I get a TON of questions about weight loss and how to solve the I-wanna-lose-weight conundrum.
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“What’s the quickest way to lose 10 pounds?”
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“I hate vegetables, am I doomed?”
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“Should I just cut out all my carbs?”
Sound familiar? Whether you want to lose 10 pounds or 100, fat loss is a complete mystery to most people. Especially with the abundance of conflicting information and flat-out misinformation out there, it’s no wonder people are confused.
No matter what you have tried up until this point, I’m gonna venture to guess that major food and calorie restrictions and cardio (and lot’s of it) were an intricate part of the game plan. Lucky for us though, Exercise and Nutrition Science has come so far over the past few years, and we literally have it down to a science! We are no longer forced to put our faith in the “My Mom’s Sister’s Dog-Walker’s Cousin Tried It” Diet. Everything I am about to tell you is based on proven, researched, and actual science.
Here’s my biggest piece of advice for anyone that wants to lose weight: Get off the treadmill, and hit the weights!
Even though resistance training aka weight lifting is CRUCIAL to your war against body fat, most women are afraid that they are going to “bulk up”
Don’t get me wrong– I understand your fears and frustrations, but we can discount that theory altogether. Females are not genetically predisposed to get big and bulky– it’s just not how we were built.
Here’s what you need to know about muscle (and it’s relation to fat)
Muscle is what makes up your metabolism. How much muscle you have determines how many calories you burn each day. For every pound of muscle you have, you burn about 35-50 calories per day…. compared to every pound of fat on your body, you burn 1-2 calories.
In addition to this, muscle takes up about 1/3 of the space that fat takes up– not to mention it’s tighter, leaner, not as squishy.
“But I Thought Muscle Weighs More Than Fat?”
I love this one. When someone is partaking in a resistance training program, and the scale starts going up, time and time again I hear, “Oh, it’s okay. Muscle weighs more than fat. That’s why the scale keeps going up.”
This is the type of thought-process that could actually potentially make you get FATTER. Let’s blow this one out of the water right now.
MUSCLE DOES NOT WEIGH MORE THAN FAT
A pound is a pound is a pound is a pound…. no matter how you cut the cake. Remember that old riddle, “Which one weighs more: a pound of lead or a pound of feathers?”
Tricky huh?
The answer is neither. Both of them weigh a pound! Time and time again you hear this bogus thought-process, and it deceives people. Muscle does not weigh more than fat, however, one pound of muscle is more dense than a pound of fat. Meaning, one pound of muscle takes up a lot less space on your body than a pound of fat.
What if you lost one pound of fat, but gained one pound of muscle? The scale wouldn’t change, but your body sure would. You would be smaller, leaner, tighter, and your clothes would fit differently (they would be looser duh!)
Wouldn’t you rather get rid of some of that space-taking fat and replace it with muscle that looks smaller and takes up a lot less room? I sure would.
To conclude, I want to emphasize just how important it is to lift weights or partake in resistance training if you goal is fat loss or “toning up”.
Remember these crucial elements next time you want to skimp on the weights and just do the cardio…
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Resistance Training is the ONLY way to build muscle– cardio isn’t enough to do it
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Muscle is about 25X more metabolically active than fat, meaning that it burns about 25X the amount of calories when you are at rest– just sitting on the beach relaxing =)
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Muscle is denser than fat– it takes up about 1/3 of the space of fat
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Muscle is tighter, more firm, and not as squishy– it looks prettier
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Females are not genetically predisposed to get big and bulky. Ladies, don’t fear– pick up the weights.
Are you dying to lose weight and tone up? Not Your Average Boot Camp and our team of sponsors are giving away Six Week Makeovers to ten lucky Orlando ladies….complete with free training, nutrition, and coaching! Head on over to this page to get all the preliminary details and sign up for the “early notification” list to be the first in line to apply…
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