Weight And Fat Loss: Focus On What You Want To Gain
What Do You Really Want?
People including you can not see how much you weigh. You need a scale for that. Focusing on weight loss can make it a lot more difficult to reduce fat and slim down. So you should ask yourself what you really want. Is it worth all the extra effort and possible health problems. You do not always need to lose weight to become skinnier or healthier. If you have extra fat you will probably lose weight when you reduce your fat but sometimes your weight will stay the same or even increase.
Fat loss is a better goal in my opinion but you are still focusing on what you do not want. Focusing on loss makes things a lot harder than they need to be. I recommend focusing on what you want not what you want to lose. For example you may want to focus on improving your health or building muscle. I usually focus on getting better at something specific like increasing the distance I can bike or the number of push ups I can do.
Diet
If your focusing on losing weight your probably going to try avoiding a lot of the foods you like. Reducing the amount of calories you consume is a sure way to lose weight. At least it should be because your weight is determined by the number of calories you consume versus the number of calories you burn. The problem is your body does not want to starve. If you do not eat enough your body will burn fewer calories. A restrictive diet can also increase your junk food cravings. You can lose weight that way but you will probably gain it all back after you are done torturing yourself.
When focusing on improving your health you are more likely to maintain a healthy diet that does not slow down your metabolism or increase junk food cravings. Keep your body happy and it will work with you not against you. Keeping your body happy may also mean snacking between meals. Thinking about healthy food is better than thinking about the junk food you are trying not to eat. So if you make of list of foods the list should contain foods you want to include in your diet. Filling up on healthy food is a good way to stop yourself from eating junk.
Exercise
Exercise can burn a lot of calories so it is good for fat loss. It can also cause you to burn more calories throughout the day. Some people avoid exercise because they do not want more muscle while others consider it too much work. It can increase your muscle weight but in my opinion avoiding exercise makes losing fat and slimming down a lot harder. If you are not exercising then your weight loss must come from changing your diet.
I noticed that when I am exercising regularly I do not crave junk food. Sure I still have some once in a while but I not not crave it more than healthy foods. In a lot of cases I would rather eat something healthy instead of junk food. If I stop exercising for a while the junk food cravings come back and I find myself eating more of it. When I exercise regularly I also spend less time being bored. So it reduces the chance of me eating because I am bored.
Another benefit of exercise is that it works well for reducing stress. Stress can make it very difficult to lose weight. It often causes people to weight gain. When you are stressed your body wants to store fat in your stomach area. If you exercise regularly your stress will be reduced and your body will not be trying to fatten you up.
Adapting
If I do a lot of running my body adapts. My muscles become stronger and I become leaner. People that do a lot of running, biking or swimming often become lean. Weightlifters are often bulky because they adapt to lifting weights while sitting or laying down. The body becomes more efficient at doing the task. That means the look of your body will change depending on the types of exercise and activities you do.
Your body also adapts to your eating habits. Animals that do not eat frequently store a lot of fat when they do eat. When you reduce the amount of food you eat to lose weight your body adapts so it can survive with less food. That is why you can not simply starve yourself to lose weight without experiencing some negative consequences. When changing your diet think about how your body is going to respond.
The Goal Is The Problem
Focusing on loss can cause your body to turn against you. It can cause your body to try to store fat when you are trying to reduce your weight. You can beat it in the short term but there are negative consequences like a lack of energy, depriving yourself of foods you like, increased junk food cravings and the feeling of being hungry all the time. The weight or fat loss goal is the problem. You should not be spending your time thinking about junk food and fat or your body weight.
If you focus on improving your body then your body will work with you. Focusing on fat, junk food and your body weight just makes things more difficult. If you focus on doing things you want to do then you will be more likely to do them. One of my goals it to bike to one of the best beaches in Canada. I am looking forward to it. Another of my goals is to do handstand push-ups.