Fat Loss Basics

There is simply too much information about weight loss or fat loss out there. It is very hard for the average person to truly understand the whole concept of weight loss simply by looking for information. There are so many different products and promotions out there that make stupid promises confusing the average Joe into thinking that fat loss can happen over a few weeks or months with very extreme results. Despite what you may have read or whatever “expert” or “guru” may suggest, weight loss is a long-term “project”. It takes as long to loose weight as it does to gain weight. The average Joe will gain something like 20 pounds a year if they don’t watch their diet. It is thus not unreasonable to assume that you can realistically loose 20 pounds a year if you control your diet. Naturally you can loose weight faster than that but it will require a significant diet and exercise program that most people will not be able to keep up in the long run.

The very first thing that I feel is vitally important in the science of weight loss and weight gain is that it is all about calories. The human body will burn a certain number of calories for everyday processes and your lifestyle activities. It will then use the food that you eat to fuel these activities. Any access the body will store this energy as fat and if there is a deficit then the body will burn the fat to make up for it. It really is that simple. Remember that you body is also a machine and as such it must conform to the laws of energy input and output. The body can only exert the energy that it has either consumed or stored. If the amount of energy (calories) is reduced then it below the point of which the body requires then it must resort to take calories from its stored energy. It is really that simple.

If you have to remember one thing about fat loss is that you must create a calorie deficit everyday before you sleep in order to for you to loose fat. Fat, as we have explained earlier is the form in which the body stores fuel for later consumption. If you body is only a constant calorie deficit then the body has no choice other than to use the fat as fuel. Burning fat however is very a very slow process and your body will only continue burning it if the deficit is small (e.g. 200-600 calories a day). Any more and the body will then go into starvation mode where your body will start to eat away at the muscles on your body as fuel. Your body cannibalizing its own muscles isn’t good news however you look at it, especially if you are trying to loose weight.

You can create a calorie deficit by either eating slight less of what you are used to eating or increase your calorie demand by performing some easy exercises that burn a sufficient amount of calories a day (e.g. 300-500 is more than sufficient). You can then cut back on your food by reducing your food consumption by a modest 200 calories and you are already into a caloric deficit mode.

Most weight loss journals will tell you that weight loss requires a very strict diet and very heavy levels of exercise. I would like to correct this as it is misleading. They should have said that a very strict diet and heavy levels of exercise are important if you want to loose weight very fast. It is not the ideal way to loose weight as your body will go into shock and will resist it by playing mind games with you. You will end up giving up because your body is telling you that something is wrong. This is the exact reason why so many people fail at this very simple job. If your weight loss is gradual your body will not stress out too much but instead will adapt to the new condition and start to burn fat as a fuel. Your body will not go into stress and you can live your life as you would everyday without the stress of hunger of excessive pain of over exercising.

Remember that proper fat loss requires time. Generally the longer your stretch out the weight loss program the more successful you will be at keeping to the fat loss program. This is both physiologically speaking and biologically speaking. A longer period means that you will not have to sacrifice as much and keep most of you daily routines intact with just a few minor changes to fit in a mild exercise and a slight change in diet. This means that you will be more inclined to keep to the changes. Physiologically speaking your body will also be more agreeable to the change and will not resist it as much. This is a good healthy way to make sure you reach your end goal.

The fact is that I could probably write an entire book about weight loss and how the body responds to different types of foods or exercise etc but we’re firstly here to teach you simply how to loose weight for that nicer butt and thigh. Remember that the whole idea is to make a caloric deficit and you are well on the way to loosing fat. Just keep it slow and gradual and you will ensure the goal will be met.