Getting a better figure is a complex process, but for over 100 years marketing companies have had us believe that the only thing to improving your body shape was weight loss. We were told that we could burn off stubborn belly fat and ‘target problem areas’ with specific exercises, diets, pills and creams.
Unfortunately, most of what companies told us in order to get us to buy their products is seldom based in real science, even when science at the time knew better.
Here are three solid truths about weight loss that you should know before you get started on that lose weight program:
1) You cannot lose fat off a single specific area. This is one of the biggest and most harmful myths about dieting. Fat is an inert fuel source. You can’t move it around or get blood pumping through it – you can only use it up. Think of a car: when it uses up all its fuel, it doesn’t get thinner where its fuel tank is. It just gets lighter.
It’s the same with our bodies. We can do two things to improve the appearance of an area: one is to burn more calories than we consume on a daily basis, making our body need to use its fuel reserves. The other is to exercise and strengthen the muscles in that area, making them appear more toned and visible when you lose fat over your entire body.
2) There’s always something you can do. Some people have more trouble with their weight than others – this is true. Some people put weight on in their hips, and others get a fat face. Everybody’s body type is different, but they never mean that you’re immune to the simple laws of nutrition: Exercise more and eat less, and you will lose weight and be healthier.
3) Your body is more than just a number. Muscle weighs more than fat, and some people have denser bones than others. Never go ‘by the numbers’, and always talk to a doctor about what your ideal weight should be. Seeing the number on the bathroom scale go down is only one way of looking at health and fitness, and you need to learn to take the bigger picture into account when you set out to improve your health and body shape.