14 Tips on How to Strip Off Bodyfat
Published by Randy Roedl on 2010-03-31 13:08:05
The formula for losing body fat applies to you just as it does to a professional bodybuilder, but the pros take it much further than most typical bodybuilders ever do. To lose body fat, take in fewer calories than you burn. If you have more energy going in than going out, an energy surplus, you'll gain weight. If you have more energy going out than in, you have an energy deficit, you'll lose weight because you'll force your body to draw on its energy stores—body fat.
Many diets and diet and exercise plans can produce the energy deficit required for fat loss, but some are better than others. A healthful and practical diet and exercise strategy can be sustained over the long term without any loss of muscle. The next 14 tips will provide many facts and tips you can use to help you devise such a strategy.
1) Don't confuse weight loss with fat loss. You want fat loss, not just weight loss.
2) Most men store their fat around their waists, and most women store around their hips and thighs. It's a gender issue.
3) Body fat can't be melted away through plastic wraps, saunas or steam baths. It can't be rubbed away through massage or vibrating and rubbing machines. Nor can it be dissolved by a dietary supplement.
4) Sweating—whether through saunas, special bands, belts or wrappings—doesn't produce fat loss. It produces water loss, which you regain through fluid intake.
5) No matter how many sit-ups, crunches, twists or whatever else you do, you won't whittle away fat from your waist. You achieve fat reduction internally, and only if you're in sufficient energy deficit for a sufficient period. The body sheds fat overall, not just one area, from some places more than others—or not at all. The only way to spot reduce fat is through surgery, which ahs dangers and isn't a long term cure.
6) To avoid muscle loss while you strip off body fat, you must lose fat slowly and avoid overtraining. Make one pound a week the maximum rate of weight loss.
7) Train as if your priority is to build muscle. Keep your routines short, hard and focused on the basic exercises. Train with progressive poundages is possible, although that may not be possible on a fat loss program if you've already trained for a long time. At minimum, maintain your current strength and muscle mass as you strip off body fat.
8) The more food you can eat and still lose body fat, the easier it will be for you to sustain the plan because you won't suffer the deprivation that most people feel when they diet. To be able to have a satisfying calorie intake, increase your calorie output. The more energy you burn through exercise and general activity, the more food you can have and still be in a calorie deficit.
9) The simplest, most practical, cheapest, low-intensity exercise is walking. If you walk for an hour each day on top of your usual activities, you'll use up an additional 400 calories, depending on your pace.
