Why Your Weight Isn’t Important For Getting Fit
Posted by: HealthyGirl / Category: Weight Loss
Sometimes the wording we use makes a problem harder to solve. If you’re too fat, you say you want to lose weight. But whether they know it or not, what they should concentrate on is healthy fat loss. Getting that distinction right makes all the difference.
Why Losing Weight Isn’t the Answer
Even health care professionals sometimes fail to draw a distinction between weighing too much and having too high a body fat percentage. Imagine that you and your identical twin go to the doctor for a checkup. The doctor tells you that you’re both overweight and recommends that you lose 20 pounds. Your literal-minded twin decides to concentrate on losing weight as fast as possible by going on one of the popular quick weight loss diets.
You decide on a different approach. You invest in a quality fitness program, which leads you to start eating healthier without going on any extreme diet. You begin lifting weights, and start doing cardio workouts. Your goal is a lower body fat percentage and higher fitness level instead of maximum weight loss.
Half a year passes and you and your twin are back at the doctor for a follow up visit. Your twin has lost the 20 pounds the doctor wanted them to, but you’ve only lost a few pounds. Yet the doctor tells your twin that they need to lose 10 more pounds while telling you that you are in great shape and don’t have to lose anything. How can that be?
Fat Loss, Not Weight Loss, Is What Matters
Your twin followed the doctor’s literal advice to lose weight, while you concentrated on what’s important: getting fit and losing body fat. While your twin has lost all the weight the doctor ordered and then some, look at them. They’re skinnier than they used to be. But they’re still looking kind of flabby. And you’ve also noticed that they have less energy than they used to, and honestly, they don’t look as healthy as they used to.
In their quest to lose a lot of weight fast, they did reduce the amount of fat they’re carrying. But they also lost muscle mass too. As a result, the ratio of fat to lean tissue on their body (their body fat percentage) hasn’t changed much. It might even have gotten worse, leaving them with a higher body fat percentage than when they started losing weight.
Your situation is totally different. Sure, you didn’t lose the amount of weight the doctor recommended. But with all that exercise and healthy eating, you’ve added some muscle to your frame. And even though the number on the scale hasn’t changed much, you can somehow fit into those old jeans that used to be way too tight. And you don’t look flabby anymore.
Now look at you. You’ve only lost a few pounds. But you’ve added some muscle to your frame and lost a good bit of body fat. Your body fat percentage has improved a lot. You also don’t look flabby anymore. You look toned and fit. Plus you’re full of energy.
Remember That Body Fat & Fitness Are What Really Count
You need to understand that people misspeak when they talk about losing weight. Concentrating on weight loss instead of fat loss is a big mistake and a big reason why people remain fat and unhealthy. Find a great fitness program and follow it. Soon you’ll start seeing results and stop obsessing about your weight. You’ll see and feel the results and no one will care about the number you see on the scale.
Tags: body fat percentage, fat loss, get fit at last, Weight Loss
