When Fitness is a Lifestyle

This newsletter is a repeat of my newsletter from October of 2004. If you are trying to lose weight, this is a must read newsletter!

If I could offer one piece of advice to someone who is interested in losing weight, the one key ingredient is the FOOD. Working out by itself will not get the job done. If you are overweight, the cause is the amount and type of food you are eating. If you have a problem with abdominal fat, chances are you are consuming too much sugar and/or alcohol. Having too much body fat around your tummy puts you at a much higher risk for heart disease and diabetes. And no, doing a hundred crunches will not melt the fat off your stomach and give you a six pack. Muscle and fat are completely different organisms. One does not turn to the other and vise versa. Everyone has a six pack, unfortunately most of the time it’s covered by FAT!!!

Functional Conditioning has been helping people get into the best shape of their life for almost 6 years now. In that time, we have seen thousands of people. Most everyone initially wants to lose weight. However, what you weigh is just part of the whole picture of fitness. Let me explain. There are five components of fitness.

1. Body Composition
2. Cardiovascular Fitness
3. Muscular Strength
4. Muscular Endurance
5. Flexibility

Body composition is the percentage of fat and muscle that you carry. Cardiovascular fitness consists of how efficient your heart is able to deliver oxygen. Muscular strength refers to how much weight can be lifted at one time. Muscular endurance equates to how many times the weight can be lifted. Flexibility is the range of motion around a particular joint.

To improve cardiovascular fitness, you need to engage in cardiovascular activities. To improve muscular strength, you need to lift weights that are difficult enough to recruit and stimulate muscle fiber to grow stronger. To improve muscular endurance, you need to lift a weight enough times for that muscle to adapt to that load over a period of time. To improve flexibility, you need to work and stretch that particular joint and improve the range of motion in that joint.

So how do you change body composition? Some people think that doing cardio will help you lose body fat. I am going to let you in on a little secret - the best way to change your body composition is to monitor what you put in your mouth! Most people think that if you are skinny, you must be fit. Can someone be fit and fat? Body composition is just one piece of the fitness puzzle. If you think that just exercise alone will get rid of those extra pounds you are in for a long ride.

Let me explain why. One pound of body fat contains 3,500 calories. The following table shows you how much exercise it takes to lose that one pound of body fat.

So, how much food do you need to eat to gain that one pound of body fat?

Sure you might not eat all that food but as you can see it is much easier to gain weight than it is to lose it. Who wants to wash and wax their car for over nine and a half hours?

The bottom line is if your goal is to lose weight, keep track of the calories you are eating.  If you eat more than you burn, you are going to gain weight.  If you eat less (without starving yourself) you will lose weight.  Your weight loss goal should be one to two pounds per week of fat. Two pounds equates to a caloric deficit of 7,000 calories.  If you are losing more than that, most likely its muscle and water you are losing, not fat.

So many people will quit exercising because they are not losing weight fast enough.  Exercise because it will increase your metabolism.  Exercise because it will make you stronger.  Exercise because it helps you feel good.  Exercise to improve the other components of fitness.  However, exercise alone will not be enough to lose those unwanted pounds.  It’s all about the food...

Client of the Month

Brad started coming to Functional Conditioning in March of this year, when his wife gave him a gift certificate for his 40th birthday. Since then, Brad has lost a significant amount of weight! Most importantly, he has incorporated his fitness and healthy eating habits into a lifestyle change. Instead of sitting on the couch, eating like a pig, he takes his family on bike rides and hikes. What is most impressive about Brad? He drives from Highlands Ranch every Saturday morning for a 6:00 am workout. Talk about dedication!!!