How To Lose Fat, Not Just Weight

By Perce Tionic

“I want to lose weight.” Have you ever said that to yourself? If you’re reading this, chances are you have. Millions of people around the world are looking for new and better ways to lose weight; they try every new pill or diet out there. Unfortunately, they eventually realize that these diets are always temporary. In fact, most of them don’t even work! When someone wants to lose weight, they get desperate. I know this, because I was one of them. I used to weigh 265lbs. my senior year in high school. Granted, I was a lineman in football, and still had lots of muscle. But, there was that annoying fat around the belly.

After I graduated from high school, I stopped lifting weights completely. All the muscle I had underneath that layer of fat, disappeared. I was in much worse shape now. I was also a heavy smoker. I was smoking 1-2 packs a day. Actually, this is why I started to exercise again. I was hoping to clean out my lungs. However, I did not lift any weights; all I did was Cardio. Since I was going to college at the time, I had time to run during the day. I started out jogging for 20 minutes; it was EXTREMELY HARD at first because of all the smoking. But, I was eventually running 7-10 miles a day!

After running for several months, I quit smoking and lost a bunch of weight. Of course, when I looked in the mirror, I didn’t think I lost that much weight. I can see why anorexics look in the mirror and think they’re fat. It was when friends and family complimented me on my looks that I started to realize that I had actually lost a lot of weight. That gave me more of an incentive to continue running. Over the next year, I had lost a bunch more weight. I was 265lbs. when I started and I got down to 170lbs. That’s 95lbs of weight I lost! Notice I said weight, not Fat. I did lose a lot of fat, but I lost a lot of muscle too! I had a lot of muscle, due to being in football and track back in high school. Back then, I was benching 365lbs. and squatting 615lbs. That should give you an idea of what I used to look like. Now add about 50lbs of FAT on top of that muscle and you’ll get a better idea of what I used to look like. I lost that 50lbs of fat, but I also lost that 45lbs. of MUSCLE! Now, these are just my estimates, but they’re pretty close.

So, a couple years go by and I see some friends from high school at an event over the summer. When I go up to them to say hi, they didn’t recognize me. To some people that might seem like a compliment, but to me, it was not. When they realized it was me, they had an almost disgusted look on their face. Some actually asked me if I got sick or something. I told them that I was just doing a lot of running. After getting many of these looks, I took a long look in the mirror and realized that I was way too skinny. Keep in mind, I was always bigger and stronger than all of my friends at 6 Foot 265lbs. Now, I was their size or smaller, with not that much muscle left. So, after losing all that WEIGHT, I decided to gain it back in the form of MUSCLE. Wow, was that going to be hard!

I knew that in order to gain muscle, I had to eat much more than I was now. That means all the hard work, the 10 mile a day runs, would go to waste. I was so pissed! In the next few years or so, I started my journey to a better more muscular body. I have been struggling ever since. It has been 12 years since I graduated from high school. I have still not reached my goal. I am 30 years old and 220lbs. with 19% body fat at a height of 6 feet. I am not in the worst shape in the world, but I am nowhere near where I wanted to be. I am in the same place I was back in high school, only smaller. I have lots of muscle, but still have the fat around the mid section, which is where almost all of my fat is. I know exactly what to do to gain muscle and burn Fat, but I have not been able to be consistent with it, since I don’t always have time due to work. I know exactly how many calories, fat, carbs, protein that I need and how much and what kind of exercise I need. But, the problem is actually implementing it all. I have started lifting weights during my lunch hour and doing light cardio after work. I am eating a pretty good amount of GOOD calories so I can lift and gain muscle, and I am making sure I do enough low level cardio (walking, biking) for at least 45 minutes so I can BURN FAT and not just LOSE WEIGHT.

Up till now, I have been giving you a little background on me and my experience. I have done lots of research on burning fat and not just losing weight. I know I am now on my way to achieving the body and health that I want, and I would like to share that with you. There are many ways to lose FAT and KEEP MUSCLE. I know I am on the right track now and have seen the results. Now, I know not everybody is not looking to bulk up with muscle and lose fat. But, the techniques I use work for everybody. In the next paragraph, I will give you three simple steps that you will need to implement in order to Lose Fat, Not Just Weight.

If you are overweight and want to lose FAT, Not Just WEIGHT, there are several things you need to do. This formula is very simple; I’m not going to get into so much detail about exactly what you need to do, because each of you will find what works best for you after hearing the basics here. First of all, you can’t be Lazy! You will have to workout! Now, you don’t have to work out 5 days a week at an intense level, but you do have to work out. You can work out as little as twice a week. Second, you will have to find out how many calories, fat, carbs, and protein you will need for your age/height/body type. This is extremely important, because it will give you a guide on how to eat right. This does not necessarily mean you have to change your eating habits completely; you may just have to change how often you eat and what you are eating. The best thing to do is to eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day. This will make sure your metabolism is up. The higher your metabolism, the more fat you burn. Third, you will need to be consistent! You have to make this a life style. This is not something you can do for a little while, and then give it up because you achieved your results. You have to continue to do this your whole life, and change your exercise and eating habits accordingly throughout your life. If you can’t come to terms with this, then you will never be able to be in the shape you want. Well, that’s it; that’s all you have to do. You may have heard all of this many times, but that is because it is the best and only way to lose fat, not just weight. You will need to find what works for you with this formula. You can start now, and perfect it at your own pace.

It’s extremely important for you to do SOME reading on the three steps you need to Lose Fat, Not Just Weight. You need to make up your own eating habits and your own workout schedule. There is lots of information on these subjects and others that work, and you can find them at www.akkadians.org. This site will give you tons of information on the three important steps and more. If you’re serious about losing Fat, not just Weight, then you’ll try to learn more about the steps above, rather than wasting your time like I did for years. It does not take long, because they are very simple ideas. You just have to apply them. Good Luck! http://www.akkadians.org

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Perce_Tionic http://EzineArticles.com/?How-To-Lose-Fat,-Not-Just-Weight&id=494288