Why It Is So Hard to Lose The Fat

Are you one of those that want to lose weight, but you just can’t seem to do it easily anymore?  You’ve tried everything, but nothing seems to work.  You diet, but then you regain the weight.  After you diet repeatedly, you seem to gain even more weight.  Then you hit forty and the weight you once could lose fairly easily now doesn’t budge.  So you exercise and eat better for several months, but nothing seems to happen so you give up.  It’s as if you are weight loss resistant.  But the real issue is fat loss resistance and the associated imbalance of your hormones.  And for women the problem is far greater than for men. Unfortunately fat loss resistance isn’t well understood.  Doctors don’t know enough about it and many dieticians are equally in the dark.  Their primary emphasis is weight loss, setting you up with a diet, and then checking to see how much you’ve lost at your next appointment.  This is not helping.  Nor are TV reality shows that encourage extreme weight loss. 

You don’t want to lose weight quickly, because that leads to even more fat.  Instead you want to lose weight over time, and the reason is that a lot of physiological changes have to occur first before you can start to lose the fat and then the weight.  Fat weighs less than muscle, so as you improve the fat to muscle ratio, your weight may remain the same for a while. When you lose weight rapidly, the weight loss is primarily water, muscle and a bit of fat.  But when the weight is regained, fat and water are quickly replaced.  The muscle can only be restored by rebuilding it. 

Fat and water are always the last to go and the first things to come back.  It is best to focus on losing the fat, because then you are more likely to retain the muscle and have a way to achieve long-term weight loss results.  Fat loss resistance is complicated and impacted by many factors, so it will be covered in two parts. 

Part 1 – in this issue, explains how fat gets stored and released and how to lose it.   Part 2 – in the next issue, will explain further how hormones trigger fat storing and fat releasing. 

Understanding Fat Loss Resistance

The recent concern over obesity and obesity-related diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease, has led to considerable research and a better understanding of how fat cells work and how they are governed.  In the past five years, a number of books have been published by experts in the field about this topic, which were reviewed for this newsletter and will be listed in the next issue.  Even earlier in 1993, Debra Waterhouse – a dietician, published Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell.  She may have been the first to really understand and explain some of the things that fuel fat storage and why it’s so hard to release fat.                                           article continued here

Message From The President:

Happy New Year!  I can almost feel the days getting longer (not quite, but it helps me to stay optimistic).

While most people are now setting resolutions for 2006, consider looking back at 2005.  What did you accomplish?  What did you learn?  Whether 2005 brought big, momentous changes and events, or simple small pleasures, revel in anything and everything that went well last year.         

I think that if we each make a habit of shifting our attention toward the positive, future changes will be easier to make.  The desire to change will grow out of wanting more of the good things in life, rather than a punishment or cracking-of-the-whip to improve what we don’t like.  Of course we are all motivated both ways, positively and negatively.  My point is that we should use both, not just the negative.

What would you like more of in your life?  If it’s more health, well-being, and fitness, I’m happy to support you in that desire.  In this issue I have info on my class about "How Not To Make Your New Years Resolution Another Failed Attempt." See if it is something worthwhile to you. .Above all, practice the art of continuous congratulations – consistently giving yourself credit for everything you have achieved thus far in life.

To your health,

            Amy Lundberg
            Aim For It, President

New Year Fitness Check Up

• Are you engaged in a current exercise program, but not getting the results you want?  (Yes = 1, No = 0)

• Does your hectic schedule leave you little time to exercise?  (Yes = 1, No = 0)

• Do you tend to restrict or limit foods that you think are bad to eat?  (Yes = 1, No = 0)

• Have you made New Year’s resolutions in the past, only to fall off the wagon after a few weeks or months?  [Yes, this one is double!]  (Yes = 2, No = 0)

• Do you find exercise boring?  (Yes = 1, No = 0)

• Do you dislike exercising?  (Yes = 1, No = 0)

• Do you think a low calorie diet is essential to losing weight?       (Yes = 1, No = 0)

• Do you need to change, or improve, your current program in order to achieve and maintain your ideal weight within your desired time frame?  (Yes = 1, No = 0)

• Do you have a sedentary job where most of your day is spent sitting at a desk or in a car? (Yes = 1, No = 0)

“Where do I go from here?”

Tabulate your results:

0 – 2: You seem to be on the right on track.  Congratulations and continued success to you!

3 – 5: You likely have some solid fitness habits.  Fine-tune a few things to increase your motivation and develop a strategy to reach your desired results.  Keep reading the Fitness Motivation Monitor.

6 – 10: Don’t wait!  Start developing new habits that will guarantee your success.  Whether you take advantage of our services or not, you must develop a motivating, results-oriented fitness program and a balanced eating plan.  Call us for a no-charge fitness evaluation.

Keeping Up the New Year High

It is usually starts around February, sometimes as late as March. "I can't exercise today because I have to go into the office early....my son has a dentist appointment.......it's too dark outside....... bottom line, the New Year euphoria wears off. If you feel yourself starting to slide, the good news is tat it doesn't have to happen.

Something can be learned from the New Year. It's at a time when anything seems possible. You are focused clearly on what you want. And you know what? That's the most important piece of it all! I, or any other good personal trainer can help you with the details, but the "why you want to do it" has to come from you.

The definition of commitment that I like is this: "The ability to carry through with a worthy decision, even when the emotion or excitement of making that decision has passed." Think about it. It's easy to get excited about starting a fitness program and dream about all the possibilities but eventually the alarm clock goes off and you have to put on your workout shoes and do it.

What will get you out of bed instead of hitting the snooze button? Can you see it? Create a vision of where you want your health and fitness to be at the end of 2006......heck, this summer! If you begin to lament about working out, conjure up the vision. Because otherwise what's the point? If you have no vision, exercise is just exercise.

Set a resolution anytime. Try each month to come up with an new habit to make (or break) that takes you closer to your vision. Keeping up the New Year high requires a why. What's yours?