Strength Training is Key to Losing Weight

 

Did you know that?! If you simply do cardio and starve yourself you will not only lose fat but also muscle mass, which is really, really bad for you, since muscles are what actively burn calories.

Here are some facts for you to think over:

1. No big weights are needed. You don’t need to be bench pressing 300 pounds or deadlifting your car, but adding a little bit of weight training into your cardio will help keep the muscles under the fat alive and working, which will in turn help you burn off all the excess calories even faster.
2. Losing muscle mass is bad!!! When you try and starve yourself to lose weight you are actually losing muscle mass, which happens to weigh anywhere from three to ten times as much as fat! Muscle mass declines because you don’t need as much to hold up all the fat that is now slipping off and of course you don’t have enough calories to actually keep your muscle mass.
3. Weight training will speed up your results. Because muscle burns calories you will see the fat loss much fast then if you simple reduce calories and do cardio.
4. Better results!!! When the fat burns off you will not have to work on toning up your body, but your underlying muscles that were once covered in fat will show, and you will end up with the toned and muscular body that you wanted.

I am getting a little tire of hearing everyone talk about extreme diets that will burn off the fat or starving themselves for results or simply whining about the fact that their cardio is not working and while they lost a good chunk of weight to start with they hit a plateau and can’t get out of it. 

The honest truth is that the scale lies. Literally!!!! Your fancy scale does not take into account the fact that you might have larger then average bones, or your muscle mass under the layer of fat is actually significant. If you set a goal of wanting to weigh 130 pounds you have to also figure out exactly how much muscle you need to build and how much fat to lose to be at that weight.

Instead of setting a number on the scale as a goal figure out what dress or jeans you want to fit into and what you want to look like, then work towards this goal.

I can tell you this from my own experience. When I started going to the gym again a few months ago, I lost about 5 pounds, and I had a goal of about 15 to 20, then realized that I was gaining it back, but I still fit into my clothes better. I’m back to being about a 144 pounds right now, at 5’7” that is at the very end of the “okay weight” however, I feel better, I fit into my jeans better and my legs are less jiggely. While I still have a ways to go to my perfect goal it is no longer about the number on the scale but rather about what I feel like and how I look when seeing myself in the mirror.

If you don’t believe me go check out this article. 

The New Fit or Fat?!

 

Today is Day 17 of the 25 Days of Fitness… and wanna know what I learned? Do ya?!

My body HURTS… I’m insanely out of shape, and have become obsessed with getting back into shape. The obsession and my nasty habit of perfectionism have kicked in … hence why the blogs have been lacking. I’m trying to put together the perfect guides, and plans and lists to help my self set up a system. I always need a system, some kind of an outline to guide me, otherwise I fall apart and give up.

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When I get obsessed over a topic, whether school, politics, clothing, cars, exercise… you get the idea… I start venting to my grandfather. My grandpa is one of those awesome ones who knows a little about everything, and while he can be grumpy and set in his ways there is always something I can learn from him. So in my insane hunt for a healthier lifestyle and my grandfather’s recent encounter and beating of cancer we’ve talked a great deal about exercising, losing excess fat, staying fit and eating healthy…

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To make a long story short, I was bestowed with two new books about exercising. My grandfather stated that they were his “health Bibles” and knowing the kind of health that man is in at 78… I’m going to say these babies are diamonds! 

 

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The books are both by Covert Bailey who is the author of four national bestsellers. He also happens to be a nutritionist with a Biochemistry degree from MIT. At the age of 78 he is still running, backpacking, skiing and kayaking and lives his life with the philosophy that “staying in shape should be enjoyable.”

I will be sharing my findings from his books with you very soon. For now I wanted to leave you with the Are You Fit or Fat? List which is the table of contents for one of the books.

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Fit people sing. Fat people float.

Fit people are fat-burners. Fat people are sugar-burners.

When Fit people eat sugar, they make glycogen. When Fat people eat sugar, they make fat.

Fit people have lots of fat-burning enzymes. Fat people have few fat-burning enzymes.

Fit people use fat efficiently. Fat people store fat efficiently.

When Fit people exercise, it is usually aerobic exercise. When Fat people exercise, it is often anaerobic exercise.

Fit people “waste” energy in everyday activities. Fat people “conserve” energy throughout the day.

Fit people have long, lean, shapely muscles. Fat people have short, round, fatty muscles.

Fit people can be overweight without being overfat. Fat people can be overfat without being overweight.

Exercise decreases hunger in Fit people. Exercise triggers hunger in Fat people.