Lifting weights and losing FAT!
If you have talked to me for any length of time about exercising and eating healthy I have probably asked you if you are lifting weights. I cannot stress it enough the importance of it to your body, your fat loss and for your bodies shape. Lifting weights can totally change the shape of your body and make it smaller. That does not mean you are going to be some muscley masculine looking person at all. You will just slowly build the muscle and the fat will leave the body and then underneath the fat you will have this nice toned body. What more could you want. THEN, to top it off having all of that lean muscle burns WAY more calories just at rest so then when you are at your goal weight you can eat more b/c your muscle is burning calories for you b/c of all of that hard work you have put it. I am not saying do not do cardio BUT I am saying it is in your best interest to lift the weights first THEN do the cardio 2nd. I have learned this from my own personal experience and the experience and knowledge of the 4 personal trainers and nutritionist I work with daily at Phit-N-Phat. Trust me and them...it is TRUE and it WORKS!
Below is a blog from my trainer Corinne at Phit-N-Phat regarding this issue and a few others:
Should I Lose Weight Every Week While Exercising and Dieting?
Uhhh...no. You shouldn't. Don't even think you should, dream of it, or desire it. Why? If you are then you are doing something wrong.
I teach my clients that this lifestyle is about a few things...
1. You eat enough to fuel your body and to lose FAT - not weight. FAT is what you see and WEIGHT is your muscle, water, fluids, and a little fat. Why would you want to lose your energy sources and muscle?
2. Undereating is just as bad as overeating and when you eat just right you don't put up numbers like the Biggest Loser. You SEE and FEEL changes way before you can count them.
3. Strength training is your priority workout. You want to lose FAT then you should be lifting weights with the cardio.
4. Cardio is important but it is second to weights. We mix up the cardio a lot, too.
5. What you eat is more important than how much. You have got to get calories right but if you are eating crap you will workout and look like the crap you eat.
When you are doing these things amazing things happen to your body. Your shape changes, not just the number on the scale. You feel energized and your body glows. Everything is working. You start building some lean muscle tissue to replace that blobby, ugly fat.
This process means that you are also going to have weeks through the journey where you gain a little or not lose at all. To sculpt muscle the body needs water. Often it is so busy doing the work for the muscle that it doesn't burn any fat. That's OK because in a week or two it will. You might just see the scale go up because you have more water and muscle before a big fat dump.
You also have your menstrual cycle to consider. You want to stay healthy and by having slight gains at TOM it means that your body is in good hormonal balance. So don't get mad when your body is functioning as it should. It's when you don't experience this you should be worried.
The lesson for everyone today is celebrate your losses regardless of how little or lot they are and to keep a healthy perspective when things aren't operating on your timeline. Does life really ever operate on the timeline we establish? It doesn't for me!
Remember, nobody got fat eating right and exercising...that's how you get PHAT.
Below is a blog from my trainer Corinne at Phit-N-Phat regarding this issue and a few others:
Should I Lose Weight Every Week While Exercising and Dieting?
Uhhh...no. You shouldn't. Don't even think you should, dream of it, or desire it. Why? If you are then you are doing something wrong.
I teach my clients that this lifestyle is about a few things...
1. You eat enough to fuel your body and to lose FAT - not weight. FAT is what you see and WEIGHT is your muscle, water, fluids, and a little fat. Why would you want to lose your energy sources and muscle?
2. Undereating is just as bad as overeating and when you eat just right you don't put up numbers like the Biggest Loser. You SEE and FEEL changes way before you can count them.
3. Strength training is your priority workout. You want to lose FAT then you should be lifting weights with the cardio.
4. Cardio is important but it is second to weights. We mix up the cardio a lot, too.
5. What you eat is more important than how much. You have got to get calories right but if you are eating crap you will workout and look like the crap you eat.
When you are doing these things amazing things happen to your body. Your shape changes, not just the number on the scale. You feel energized and your body glows. Everything is working. You start building some lean muscle tissue to replace that blobby, ugly fat.
This process means that you are also going to have weeks through the journey where you gain a little or not lose at all. To sculpt muscle the body needs water. Often it is so busy doing the work for the muscle that it doesn't burn any fat. That's OK because in a week or two it will. You might just see the scale go up because you have more water and muscle before a big fat dump.
You also have your menstrual cycle to consider. You want to stay healthy and by having slight gains at TOM it means that your body is in good hormonal balance. So don't get mad when your body is functioning as it should. It's when you don't experience this you should be worried.
The lesson for everyone today is celebrate your losses regardless of how little or lot they are and to keep a healthy perspective when things aren't operating on your timeline. Does life really ever operate on the timeline we establish? It doesn't for me!
Remember, nobody got fat eating right and exercising...that's how you get PHAT.
Comments
Teresa