Lose Fat Not Muscle!
The worst mistake I feel most people do when trying to trim down is to concentrate solely on the scale. Throw it out the window! Don’t want to hit the cat? OK. Throw it out the door then. Seriously, the scale can be a helpful tool but remember you care about how you look and how you feel, not about a number on a scale!
Here’s a hint: muscle weights more than fat. In theory if someone gets in shape he or she could actually gain weight! But most would agree he or she’d look better. And of course if you lose muscles you will indeed lose weight – but is that really what you want to do?
Muscles help raise metabolism, which basically, means you’re burning more calories whether you’re sleeping, working or watching TV!
If we stay on a restricted diet too long, or if you make the mistake of starving yourself, or eating just salads, or just bananas, or any such unhealthy unbalanced eating plan, most of the weight you’ll lose is muscle. When you stop starving yourself – and you can’t go forever doing this – you’ll gain the fat back but not all of the muscle, so your metabolism will actually be lower than it was, and you’ll burn less calories.
Doesn’t sound like a wining formula now does it? It’s part of the dreaded “Yoyo effect” where people get back all the weight they lost during a diet and sometimes even add a little more.
That’s why adding exercise is such a good idea: you’ll keep your metabolism at a higher level. Maybe you dislike exercise now but if so, please notice the successful dieters you personally known. Those that were overweight at one time yet have been in great shape for a long time. Chances are they most probably found a sport or fitness activity they enjoy doing consistently. Success leaves clues. Follow them. Seek out people that have achieved what you want and follow a similar pattern – you’ll get similar results.
I know most people don’t want to get “too muscular” but I’m here to tell you that unless you’ve got freakish genetics, building muscles takes a long time so you’ve got nothing to worry about! The models you see with high muscle mass have worked at it for years, and it’s not a secret anymore that performance enhancing drugs are widespread among models and bodybuilders.
Fat burning supplements can really come in handy when you want to spare muscles yet lose fat at a faster rate. They help boost metabolism, get energy while eating less than usual, and control our appetite. All this is very helpful when trying to lose weight quickly!