Understanding FAT (visceral and subcutaneous)
Subcutaneous fat is OUTSIDE the abdominal wall. This is the fat you can pinch with calipers/fingers.
Carrying weight in the belly is far more dangerous then carrying weight on your butt and thighs (pear shape).
Visceral fat: this is the most dangerous fat. It is BEHIND the abdominal wall. This fat surrounds (basically suffocates) the organs. Putting you at a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer and now they believe dementia~(some are calling this type 3 diabetes)
**this is why if you reduce your body fat you reduce your risk/medication dose possibly even stop medications.
Only under a doctors orders
NOTE: there is an essential amount of body fat needed to maintain life.
| Description | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Essential fat | 10–13% | 2–5% |
| Athletes | 14–20% | 6–13% |
| Fitness | 21–24% | 14–17% |
| Average | 25–31% | 18–24% |
| Obese | 32%+ | 25%+ |
When losing weight if your wondering which "fat" your burning it's irrelevant. What matters is that your waist circumference is no more then 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men.
(use a tape measure~ measure around the belly button)
-People often say: "I want to lose this" while pinching a spot of fat on the body.
You can not spot reduce
**What do you mean by spot reduce?
When we lose weight it can not be taken off in a specific (spot) place. When you lose weight it comes off evenly over the body.
* Remember the old Thigh master/ab roller? You could do 1000's of these however you will not wake up one morning with awesome thighs/abs while the rest of your body remains over weight. You can only strengthen the muscle below the fat.
In order for your Abs to show you have to lower your overall body fat significantly through a well balanced diet and exercise. Yes, there are a few genetic freaks out there that eat bad and still have abs ...GGrrrrr ~generally they don't have a weight issue.
Ab exercises should be done every other day just like any other muscle group. They need time to repair and grow during rest.
There is no need to do 100's of abdominal exercises. 3 -4 sets of 12-25 reps per abdominal exercise is sufficient ~Think about it: Have you ever seen a guy/girl with a six pack and excess body fat else where? NO, they are typically very fit, very low body fat and very muscular.
-Another common question: "will this skin disappear?" Usually while grabbing the flabby tricep (aka bat wings). No one knows until you get to your idea weight. Then you can re evaluate based on what skin is left. When you add weights and grow muscle this tightens the flabby skin=)
On these" fad diets" if you lose weight to quickly you risk flabby skin. Your skin will sag not having time to burn off . This is why a slow weight loss is best. Plus, studies show the slower it comes off the longer it stays off.
It takes minimal energy to keep fat on the body. In other words fat won't leave unless you burn it off (exercise) HOWEVER it takes energy to keep muscle alive!
We start to lose muscle mass every year starting in our 20's!! It goes faster with each decade.
What about fat cells: Fat cells NEVER go away. What happens is they deflate and remain dormant. This is why initially we feel like we are losing inches yet the scale doesn't budge.
It will move in time.
However, when you overeat and intake to many calories the fat cells start to fill "spill" ~ re filling those dormant cells. This is why folks feel that it's easier to gain after an initial weight loss.
Initially through birth and puberty we have a certain number of fat cells. However, as you gain weight you can make new fat cells. You can never get rid of fat cells. However, YOU decide whether to inflate or deflate them.
This is another reason we don't want the younger generation to add extra fat cells at an early age. This sets them up to battle and remain overweight for life.
Eat a balanced diet today.
Increase your fruit and vegetable intake
Move for a minimum of 30 minutes
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