Losing Fat

Nearly 5 months into my Personal Training studies, and I've learned so much about the human body, about nutrition, about the body's energy systems, about workouts, and about a lot of other details I'd have trouble listing down.  To be sure, it's been a worthwhile journey, something I will always look fondly on, and will be a part of me forever.  It's the foundation for a lifetime of continued learning, and I want to pursue this at the highest levels next, something I will gear up for and achieve.

Probably the single most important concept I've learned is how the body uses (and loses) fat most efficiently.  Most people want to lose weight, I think that's the observation I've made when seeing people with trainers in the gym, and people in the gym in general.

You look at the layout of a gym, and it's really geared towards people who want to lose weight.  About 50% or more of a gym is filled with cardio machines, space for spinning, yoga, zumba, or other cardio or fitness classes.  About 25% is filled with weight "machines" meant more for novices to weight training and such.  And about 25% or less is filled with free weights or more advanced weight training equipment.  Of course, that's generic, and just the gyms I've visited in the past few years.  You'll always have your exceptions, like Gold's Gym, which caters towards a different crowd, and has a different layout.  But, the popular gyms like 24, ClubOne, ClueSport, or Equinox typically have this type of breakdown, catering to their clientele.

Most people think that a scale determines your weight, and hence your overall fitness.  If the scale reads lower, then that's good.  If it reads higher, that's bad.  They measure their progress strictly by how many pounds are measured on their scale.  So, "losing weight" is simply "losing pounds", and for most folks, it doesn't matter where those pounds come from, just as long as the scale is lower.

Take, for example, a typical female who wants to lose weight.  Her routine is to static stretch, then jog/run on a treadmill for 30 minutes, then do some targeted resistance training, maybe some hip ad/abductor machines, some core work, and some arms.  She'll do zumba, dance, maybe squeeze in a spinning class, a yoga class, or a body pump class to mix it up.  She'll do this for years and probably be fit, have great cardio, lose a few pounds, and probably look and feel much better than she did when she started.  So, the question is, what's wrong with that?

Well, nothing's "wrong" with that at all.  That's great!  And it's much better than another person who didn't do anything for as many years.  But, the main issue is the efficiency at which she reached her goals, and what she actually "lost" in terms of weight in the process.

Let's rewind a bit and take some measurements of the female before she started her routine.  Let's say she initially weighed 5'2", 165 lbs,was 35 years old, and had 40% body fat.  Technically, her BMI (at 30.18) and her body fat percentage (>32%) would put her in the "Obese" Category.  A good goal for her could be a BMI of 24.9, which is a "normal" BMI.  This would be 135 lbs.  That's 30 lbs. lost ... 30 lbs of FAT!

Let me say that again, 30 lbs. of FAT!  At 165 lbs and 35% body fat, she would have 66 lbs. of fat.  If she lost 30 lbs. of FAT and maintained her lean body mass (the rest minus the fat), she would weigh 135 lbs and at 26.7% body fat.  That would be an amazing accomplishment, to lose 13.3% of her body fat. To do that safely, and with everything ideal, it would take between 15-30 weeks to lose those 30 lbs. of fat.

Now, contrast this to a case where you just talked about weight.  Lose 30 lbs. sure.  But if those 30 lbs. were 10 lbs of fat, 15 lbs. of muscle, and 5 lbs. of water, would that be the same thing?  Obviously not!  Losing muscle to lose weight is not good.  Losing water to lose weight is not good.  What matters most is the fat loss, losing the excess adipose tissue, which can be so detrimental to your health.

The next question is ... how do we tweak what the female did in terms of working out to maximize the efficiency of the fat burn?  Good question ... wait for the next blog entry and I'll share that with you.