By: ISSA

If you have ever been a member at any gym or done any form of exercise for that matter I'm sure you are of the opinion that if you need to lose a few inches on a certain part of your body you need to work on that part more than the others, right? You couldn't be further from the truth!

Lets first try and understand our basic body structures, people can usually be classified shape wise as apples i.e. you gain weight first around your midsection, or pears; i.e. you gain weight more easily below thee midsection on the hips and thighs, or strawberries i.e. you gain weigh first on the upper body i.e. the chest upper arms and back. The shape you are is usually determined more so by genetics and up to a certain extent by your gender (women gain weight on their lower bodies and men on their upper bodies.)

Fat Is Good For You!

Surely even the shapeliest and slimmest of us have thought at some time; if I could drop a kilo or two I would be perfect! However we never realize how this very fat has certain very vital functions in the body.

Body fat protects the other vital body organs, keeps us warm, and is the bodies way of storing fuel for future use or in case of emergency. Fat from food helps solublize fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, and then helps to store them in the body as reserves for later use.

Fat provides essential fatty acids and is necessary for the proper functioning of skin, hormones and cell membranes. Women have lower body fat, which acts like a cushion to protect the uterus and is a biological necessity for childbearing. What's more, people who put on fat on their lower bodies have lesser chances of diabetes and heart diseases vis-à-vis people who put on fat easily waist upwards.

Fat In Your Body

The fat in the body is stored in between the skin and muscles all over the body. Thinner layers are present on the face, hands, neck etc and the layers become thicker towards the core of the body. The upper arms and thighs have thicker layers while the forearms and calves have thinner layers. The fat in the body is stored in the complex form of lipids which in order to be a source of energy first need to be broken down to simpler forms.

For this to happen a complex chemical procedure is required and this simplified form is what is responsible for supplying energy to your working muscles. Most people like to believe that the fat which will be from all over the body, the body does have its areas of preference, which are mobilized will come from the area you choose e.g.; if you do extra crunches fat from your abs is burnt off! No way! When the body uses fat as an energy source it is genetically determined, which is why some people lose fat more easily from certain areas as compared to others.

Moreover the selection process of the body happens in the reverse order, fat is used first from the places where it is stored last, that's why when you first start to exercise you rings, watches become loose, neck seems longer etc; and if you have a tendency to gain weight first on the hips I'm afraid, that's where you will lose it from the last!

So How Do I Get The Body Of My Dreams?

Before you cancel out your gym membership and curse yourself for running after an impossible dream. HOLD ON!

• Weight training is the only method in which you can individually shape and sculpt your muscles. It is the best way to alter your appearance and balance your proportions. So what if you have genetically wider hips? Work on toning your lower body better so there are no extra bulges and work on your back and shoulders so the width of your upper body matches that of the lower body.

  

• Forget about your weight. Check your body fat composition (several gyms have machines to measure the fat %) and work on altering that, you'll find that for every pond of fat you lose and every pound of muscle you gain there is a dramatic change in your size (the more muscular you are, you can weigh more but are definitely more compact).

• Alter your food habits, now please do not mentally translate that as STARVE, DENY, OR TORTURE. All I mean is eat more whole grains, raw fruits, vegetables, drink plenty of water, eat lesser refined food and cut down your intake of total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol.

• Last but not the least wears clothes that flatter you not those that enhance your flaws.

Always remember fat loss is not achieved by magic, nor do you need a miracle to get the shape you want, so skip those fat loss creams, vibrating belts and always remember that if these products were so infallible there would not be a single out of shape person walking this earth!

For any questions or comments regarding this article please contact Samreedhi at thinkfit10@hotmail.com.

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