Why Losing Weight Should Not Be Your Ultimate Goal

You see it everywhere. Lose 10 lbs, turn fat into muscle, trim inches from your waist line. Do these statements make sense? Are they possible?

Well, yes you can lose 10 lbs of body weight. Yes you can make the circumference of your waist smaller. No you cannot turn fat into muscle. That one is not even physically possible. Now what about the making sense part? Should your goal be to lose 10 lbs of body weight? I don't think so. Here's why.

Our bodies are made up of all kinds of matter but there are two things that have a lot to do with the way we look, the way we feel, and even the way we live. These two things are muscle and fat. Our bodies must be made up of a certain percentage of fat in order for us to even survive. Of course most of us have that percentage plus quite a few percentage points more... Way more than we actually "need".

Anyway, when many people make weight loss their number one goal, they start by doing what I call "eating like a bird". They starve themselves and they may do aerobics like there is no tomorrow. I'll tell you right now. It's not right!

A few things happen when you eat like a bird. First, your body starts to use your fat stores and muscle stores for energy because you are not bringing in enough food to support life. Next, your body's metabolism, or the rate at which it burns calories, begins to slow. You see, your body figures it's not getting enough food to support life so it better start conserving what it has stored away so that it can survive. And what do you think it conserves when you eat like a bird and do only cardio. That's right - fat.

Your body will conserve your fat and burn your muscle for the energy it needs for a couple of reasons. First, muscle takes energy to preserve. Your body figures if it can get rid of some of that muscle then it can conserve more energy. Second, your body "thinks" it doesn't need the "excess" muscle anyway because it is never put under a whole lot of resistance or stress. Cardio works the heart and lungs, not so much the muscles of the legs, arms, and trunk. You might "feel the burn" but you're really not putting the muscles under enough resistance to make your body want to conserve those muscles.

So you've eaten like a bird and done a ton of cardio and you lost your 10 lbs. But what have you done? You have most likely lost about 2 lbs of fat and 8 lbs of lean muscle. That's bad! That's a horrible 10 lbs of weight loss. By losing muscle, your metabolism is slower. Your body burns less calories. Now, if you go back to a normal way of eating (instead of like a bird), you'll get fatter faster! Yuck!

So what should your real goal be? To lose body fat. To lose the inches. You see, fat takes up four times more space than muscle. Think about that! I could weigh 150 lbs and have a 32 inch waist if my body fat was at 22%. At that same weight of 150 lbs, I could have a 30 inch waist if my body fat percentage was at 15%. Same weight, smaller waist. So what's that look like? Have you seen my before and after pictures?

So how can you lose the inches? Combine weight training with cardiovascular training. Eat at least six small meals a day. Follow the recommendations in the BodyTrans Training Guide and the BodyTrans Nutrition Guide at www.bodytrans.com. And do yourself a favor. If you don't already own a registered copy of BodyTrans, get one today! I firmly believe it can help you achieve your fitness goals.

About the Author

Mark Teal is a Microsoft certified software developer and an ISSA Certified Fitness Trainer. He developed BodyTrans (www.bodytrans.com) because there was no application on the market that allowed you to easily track all of the keys to success in building your best body. Mark welcomes your comments, questions, or suggestions about BodyTrans or health and fitness in general.