Many people ask me on a regular basis, "Gary, what exercise can I do to lose the fat around my thighs,abdomen, buttocks,etc.?" They are often surprised that the answer is always the same no matter what area of the body they ask about. You see,the "fitness truth" is that there are certain choices a person must make in order to create any kind of meaningful (and lasting) change in the body, especially when it comes to fat loss. Given that the body is a congregation of complex biochemical processes, you must have a combination of specific "ingredients" in order to get a desired result. And I'm here to tell you just what ingredients will help get you on your way to creating the body you desire. It is important to remember that these 5 ingredients must all be present and in the right proportions in order to create the recipe for success. If you follow this recipe as part of your regular routine, then you are sure to change your body composition from a fat storing machine to a fat burning machine. Unlike fad diets and fat-burning pills, the results will be lasting and most importantly, beneficial to your body. This article focuses on nutrition and is part one in a series of articles that will explain all the ingredients in depth. The more clearly you understand the concepts behind these key ingredients, the easier it will be for you to make them part of your daily recipe for success!
Ingredient #1- Proper Nutrition
"Eating Every 3-3½ Hours"
Proportion is everything with recipes; therefore, the focus of this article is to explain the importance of proportioning thermic meals so that you eat every 3-3½ hours, every single day. Proper Nutrition is probably the hardest ingredient to fully comprehend, and that is precisely why I am discussing it first. Not only are there bad food examples everywhere, but people are grossly misinformed about eating in general. What's more, when fat loss comes into play, people's ideas get even more confused and at times downright dangerous.
One of the most common misconceptions that I come across is that most people think that in order to lose weight you have to "starve" yourself. For me, this is the hardest myth to break and the one that gives me the greatest concern. True, people rarely starve themselves in the traditional sense of refusing to eat, but by trying to follow fad diets or by imposing severe calorie restrictions on themselves, well intentioned people force the body to react the way it would if they actually did stop eating, which as you will learn, harms not only your internal organs, but also your figure. People have no trouble understanding the dangers of anorexia nervosa. Most can recognize the seriousness of extreme starvation to the point where the body starts setting off alarms like: cardiovascular problems, halting menses, electrolyte disturbances, and other types of organ damage. However, people do not recognize the other less obvious but equally dangerous alarms that the body sets off on a regular basis when you adopt diets with severe calorie restrictions or have erratic eating habits. What about the mid-day slump that so many people experience, that unpleasant feeling where you can't think straight, your head hurts, you feel sluggish and slightly weak? So many of us just ignore these feelings and push through them, but these are important signs that your body is trying to tell you something. Your body is telling you that it needs nutrients. Some try to solve the problem by throwing down a quick fix. They usually grab some form of easily accessible, pre-packaged carbohydrate. Then, they are inevitably craving another shortly thereafter. This is no mistake. As you will learn, this sort of sporadic eating wreaks havoc on your blood sugar levels, leading to a vicious cycle that contributes directly to fat gain. Yet, you can easily avoid these blood sugar spikes and drops just by eating the proper nutrients at the right intervals.
Aside from the clear but often ignored signals that your body gives when you are not giving it enough nutrients, there are also other interesting phenomena going on beneath the surface. The body has many ways to protect itself, and if it detects that you are not putting enough nutrients into your body at adequate intervals, it will slow your body processes down to preserve vital functioning. In other words, it will slow down your metabolism, which LOCKS IN FAT! When I tell people this fact, their eyes bulge. But it is really no surprise at all. Your bodies are directly tuned into your behavior patterns and lifestyle. You set the pace by habitually telling your body when it can expect the next meal. When you eat the proper nutrients at appropriate intervals, then your body releases hormones that signal satiation (fullness) and actually speed up the metabolism so that it can get busy burning calories. This type of eating also helps your blood sugar remain relatively stable throughout the day, which allows your body to continue working in favor of calorie burn and energy production. On the other hand, if your body senses that you are not going to give it what it needs when required, then it releases a cascade of hormones which trigger your body to hold onto fat. What's more, in a desperate attempt to make up for lost time, these hormones also stimulate the appetite, causing you to want to eat much more when you finally sit down to a meal. Recognize those ravenous cravings we so often experience? Moreover, in an attempt to further protect itself, your body will continue to store the new fat that you take in during your meal. You are now in fat storage lock-down. And it doesn't stop here!
When your body senses that it cannot count on nutrients coming in, it not only locks in fat, but also catabolizes muscle tissue to further slow down metabolic function. Reason being, muscle is an active tissue, which means that its maintenance requires an abundance of calories. That's right, your body actually burns calories to maintain muscle mass. Fat, on the other hand, is inactive and requires minimal calories for maintenance. So, contrary to popular belief, when your body detects that you are not giving it enough fuel to run on, instead of breaking down the fat, the body gets rid of muscle. It saves the fat for later, knowing that if need be it can survive on fat stores longer than it can on muscle. So, by starving yourself, you actually end up doing the opposite of what you intended. Instead of losing the unsightly fat, like you had planned, you end up losing the much-desired muscle mass, which (as you will learn) boosts your metabolism and provides a shapely appearance to the body.
FEELING IS BELIEVING
Test this for yourself. Make a mental note to pay close attention to your body every 3-3½ hours, and I am sure that you will find clear evidence of hunger signals. Remember, there is a difference between hunger and cravings. Hunger tells your body that it is time to eat, and cravings tell your body that you waited too long to eat. So, stop ignoring your hunger signals and take notice of how much better you feel throughout the day, how much more energy and mental clarity you have, and how few cravings you experience.
WHAT'S TO COME!
The next ingredients that I will discuss are the specific nutrients the body needs to run efficiently and which food combinations actually promote fat burning.
Gary Schulman is a certified fitness expert specializing in weight loss, nutrition, cardio-kickboxing, MMA (Mixed Martial Arts), boxing, and grappling. As a Bergen County, NJ personal trainer, Gary has helped many clients to achieve their fitness goals by educating them on the proper methods for safely transforming their bodies to achieve optimal conditioning. With 17 years as a black belt, Gary is able to combine the best fitness training with martial arts in order to deliver a complete program for the ultimate workout. Gary is the author of several newsletters regarding personal training & fitness which are published on his website.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_Schulman
