THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE

This article is for all of you people who are overweight, and have decided to do something about it. This is no hype, no miracle weight loss, just the simple truth gained from 30 years of experience and a lot of reading on the latest scientific research on how to lose your fat content while keeping and firming your muscle mass.
I am quite fed up with ads that proclaim “instant reduction without exercise, without pills, and without dieting “. For permanent weight loss, none of these miracle methods work. These people are mere con men looking for a fast buck. Look at the prices they charge and you’ll see what I mean. Furthermore, a lot of these diets can cause you severe bodily harm. This can range from starvation, kidney stones, gout, muscle loss and in extreme cases even death.
For most overweight people, a fat loss of two pounds (0.97Kg). a week is a near impossibility. Two pounds of fat is equal to 7,000 calories. For the average sedentary person, a loss of 1,000 calories in a week with exercising, would be the upper limit of his/her capabilities. 1,000 calories amounts to a third of a pound. Imagine my incredulity when I see diet ads proclaiming a fat loss of 8lb. (3.6 kg0 to 10lb. (4.5 kg). in one week.
In my previous articles I have mentioned about the set-point system on weight loss. The set-point method is the body’s controlling mechanism of your muscle to fat ratio, or in other words, your body weight. Based in the hypothalamus, the base of your brain is this automatic sensor which monitors your fat to muscle ratio all the time. As you begin to put on weight, which is done gradually, your metabolism slows down, more so when you don’t exercise. After a year as you gradually put on more and more weight, your sensing mechanism sets a certain down ward limit. There is unfortunately no upward limit. So, you can keep on increasing your weight, but the minute you start dieting, and go below this set-point your body will do everything in its power to stop you.
While the body tends to resist change, it can adapt and establish new balance levels and a new set-point. You can change your muscles in shape and density, through weight or resistance training, and fat cells can also adapt and change their set-point, but this takes time and a lot of effort. The end result is definitely worthwhile. The following points are a basic guide line to keep that fat off permanently:
1). Increase your muscle mass through weight, resistance, & or Functional training: When you begin to work out you slowly increase your load on each muscle group. This will induce stress on your muscles. As this stress increases by slowly adding more weights, or performing more sets or repetitions, your muscle size and density will also increase. By gaining muscle you will then have also increased your metabolism and this in turn will increase your use of calories and help you maintain your desired weight.
2). Aerobic activity a MUST: Weight training is an anaerobic activity and while this will raise your metabolism to a certain level it will not be enough to change your set point. You will also have to include some form of aerobic activity in your training program. Brisk walking, cycling, swimming, aerobic low impact workouts are excellent for further increasing your metabolism. Two to three days of weight training and two days of aerobic activity should be more than adequate. The aerobic activity per session should last for no more than 25 to 35 minutes at 50% of your maximum heart rate. Your maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age.
3). Intensity.A lot of books will tell you to train at low intensity and at the first sign of a burn to stop training and rest over a long period of time. This is the worst thing you can do. Put all the intensity you possibly can until your muscles feel on fire then do another two repetitions. The old saying “No pain, No gain” really applies here when you want to change your set-point.
4). Stay active: Throughout the day do things that will keep you more active than you would normally do. Park your car further so that you can walk that extra distance. Climb the stairs. If there are too many flights, take the lift three-quarter of the way then climb up the remainder. Get your own coffee and walk down stairs. This way your metabolism will remain high throughout the day, further enhancing the change in your set-point.
5). Eat small meals throughout the day: Your metabolic rate increases every time you eat a meal. Eating 4 to 5 small meals a day will increase your daily metabolic rate much more than two to three larger meals will. This will show impressively in the long run.
6). Cut down on total amount of calories consumed: Don’t do anything drastic here. Just take it easy and slowly cut down. Have two chapattis’ instead of the usual three, three table spoons of rice instead of the usual four, one a teaspoon of sugar instead of the usual two. Drink at least 10 to 12 glasses of water a day. Most importantly Chew your food. That’s why we have our teeth in our mouths and not in our stomachs.
You do not have to be a Yogi to change your weight set-point. Weight training, aerobic exercise and sensible eating habits are all you need to have that dream body you have always been wanting.