All You Need To Know About Losing Body Fat

Weight loss, fat loss, inch loss and some of the other related topics have become very popular nowadays due to the growing enthusiasm among people for fitness mainly to change their body size and being able to fit in all the different types of clothes they wish to wear on different occasions to impress others.

But is fitness all just about your appearance and looks?

A big NO! If it were true, everyone would have supported fit and fat looks simultaneously! Because each one of us is beautiful in this world, no matter what our body size is, there is life more than just about how all of us look.

So, all the people who are overweight with fat and suffering from obesity, just realize that YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL from the outside! But, unfortunately, what you need to know is that you all are NOT beautiful from the inside! Here I am NOT talking about your behaviour, nature, feelings and emotions but about your internal health!

What is Obesity?

Obesity is a condition or disorder when a person has excessive body fat which increases the risk of health problems. It is generally considered when an individual’s Body Mass Index (BMI) is above the normal range. 

What can obesity or more body fat lead to?

• Some of the very common diseases occurring these days like High Blood Pressure, Heart Attacks, Cancer, Diabetes, Coronary Vascular Disease, Coronary Artery Disease, High Cholesterol are all happening mostly due to obesity. 
• High BP increases the heart’s workload which can cause strokes, kidney diseases and heart failures.
• Cholesterol is a substance produced by the body and found in food from animals as well, is essential to form hormones, cell membranes etc. but too much cholesterol can cause plaque formation on the lining of blood vessels, which may lead to heart attacks.
• Diabetes is caused by high levels of blood glucose. It can cause defects in insulin secretion, a hormone known to maintain or lower our blood sugar level. This disease is associated with some serious health complications.
• A person may suffer from some of the other worst conditions due to obesity like breathing disorders, depression, kidney damage, liver disease, joint disease (arthritis) etc.

What can cause obesity?

1. Eating too much with a sedentary lifestyle : When we consume high amounts of calories, particularly, fats and sugars, and do not burn off that energy through any kind of physical activity, much of the surplus energy gets stored as body fat.
2. Emotional eating/Stress eating : It’s a kind of eating when a person is affected by something, uses food to make himself feel better and satisfies not only his physical hunger but also his emotional needs. This way of eating mostly includes the bad type of food which has saturated, trans fat (the bad type of fats) in junk and consuming processed sugars.
3. Lack of awareness : It can be clearly observed that still, in 21st century, there are many people who still don’t know about the bad circumstances or health risks which can be caused due to obesity. Therefore, they don’t end up focusing on what and how they eat and their physical activities. 4 of the top 10 leading causes of death are all related to obesity.
4. An individual’s Social life : It’s not very uncommon to see a person coming in obese category, if his/her family & friends are also obese because an individual follows the same bad diet, shares the same unhealthy routine and lifestyle as of those who he/she lives and spends time with.
5. Addiction to alcohol : Alcoholic habits are also responsible for the storage of fat in the body due to more number of calories with no beneficial vitamins or minerals, increase our appetite before meals if taken and our body, after the consumption of alcohol, uses a compound called acetate as a primary energy fuel instead of macronutrients like carbs, proteins and fats which later get deposited as body fat.
6. Other causes : Lack of sleep, less intake of water, poor digestion and slow metabolism can often lead to weight gain as well.

Metabolism is the process which includes certain chemical reactions by which our body converts food or beverages consumed into energy to keep our body functioning active which keeps our heart beating, mind thinking etc. If one has a fast metabolism, more rapidly that person is able to burn off the calories consumed from the diet at rest and that’s why people with slow metabolism are unable to utilize the food as energy completely and are more likely to store body fat.

• Do not blame your family if you are genetically obese! Forget genes, good or bad, you can't blame them, obesity is basically the lack of hard work. Just take everything as a new medicine, move more & sit less! You will get results!

How to lose fat?

