Assessments: "An Insight To Your Personal Weight Loss Trends"

In a previous article I discussed the myth of “Spot Reduction”. A concept that implies you burn fat from specific areas of your body that you exercise. As I had gone on to say, everybody’s body burns fat from different areas more than others, and spot reduction does not exist.

I personally experience the last of my weight to come out of my mid-section, while the rest of my body tightens up much quicker.

With all of my clients I do regular assessments to help track weight loss, as well as their inches lost. I measure 9 different areas of their body. From assessment to assessment you can follow the trends in inches lost to get a feel of what areas your body draws it’s fat energy from.

So, for example if you notice you are continually seeing a high number of inches lost in your waist then you can pinpoint that as one of the areas that your body draws fat energy from. If your legs continually lose minimal inches then you know it’s an area that your body does not draw from nearly as much, and you can anticipate that it will be one of the last areas to go.

In this way your assessment provides you some foresight into your future weight loss, and the new shape your body is taking on.  There are other factors that come in to play such as the exchange of fat for muscle, but even with that said. If you exchange fat for muscle in some areas more than others, you will be able to identify that with the information provided in your assessments as well. 

Starvation Mode

Depriving your body of calories, nutrients, or solid foods is a poor, and unhealthy way to go about achieving your weight loss goals.

One situation I have encountered frequently are clients whose weight gain doesn’t come as a result of eating too much, but rather from eating too little.

When people eat too little, or too infrequently, it slows their metabolism down, and throws them into a state known as “Starvation Mode”. It typically means their total caloric intake is less than 50% of what their body requires. As a survival adaptation on your body’s part it reacts to this lack of calories/nutrients by storing as much fat as possible.

This can come about for several reasons:

·         Many doctors I train have such hectic work schedules that they are lucky to get more than one solid meal in a day. Even if the meals they eat are healthy ones... people with very busy schedules who have a harder time getting in their 5 recommended meals a day metabolism's slow down, their bodies go into starvation mode, and as a result put on weight. 

·         Some people intentionally have a low caloric intake based on the premise of creating a calorie deficit. Attempting to create a situation where they are burning more calories than they are taking in. Creating a calorie deficit can be an effective weight loss method for some people under the right circumstances, but if your calorie/nutrient intake is TOO low, then you’re actually going to become counterproductive to your weight loss goals. It’s an EXTREMELY common mistake.

·         Some people will occasionally starve themselves in the literal sense in an attempt to fit into a dress for an event, or just to kill a few pounds. While this may work in the short term, the long term effects usually entail that person regaining more weight than they had to begin with. Your body is in no way, under any circumstances meant to be deprived of calories, nutrients, or hydration.

Starvation, strictly low carb, or liquid diets all garner the same effect. Once you re-introduce that which your body has been deprived of, your body will store as much of it as possible in an effort to prepare for what it expects to be another inevitable drought of calories/nutrients.

For example…

If you went a month of no carbs, lost 15lbs, and then went back to eating carbs again… you’re most likely going to put that 15lbs back on much faster than you lost it, as well as an additional 10-15lbs! Your body is now anticipating that it’s not going to see carbs again for a long while. It’s preparing for the next draught whether there will be one or not. It's doing this to protect you. A survival mechanism to help keep you alive! You must remember, that your body is not interested in your cosmetic appearance, only your survival. Cycling your carb intake however, can be a very effective way to burn fat when monitored by your personal trainer.

Depriving your body of anything it requires to function properly is bad for a number of reasons, but it is most definitely counterproductive to any weight loss goals you have. This is why creating a nutritionally balanced diet, with balanced meal frequency is going to garner you the best results whether it’s weight loss, muscle gains, or just your general health.

This is where I come in. To determine what areas of your diet are lacking, and what adjustments need to be made to allow you to achieve the goals you have set for yourself, and maintain your results for the long term.

Spot Reduction

One of the most common questions I am asked by clients is, “How do I get rid of this right here?”, as they are pointing to one of their problem areas. Regardless of where they point to, my answer is the same… diet and exercise.

What they are referring to is known as “Spot Reduction”… and I’m sorry to say, but it doesn’t exist.

The human body doesn’t burn fat specific to working the muscles that the fat surrounds. For example, you can do crunches all day, and while you are burning calories, and developing your abdominals, you are not burning more fat from your stomach than you are from anywhere else. Working your arms, abs, legs, or buttocks more doesn’t make them skinnier. Clean dieting and exercise in general does.

If spot reduction existed you’d have to find a way to put fat on in specific areas of your body to fuel them. Your body is sparing you that responsibility by just using all the fat in you as a fuel source for all of your muscles.

Now, you may find that you lose fat in some areas faster than others. This has everything to do with genetics. You may see a person with a gut, and tiny skinny legs, or someone with a skinny upper body, and big hips and legs. This is due to their genetic makeup, and has nothing to do with training certain muscles more than others.

Men and women tend to both store, and lose fat in different areas than one another. It’s just one of the many differences between the male and female of the species. If spot reduction existed, then men and women alike would benefit equally from similar training programs.