Don't get hung up on the number on the scale - make sense of it first. Your weight has to do with not only how much fat you have in your body, but also how much muscle mass you have.
Just A Number
Weight is simply a number and by itself it doesn't mean much. Most times we think that the less we weigh the healthier we are. This is simply not true. One's health and well-being cannot be measured by looking at the number on the scale.
Body Composition
Have you ever known someone who by all appearances was a very 'small' person, only to discover that person weighed in at what you might consider to be 'heavy' based on the scale number?
It all has to do with how much muscle vs fat the person is carrying on their body. A pound of muscle weighs exactly the same as a pound of fat, however muscle takes up less space in your body compared to fat. This is known as one's 'body composition'.
Muscle mass and fat mass are made up of two entirely different types of cells and tissues. If you stop exercising your muscles it might seem as if your muscle has turned into fat. The truth is they have just gotten smaller since muscle cannot turn into fat. When your muscles seem smaller due to lack of exercise your fat just becomes more apparent. Bottom line, just as you can't change a liver cell into a skin cell, you can't change a muscle cell into a fat cell.
Weight Loss or Fat Loss
Many times we tend to think that "weight loss" and "fat loss" are essentially the same thing. In reality, they are very different. Our body weight is made up of tissue, blood, water, muscle, fat, bone, etc. When someone says they would like to 'lose weight', for the majority of dieters, they really mean they want to lose excess body fat.
Unfortunately, when many of those dieters start their weight loss programs, they may end up starving themselves, not exercising properly, and in the end will lose a lot of muscle mass (and possibly some body fat), instead of losing the excess body fat they desire.
Losing excess body fat is better for you because it will decrease your risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, and also many cancers.
Healthy Levels
Although it's true that having excess body fat can put your health at risk, you do need to have some body fat to perform certain important bodily functions. Essential fat, which is stored in organs and found in muscle tissue and throughout the central nervous system; maintains normal bodily processes. This essential fat regulates the body temperature, provides shock absorption and energy production.
Healthy body fat levels are around 15% for men and 22% for women, depending on age. Maintaining this healthy body composition requires a lifestyle focus.
Balanced nutrition, regular physical activity including endurance, strength and flexibility along with stress management are the key. Remember though, exercise cannot be used as a substitute for a poor diet because it takes a lot of physical activity to burn enough calories to make a difference with weight-loss.
Healthy, Fit, Beautiful
Working to reduce your body fat, improve your muscle density, trim your waist and improve your overall appearance and sense of well being; is a much better goal than aiming for a number on the scale.
And, by getting the proper nutrition and physical activity daily, you won't even believe how good you will feel - both mind and body.
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