4 Things You Didn’t Know About Weight Loss

On the scales, a kilo is a kilo. However, inside your body, there are many aspects to body mass. When you’re trying to lose weight, it can be hard to know what will get you the best results. Read below to help you to better understand how our bodies burn fat and the best ways to do it.

How does body fat leave your body?

Contrary to popular belief, when you lose weight, you don’t sweat (or poop) it all out. While a small amount of fat does leave the body in this way, it’s not as much as you think. It’s all about the breath.

When you are in a calorie deficit, fat cells are called upon to provide energy for your body. In a metabolic process your body breaks down and converts the fat into energy so you have enough energy to get through the day.

The by-product of this breakdown of fat cells is disposed of by your body through your breath as you exhale. So yes, you can breathe the fat away.

Where does the fat go?

Fat cells become depleted and once ‘emptied,’ they shrink and this is the start of how fat is lost from the body. Because the by-products of the body’s fat-to-energy process are breathed out, the more you breathe, the more fat you lose.

For this reason, cardio is highly recommended for fat loss because your breathing increases to get more blood and oxygen around your body.

So exercise amplifies this process and hence burns more fat. However, your fat cells do not disappear, so excess calorie consumption over time will cause them to refill = weight gain.

Is Fitness = Weight Loss?

Keeping active is essential for optimal health. You will ward off disease, lift your mood and maintain strong tissues, bones and muscles.

However, exercise alone does not guarantee that you will lose a lot of weight.  Longer studies say that the calories in/calories out formula to weight loss is too basic to what actually occurs in the body.

Energy expenditure is complex and while 100% of your energy intake comes from food, 10 to 30% is expended through exercise.

This means an extra 500-calories burnt in a workout does not compensate for a 500-calorie snack. However, fitness is essential for positive health outcomes, so keep active, but don’t be burdened by guilt if you’re not losing weight that your workouts are not ‘hardcore’ enough.

For example, this gym in Camberwell has a different variety of workouts to choose from, so you’ll be able to push your body according to your ability to see results. 

Intake, intake and intake

Losing weight is hard when we feel the need to control. Control our fitness and control our food intake. What you eat will affect your weight, but we also know that how we think about eating has a huge impact on what we eat.

Treats, cheat meals, being ‘good’ and clean eating are all ways in which we create compensatory eating habits which can spiral into life-threatening health conditions.

And as you may know, crash diets, cleanses or dramatic calorie deficits are short-term approaches to fat loss and not shown to help you keep weight off.

Avoid – no matter the marketing hype! Instead, low to medium calorie restriction is the way to go. You don’t necessarily have to track macros or log foods, start with smaller portions, varied food types, and as little processed food as possible. 

While improving your food environment is the most essential aspect of weight loss, exercise is the key to maintaining your ideal weight and improving health outcomes.

So keep moving and be mindful of how much and what you eat for an optimal body mass. The