals (4 servings), milk and milk products (2 – 4 depending on age), and meats and fish (2 servings).
Experts recommend that your daily intake should not fall below 1200 calories unless you are under a doctor’s supervision. Similarly, weekly weight loss should not exceed two pounds.
Avoid crash diets
Remarkable claims have been made for a variety of “crash” diets and diet pills. And some of these very restricted diets result in noticeable weight loss in a short time. Much of the loss is water which is quickly regained when normal food and liquid intake resumes. These diet plans are often expensive and may be dangerous. Moreover, they do not emphasize lifestyle changes that help you maintain your desired weight. Likewise, dieting alone will result in a loss of valuable body tissue such as muscle mass in addition to the loss of fat.
What Kind of Exercise?
In order to get results from fitness weight control, you need to exercise. Although any kind of physical movement requires energy, the type of exercise that uses the most energy is aerobic exercise. Jogging, brisk walking, swimming, biking, cross-country skiing, and dancing are some forms of aerobic exercise.
Aerobic exercise does is use the body’s large muscle groups in continuous, rhythmic, sustained movement and requires oxygen for the production of energy. When oxygen is combined with stored fat, energy is produced to power the body’s muscles. So the longer you move aerobically, the more energy is needed and the more calories used.
Furthermore, regular aerobic exercise will improve your cardiorespiratory endurance. This is the ability of your heart, lungs, blood vessels, and associated tissues to use oxygen to produce the energy needed for an activity. So getting results from fitness weight control allow you to build a healthier, body while getting rid of excess body fat.
In addition to aerobic exercise, you can supplement your program with muscle strengthening and stretching exercises. The stronger your muscles, the longer you will be able to keep going during aerobic activity. And the less chance of injury.
How Much? How Often?
In getting results from fitness weight control activities, experts recommend that you do some form of aerobic exercise. At least three times a week for a minimum of 20 continuous minutes. And, if that is too much, start with a shorter time span and gradually build up to the minimum. Then steadily progress until you are able to work aerobically for 40 minutes. If you need to lose a large amount of weight, you may want to do your aerobic workout five times a week.
You can also do different types of aerobic activities, say walking one day or riding a bike the next. Simply ensure you choose an activity that can be done regularly and is enjoyable. Remember not to skip too many days between workouts. Otherwise, you will lose the fitness benefits. But, if you lose a few days, gradually work back into your routine.
Bottom Line
Conclusively, getting results from a fitness weight control program that is effective is not only doable but can also give you excellent results. By increasing your daily physical activity, and decreasing your caloric input, you can lose excess weight in the most efficient and healthful way.
Why Exercise Focuses On Fitness
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389
Photo Credit: Creative Commons
