Thursday, April 21, 2011

Weight Loss vs Fat Loss

I want to follow up on my article above regarding losing body fat and add some more information about weight loss. Many articles have been written lately (including the most recent Pilates Style magazine) about how exercise isn't very effective for those who mainly need to lose weight. The research on this subject is not very convincing as it doesn't really use a comprehensive exercise program, but nevertheless, common sense is all you need to agree that exercise compares poorly to diet when it comes to adding or losing weight. For example, to burn 3,500 calories, which is equivalent to 1 pound of fat, a 120lb person would need to run at 8mph (7.5min/mile) pace for 4.78 hours. To consume 3,500 calories, all you have to do is drink a Grande Skim Chai Tea and Blueberry Scone five days in a row. No comparison! Cutting back on high-calorie food is a lot easier to do than running for hours. If you only walk, you'd have to walk at 3mph for nearly 20 hours to burn 3,500K! So, let me be clear - exercise doesn't trump diet when it comes to weight loss. That being said, if done properly, the best way to lose weight is a combination of both diet and exercise, and it is proven to be the only effective and healthy way to keep weight off for good. My article on fat burning includes sensible diet guidelines, but the main point is that to really burn fat to look leaner, you have to charge your metabolism through specific exercise, as detailed above.
As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome.