Why You Should Burn Body Fat

Are you overweight? Then you probably want to lose some weight. It is
obvious that you’ll burn body fat by increasing your metabolism. But be
sure that what you burn is fat, not muscles.

Some statistics

• After age 25, the average person in America gains one pound or more a
  year, which means at the age of 50 an average person is 25 pounds or more
  heavier than he or she was 25 years ago.
• As you age your metabolism is slowing down, causing your body to burn
  less fat.
• Without exercising regularly, the average American loses a pound of
  muscle each year.
• A minority of Americans exercise in a significant way, which means less
  than 50 minutes of exercise per week. Two out of five Americans do not
  exercise at all.

Motivations for weight loss

• Most people’s primary motivation for weight loss is to improve their
  appearance.
• Other motivational factors are the many health benefits of proper
  nutrition and regular exercise.

Why obesity is dangerous

Reduction of excess body fat plays a vital role in maintaining good health
and avoiding disease. Medical evidence shows that obesity poses a
significant threat to health as well as to longevity:. Excess body fat is
connected to

• heart disease
• cancer
• diabetes
• gall bladder disease
• gastro-intestinal disease
• sexual dysfunction
• osteoarthritis
• stroke

Why is excess body fat linked to heart disease?

• About 4/5′s of deaths caused by heart disease and cancer, are linked to
  life-style factors, inactivity included.
• Your heart has to work harder to pump blood to the lungs and to the
  extra fat throughout your body. Therefore it takes more energy for you to
  breathe. This extra workload might cause your heart to become enlarged and
  high blood pressure and life-threatening erratic heartbeats might be the
  consequences.
• Overweight people often also have high cholesterol levels, making them
  more likely to develop arteriosclerosis. When blood vessels are so narrow
  that vital organs like the heart, kidneys or brain don’t get enough blood,
  this becomes life-threatening.
• It might go without saying, but the narrower the blood vessels become,
  the harder your heart has to pump, which results in increased blood
  pressure. High blood pressure itself poses several health risks, like heart
  attack, stroke and kidney problems.

Does excess body fat cause cancer?

• In general, research has linked cancer-causing chemicals (carcinogens)
  to excess, actually as a storage place for these.
• Excess fat has been linked to a higher rate of breast and uterine cancer
  for women
• Excess fat has been linked to colon and prostate cancer for men.

How is excess body fat related to diabetes?

• There is a delicate balance between the relative amount of body fat, the
  level of blood sugar and the hormone we call insulin.
• Excess blood sugar is stored in the liver and other vital organs, and
  converted to fat as soon as these organs have got what they need of it.
• The pancreas of overweight people often produces more and more insulin.
  The problem is however, that the body is not able to utilize this to
  regulate it’s blood sugar levels.
• This poor regulation of blood sugar and insulin causes an inbalance in
  the system, which results in diabetes. This disease may in it’s turn cause
  heart disease, kidney failure, blindness, amputation, and death.

How Reducing Body Fat Reduces Disease Risk

At an American University, researchers studied a sample of people following
a certain weight management program. This study showed

• decreased HDL cholesterol levels
• decreased triglyceride levels
• decreased blood pressure
• increased waist-to-hip ratio
• an active lifestyle can slow or stop the disease process for most
  people, even those with a history of heart disease in the family.

Other studies have shown that programs that includes

• regular physical activity
• low-fat diets
• stress reduction
• reverse heart disease processes.

while other studies shows that reducing body fat through an active lifestyle
and low fat diets mean reduced risk for

• prostate cancers for men
• breast and uterine cancers for women
• non-insulin dependent diabetes for both genders.

So, what shall I do?

You have to change to a new lifestyle, by committing yourself to a long term
process that gradually will lead you to a healthier life. This process
requires persistence and patience, especially in the beginning. If you stay
persistent, your new lifestyle will automatically take over, and it will
become natural for you. This process will contain

• moderate, long term fat loss
• aerobic exercise
• strength exercise

Here is the benefits 90 percent of overweight people following this advice
has gained:

• improved heart function
• improved blood pressure
• improved glucose tolerance
• improved cholesterol levels
• lowering requirements for medication
• eight times less likely to die from cancer than the unfit
• 53 percent less likely to die from other diseases than the unfit
• eight times less likely to die from heart disease than the unfit
  people.

But, how can I get started?

The first phase in such a process has shown to be the hardest – it is here
most people drop out. The longer you stay in the process, the more likely
you are to succeed. And trust me; after you – by means of persistency and
patience – have passed this critical start phase, the fun and excitement you
gradually will experience will make the change well worth the effort.

• You must make the decision to commit to this lifestyle changing
  process
• If you ever feel tempted to skip it for a day or even give up, confront
  yourself with your commitment, and go on.

How to stay motivated?

Allow plenty of time for the changes. You should give yourself several years
for the changes to take place. If you do so, your body will adjust
comfortably and the probability of maintaining this healthy lifestyle
permanently, will be higher.

About the Author

Terje Brooks Ellingsen is a writer and internet marketer. He runs the
website 11-Weight-Loss.net.
Terje enjoys to give advice and help people with rapid weight loss with negative calorie food as well as low carb diet.

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