The right ways to lose fat :

1.    Diet

• Create a calorie deficit : The first way to lose fat through diet is by creating a calorie deficit when a person’s calorie intake should be lesser than the calorie expenditure by eating less and spending more calories.
•  Protein intake : To lose fat, we need to increase our protein intake as it is a macro nutrient known to build and preserve our muscle mass along with having a high satiety level which helps us feel full for a long period of time as proteins do not get reserved in our body unlike carbohydrates and lipids and should be consumed on a daily basis but remember that over consumption of any nutrient is also bad.
•  Balanced Sodium : Consumption of too much sodium or salts in diet can lead to water retention, weight gain and make us feel bloated.
•  Small Meals : Having six little meals instead of three large meals in a day can help us lose weight as it can stabilize our energy levels and prevent us from overeating. It can also make us aware of the portion size, timings and the number of calories consumed from each meal and also it can help us divide our meals in such a way so that every nutrient requirement is fulfilled in our body and especially by including proteins & fibres in most of the meals can promote a good digestion and fat loss. 
• Avoid processed foods : Focus on natural sugars like fructose which have essential vitamins and minerals unlike refined sugars just having empty calories. Avoid other processed foods like white flour, white rice and some others with high glycemic index are nutrient poor foods lacking dietary fibre which affect our digestion and make us feel hungry faster. Another good reason to choose whole grains, fruits and veggies as carb sources.
•  Stop eating quickly : Chew your food properly and take longer time to finish your meals so that you don’t end up feeling bloated or heavy. Eating slowly improves digestion.
•  Increase your water intake, stay hydrated and sleep for at least 7-8 hours.

2.    Exercise

Sitting all the day with no physical activity is injurious to health!

• Go for strength training which doesn’t only help us burn calories but also gain lean muscle which boosts our metabolism. Start lifting weights ladies and gentlemen!
• Follow a good traditional cardio or HIIT which is an advanced form of aerobic exercise. However, it is not for beginners but some advanced level athletes. So, get up and workout!

A healthy diet and exercise are your best friends which make you stay away from your enemy called obesity.

3.    Patience and Consistency : Even if you are following all the steps mentioned above and still not losing weight, find out where you are lacking and what can be done to improve it. After all, good things take time to come. Never give up! Stay patient and loyal to your efforts, keep hustling, respecting and trusting your journey!

The wrong ways to lose fat :

1.     Avoiding carbohydrates and fats :

• Don’t say a complete goodbye to carbs and fats when trying to lose weight. Plan your meals accordingly and get a balanced diet. Do not avoid any nutrient. Just excess of everything is bad!
•  Carbohydrates have protein sparing effect by which our body utilizes carbs as energy instead of proteins and let proteins perform their role of building muscles.
• Also, fats are not bad. Any particular nutrient isn’t responsible for weight gain. Eating more calories than burning off leads to weight gain no matter from what nutrient calories come. Excess intake of calories is responsible for body fat. Fats just provide more calories compared to carbs and proteins but they play vital role in our body.
• Also, it depends on what type of fats you consume, saturated fats like butter, ghee, cream ,processed baked goods, cheese etc are bad fats which raise your LDL cholesterol level (bad type of cholesterol) where as unsaturated fats like vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, fish avocado raise HDL cholesterol level (good type).

2.     Following fad diets, starving & skipping meals :

• These are the diets which promise quick weight loss in an unhealthy and inappropriate manner which can’t be followed on a long term basis.
• Some of the fad diets are Crash diet, GM diet, Fruit diet, Vegetable diet etc. They do not offer a balanced diet, they can cause dehydration, dizziness and fatigue, nutrient deficiency and metabolic damage.
• When we eat extremely low calories, it leads to suppression of metabolic efficiency, when we starve ourselves, our body tries to reduce the energy usage and decreases metabolism. It also makes us lose muscle mass as well.

 Fitness isn’t a punishment but an enjoyment! Follow a smart strategy to lose fat instead of torturing yourself. Anything which comes quick goes quick too and something worth having doesn’t come easy and takes time. 

A healthy lifestyle is the key to losing fat and staying fit. In our busy schedule these days, take out sometime to take care of your health and focus on your fitness level. Because without a good body and health, you can’t fulfill your dreams and goals in life. A bad health always acts as an obstacle between you and your success. A fit body can make you feel confident physically and mentally and never let your beautiful smile fade away! Eat, Sleep, Workout Repeat! :)