EXCESS BODY FAT

By Rochelle, cspn cft

The primary purpose of body fat is the storage of energy to be used by muscles. Subcutaneous fat (under the skin) also helps provide warmth and protection for our bodies. Internal fat helps support and provide protection for the spinal cord, heart and vital organs. Body fat is also crucial in the utilization of Vitamins A, D, E and K by the body (these vitamins are fat soluble). In short, you wouldn’t be able to survive without some body fat. The real problem isn’t fat. It is excess body fat.
Excess body fat is associated with increased risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, stroke, and various cancers. Emotional health and well being are also at risk due to societal pressures on being thin.
As we age, the higher percentage of overall body fat is carried internally (around vital organs). Therefore, even if an older person has the same amount of fat under their skin as a younger person, they have more fat internally and, hence, a higher overall body fat percentage.
Many people believe that as they get older, muscle “turns” into fat. This is false. Your muscles may have atrophied, but they haven’t turned to fat. “Muscle and fat are two separate and distinct types of tissue,” says Cedric X. Bryant, Ph.D., chief exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise. “Muscle can’t turn into fat any more than wood can turn into metal. But as muscles shrink because of inactivity, fat can fill the space where the muscles used to be, giving the mistaken impression that the muscles have turned to fat.”
Increases in body fat are a natural consequence of aging due to hormonal factors and are, therefore, to be expected. Muscles begin to atrophy at a rate of 10% every decade after the age of thirty. However, although an older person can have a higher body fat percentage, he/she can still be in a healthy category as age is taken into consideration when determining one’s body fat.
Body fat, which increases with age due to decreased activity levels, can be controlled through proper diet and exercise. Research shows overwhelmingly that combining the proper diet with exercise is much more effective for losing body fat than dieting alone. Even the most nutritious low calorie diet without exercise will cause some of your losses to be from muscle. Since larger muscles burn more fat, muscle loss can result in a slower metabolism. One pound of muscle has only 600 calories and, therefore, can be lost much quicker than fat. Since a pound of fat has 3500 calories, you should expect to lose no more than 1/2 to 1 percent body fat per month or 1 to 2 pounds of fat per week. If you lose any more than that, you’re losing muscle too. You simply can’t rush fat loss. You don’t gain fat overnight, and you don’t lose it that way either.
Eating properly to lose body fat is easier and more enjoyable than you may think. Most people think of a diet as a temporary way of restricting food until they reach a certain weight goal. That is far from the truth. To lose body fat, you need to control the number of calories you eat and increase the amount of calories you burn through exercise. Follow a balanced, healthy diet by eating some foods from each food group. Diets which eliminate certain food groups never last long because they don’t provide the nutrition you need to stay healthy. The ideal diet should improve your health while you lose fat. Choose low calorie foods more often, without sacrificing the nutrients you need.
Regular exercise forces your body to adapt by becoming less fat and more fit. Although the amount of fat loss varies from person to person, a decrease in body fat always occurs as a result of regular exercise. By becoming fit, the body burns fat naturally and efficiently.
The benefits of exercise go way beyond losing body fat. Simply put, a fit body responds differently than a fat body. Despite what many people think, fit athletes often are not on an ideal diet. But because of exercise and their high muscle/low fat bodies, the consequences are minimal. Things like fat, cholesterol, sugar, salt, etc., simply don’t adversely affect someone who is fit the way they affect someone who is fat. Exercise positively affects every organ in your body. Exercise also improves your sleeping patterns, energy, mood, mental outlook, and overall feeling of well being. As the benefits continue to increase and you achieve results, the more motivated you will be to continue your exercise regimen.
There is no one “best” exercise for burning fat. The key is movement! To burn fat, you have to use your muscle; and to use your muscles you have to move. The more muscles you use and the more continuously you use them; the more fat you will burn. Any exercise which requires you to use your muscles will cause your body to burn fat after the exercise is over - when your body is rebuilding and recovering - during the ‘recovery phase.’ The best exercise for burning fat during exercise, however, is aerobic exercise at a moderate comfortable pace. Do not think about the intensity of the exercise. Work longer, not harder.
Twenty minutes is generally considered the minimum to get the fat-burning benefit and to increase the growth of fat burning enzymes in your muscles. Although many experts suggest exercising for up to an hour, this depends on your fitness level. If you’re just starting out, go for 20 minutes and try to work up from there. Don’t worry about the distance you travel while exercising; the amount of time you exercise is important - not the distance.
Ideally, you should try to vary the type of activity, intensity, duration, and frequency of your exercise to add some variety and prevent boredom. Remember, the one thing you “must” do is exercise consistently to get optimum fat burning results.
You cannot determine how fat you are by your weight. The scale, by itself, cannot differentiate between fat and muscle. Therefore, the scale can only give you part of the picture. Ask your personal trainer or nutritionist to measure your body fat percentage. You can then separate the pounds of fat and the pounds of muscle you have. When trying to achieve your weight goals, this will allow you to make sure that any pounds you are losing are from fat and not from valuable muscle.   

As a certified nutritionist and fitness trainer, Rochelle’s unique approach to weight management combines diet, exercise and behavior modification in a warm, understanding, and relaxed environment. Recognizing that people gain weight for different reasons, she tailors personalized nutritional and fitness plans suitable to the individual. She educates her clients on the importance of eating healthy and regular physical activity, and works with each client on a personal level towards effective solutions for attaining a healthy lifestyle.
Rochelle’s practice is an innovative blend of nutrition, health, and fitness, with her sincere personality and integrity, using proven methods that address the multi-faceted needs of our community. For more information on this vital health issue, contact Rochelle CSPN, CFT, at 718.438.1632.