The Basics Of Getting Leaner!

The easiest and quickest way to improve looks is to burn fat. If you want your body to look tighter, burn calories. If you want your muscles to appear bigger, burn calories...

The easiest and quickest way to improve looks is to burn fat. If you want your body to look tighter, burn calories. If you want your muscles to appear bigger, burn calories. No matter how strong and big muscles one possesses, he or she won't look impressive, if the person's body is covered by a thick layer of fat. So anyone, who is trying to sculpt his or hers own body in order to look better, must know at least the basics of getting leaner.

Losing weight is simple. Unfortunately, it has been complicated with all the equipment on TV commercials. All the do-this-and-that-and-you-will-have-a-perfect-body-in-no-time commercials must not be taken seriously. There are no magic-tools in burning fat!

Burning those extra calories is most of all mathematics. Your daily calorie in-take must be smaller than the amount of calories consumed per day. Professional bodybuilders and fitness models calculate their calorie in-take carefully, so that they can lose weight as much as they want to.

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Calorie Calculator!

7000 kcal equals one kilo. This means that if a person's daily calorie consuming is 1000 kcal higher than his or hers calorie in-take, the person will end up losing one kilo per week.

Now, the before mentioned example is not for people who are trying to lose weight permanently, because it is too short a time to lose so much weight. To lose one kilo of fat per week is a high speed for the professionals too, and most of them take more time to burn fat so that they don't run out of time before competition.

In addition there is one remarkable thing to remember: the less you burn fat per week, the better it is for your muscle mass, too.

There are a few complex things in losing weight that must be taken into consideration. Firstly, while losing weight, it is also possible to lose some muscles in the process. Secondly, especially for amateurs it is very difficult to find the motivation to get shredded.

And thirdly, there are many foods that are healthy, but they might also destroy diets.


Losing Fat, While Maintaining Muscles

So let's tackle the first complex issue, how to lose weight, but maintain the hard-earned muscle mass? The easiest way to do that is to monitor your diet very carefully. All the candies, pizzas, ice-creams, donuts and other high-in-sugar products must not be eaten while trying to lose weight.

Only the essential fats, such as the fats coming from oils, can be included to diet. The meals should be consisted of foods that are high in protein and carbohydrate and low in fat. Another thing to remember is that one should not skip meals in order to eat less.

It is better to eat frequently, so that over-eating can be avoided. That is nutritional part in a nutshell. To gather more information on nutrition it is highly recommendable to read articles on eating.

The training part, on the other hand, can be very surprising, because the quickest way to burn calories is not the best one. To illustrate my point, let's take the long-distance runners. Admittedly they are low in fat, but they don't have any muscles either.

That is why calories must not be burnt by running. The best way to burn calories is, oddly enough, walking. Many bodybuilders have adopted walking as their best method to lose fat. Some take a brisk walk on an empty stomach in the morning, while the others do it after their weight training session.

It does not matter, as long as you just do it!

Some gym-goers have a specific body part that they are trying to improve. Usually this is the stomach area. These gym-goers go and perform a couple of sets of sit-ups every day, but their bodies show no signs of getting improvement.

There is one thing that they should know: there is no such thing as targeted fat-reduction. If a person wants to have, for instance, a tight waistline, a few sets of sit-ups won't do the trick. His or hers body fat percentage must be very low (women 14-20 % fat, men 8-13 % fat), which means that cardiovascular exercises must be added to training program.


The Motivation

The second difficult task is to find the motivation for losing weight. This is something that separates the wheat from the chaff. The lack of motivation can also be hampered by the lack of knowledge, some people just go and train every day without any gains.

Of course, that can be very frustrating, which is why it is important to gather as much of information on bodybuilding as possible. Reading articles and books on bodybuilding is not for nothing!

Getting shredded is not usually fun. The person must day after day break that comfort-zone and monitor his or hers diet very carefully in order to get results. But it is worth doing it. With proper training methods, strict diet and rigid attitude the results will come in due course.

It is also important to stay focused, a common mistake is to lose patience at some point of training program.

The best way to stay focused is to think about your goals. Why are you trying to lose weight? Why do you want to get leaner? Sometimes it is good to think about these questions for a while so as not to lose concentration. After all, motivation is the basis for everything in bodybuilding.


Healthy, Yet Fattening Foods

This is the most essential part in getting lean. The saying `You are what you eat` applies greatly to bodybuilding. It is common knowledge that for instance all donuts and sodas are not to be eaten while trying to lose some fat.

But there are many rather surprising foods that ought to be left alone, and what is worst they are usually considered perfect for people who are trying to get shape.

In this article I will concentrate on the foods that are regarded as dieters best friends, when they actually are the worst enemies. Worst, because they are not known to destroy diets. For instance, bananas, orange juices, pastas, white bread and grapes all are to be avoided while dieting.

The before mentioned foods are just examples, there are many, many other foods too that ought to be avoided, too.

Okay, so what about the vitamins that people get from orange juice? Should they just stick to their diets and not eat them? The answer is no. It is better to eat a whole orange and drink a glass of water than to drink a glass of orange juice, this will get the much-needed vitamins and, in addition, it will make the person feel fuller.

From dieter's point of view, the worst solution would be to eat a couple of white breads and to drink a glass of orange juice, it does not sound a risky business, but it is.

The easiest way to exclude those healthy, yet fattening foods from your diet is by simply reading the trade description at the food store.


The Little Things That Matter

Losing weight can be divided into three parts: training, nutrition and motivation. All these are equal, and one needs to pay attention to all three parts. Training resulting into successful fat-loss is due to taking all the little things seriously.

So, don't skip work-outs. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Monitor your diet carefully. And in conclusion, motivate yourself, set goals and do your utmost to reach them!


About The Author
Hans Hauiskaanto is a freelance journalist from Finland with wide range of experience in writing on sports. He possesses keen knowledge of the attributes of compelling stories, good writing, talent and creativity. His articles have appeared in various magazines, in addition he has gained experience in hosting shows too. Should you require further information Hans Hauiskaanto's e-mail address is Hans.Hauiskaanto@gmail.com.

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