Losing Weight or Losing Fat

Weight loss is easily achieved by consuming fewer calories than your body burns on a given day.  Technically, since 3,500 calories is approximately equal to one pound, you can certainly lose a pound in one week by eating 3,500 less calories than you burn off.  So here is how it works:

The average woman burns approximately 1,600 calories by just living – sleeping, eating, walking, sitting, etc.  If you consume 1,600 calories per day, it all equals out; you will not gain or lose weight.  If you continue to consume 1,600 calories, but you add one Zumba class a day, and you burn approximately 500 calories in that class (seven days = 3,500 calories), you will lose one pound during that week.  Your body will find those 3,500 calories stored in your fat and muscles, and will use it (burning it off)…in a perfect world!

We all know the world is not perfect, so what really happens is that we don’t just consume 1,600 calories per day.  One day we may eat less than that amount, and other days we may eat two or three times more than that (hello happy hour).  And who works out every day?  Not this girl!  Truthfully, when we add that one Zumba class a day, we tend to eat more, because the reality is we need more fuel based on our individual metabolic rate (Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR).  Also, if we actually shed one pound of weight, it may not be FAT loss.  It is very likely that at first you lose water weight and then muscle tissue.  Trust me, fat loss takes longer than weight loss, and that is because we need fat to insulate the organs, fuel the brain, and keep us warm.  The key to burning fat is preserving and adding muscle tissue.  Restricting caloric intake is NOT the best option because it will adversely affecting metabolism, which in turn, makes it even more difficult to lose fat.

What is metabolism and what role does it play in weight loss?  Metabolism is the process your body uses to convert your food into energy necessary to live. When you breathe, energy is required; when you eat, the energy is required to digest and absorb your food; when you walk, energy is needed; when you sit, energy is needed.  The amount of energy needed to live is unique to every person, so each person should figure out their personal metabolic rate.  It’s based on your age, sex, weight, height, diet, and exercise level. I recommend getting an app like MyFitnessPal to calculate and track your BMR. Drastically reducing calories or skipping meals causes a decrease in your BMR because your body has limited fuel, so it conserves energy to keep your body alive. Unfortunately, your body treats this as a possible starvation situation, so it will slow your metabolism to conserve calories needed to stay alive.  Therefore, the more drastically you reduce calories consumed, the more your metabolic rate decreases, and the harder it is to lose FAT. 

What is the solution?  First, eat breakfast!  When you sleep, you fast, and most people stop eating at least two hours before going to sleep, so you might actually fast for 10 or so hours.  You should end fasting by breaking the fast (“break-fast”).  Have breakfast every morning, whether it is a breakfast of oatmeal, eggs and whole wheat toast, or a fruit and veggie smoothie.  Have breakfast to jump start your metabolism, and keep eating small meals and snacks throughout the day (at least six meals – breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, and snack).  Do not wait until you are hungry to eat because if you are busy or distracted by work, children or other things, you may not “feel” hungry until the end of the day. Even if you must set an alarm to eat every two to three hours, do so!  I have so many clients who tell me that they forgot the eat lunch, or the only meal they had in a given day was dinner. When I hear that, I just cringe because the nutrition piece of personal training is out of my control.  I can create a killer personal training program guaranteed to get my clients in the best shape of their lives, and then they sabotage everything by not eating enough food! My people, you have to eat, but eat the right things. As a Plate by Zumba coach, I advocate for clean eating of vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, beans, and lean meats, and drinking a ton of water. Also, add a good exercise program that not only includes cardio, but weights and resistance training as well.