Site Search

Body Fat - A Necessary Evil!

By Diane Catrambone

Although excess body fat increases the risk of developing many diseases that affect the health of many people today, we cannot live on lean tissue alone. Fat plays an essential role in maintaining the body. Remember….quality not quantity and you go a long way towards keeping beneficial body fat to remain healthy and fit.

We survive from meal to meal because energy is produced from stored fat as we need it. Fifteen percent of the average woman’s body weight is fat that provides readily accessible energy. Another four percent is stored for the demands of pregnancy and breast feeding. The average woman has enough stored fat to survive a 60-90 day fast.

Approximately four percent of body weight is made up of fat in the organs, skeletal muscles, and central nervous systems. This fat is sometimes referred to as “essential fat” because these organs will stop functioning if it is depleted. Having too little fat is a health hazard. The risk of premature death begins to mount when body mass index (BMI) drops below 18.

As in everything else in life, men and women are different when it comes to fat distribution. Women deposit fat on the thighs and buttocks. Men carry around their middle. That’s where the female pear and the male apple come in, although it is a very broad generalization. Lots of evidence leans towards fat distribution being related to a person’s hormonal levels. Women who have a higher proportion of circulating estrogen tend to have smaller waists in relation to their hips, while those who have a higher proportion of androgens to estrogens tend to have higher waist/hip ratios as well.

Whatever the reason for excess fate, we know that exercise and diet changes may help to correct your situation.

Exercise on a regular basis is now accepted as the key to weight loss and control. Data from the National Weight Control Registry indicate that women who maintain a substantial weight loss for more than three years use an average of 400 calories a day through regular exercise of all types. If you are overweight and have an apple shape, a reasonable approach is to begin to exercise at a comfortable rate and gradually build up to higher-intensity workouts. If you are not overweight but are gaining weight around the abdomen, try exercising at a higher rate for at lest 30 minutes per day.

A sound and nutritional eating plan is an extremely important component to keeping your fat stores at an optimal level. Eat too little, the body, being an amazing machine, will store fat, sensing that survival is at stake. But there is a way around that. Instead of drastically cutting calories all at once, gradually reduce calories, but focus mainly on changing the types of foods you consume. Substitute with foods that require the body to use more stored calories to digest them rather than reducing calories. In general, carbohydrates and proteins consume more energy in the digestive process than fats do and complex carbohydrates take more energy to digest than simple carbohydrates. Eat smart and lose pounds for good while creating a healthier, leaner you.

About the Author:

Diane Catrambone, Owner of Fitness Together in Chester Springs, PA has been a personal fitness and nutritional coach for over 20 years. Visit her website at www.ftchestersprings.com