Being Over-Fat:
Did you know that excess body-fat can lead to a multitude of health problems? For one thing, excess body-fat can precipitate hypertension thus increasing the risk of stroke. Fat gain can also increase the likelihood of diabetes in genetically susceptible people and, thus, bring on its associated ills. Excess body-fat (especially in the central abdominal area of the body) also increases the risk of heart disease by worsening atherosclerosis. Other physical conditions associated with over-fatness include abdominal hernias, some cancers, varicose veins, gout, gallbladder disease, arthritis, respiratory problems, liver malfunction, complications in pregnancy and surgery, flat feet and even a high accident rate.

GOAL SETTING AND KEEPING SCORE:

That's the bad news. The good news is most people do not have to live their lives at an unhealthy weight. Most people desire to lose some degree of body-fat. Therefore, the extent of our over-fatness-- and the amount we wish to lose-- must be determined. This way, goals can be set and progress monitored. Once your goals are established, you should record your progress in your daily Exercise and Nutrition Journal.

Its Body-Composition That Matters:
The original weight-table standards were designed for insurance purposes -- not as guides for nutrition and fitness. These tables never considered body-composition. Most world-class body-builders (usually less than 8% body-fat) would be categorized "obese" by the original weight-tables.
The way to measure and determine one's fat to lean muscle proportion is to determine body-fat percentage. The body-fat percentage is the percentage of an individual’s weight that is fat.

Quit looking at the Scale:
Here is the best advice you will ever hear in regard to weight-management -- “Quit looking at the scale”. In fact weigh-ins should only be done with a trained professional. The focus (obsession) on weight is the very reason why most people fail. It’s misguided and dangerous.
The focus on weight began back in the 1950’s when the definition of appropriate weight was simple. Your weight was compared against the "ideal weight" tables developed by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. If your actual weight was twenty percent (20%) or more above the table weight, then you were considered obese. If it was ten percent (10 %) under, you were underweight. Today, however, the term ideal weight is irrelevant.
Beware: Some medical doctors still use the Metropolitan Life Tables.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOUR BODY:

Your body is approximately fifty-five percent (55%) water, twenty percent (20%) protein, fifteen percent (15%) fat, nin percent (9%) minerals, and one percent (1%) carbohydrates and vitamins.
These basic components must constantly be replenished through the foods we eat, but not necessarily in the same proportions for each of us. Some foods enter our bodies as fuel and are burned on consumption to meet energy needs. Others become the basic building blocks of tissues and fluids. Still, others are vital to the delicate interactions required by the body's many functions.

. Slow Down:
Muscles must instead draw more heavily upon their limited supply of glucose. When this happens, glucose is spent rapidly. As a result, fragments of glucose molecules accumulate in the muscle tissue and cause fatigue. This is why, if you exercise intensely, you may have to stop or slow down to "catch your breath" (replenish your oxygen supply). By slowing back down your body will once again rely upon aerobic metabolism.
Therefore, exercising with too much intensity will inhibit the body's ability to burn fat. Keep intensity in check by engaging in moderate, low-intensity aerobic activity. This includes activities where energy demands do not exceed the available oxygen, and fat can supply much of the energy, permitting glycogen to be conserved.

LADIES LIFT TOO:

The thought of increased muscular size may not appeal to some however the average pound of fat contains nearly three times the amount of overall mass than one pound of muscle depending upon the type of musle fiber or fat molecule within the body. In the past, women were reluctant to weight-train for fear of becoming too muscular or bulky. For most women, however, muscular gain is not as great as in men due to hormonal differences, even when they make the same relative gains in strength.
A study that compared muscular size between men and women, demonstrated that "muscular hypertrophy in women as a result of weight-training programs will certainly not lead to excessive muscular bulk or produce a musculinizing effect" (Wilmore, 1974).

“I’m Melting Away My Fat!”:
Unfortunately “spot-reducing” exercises do not work. If they did, then, everyone who chewed gum would have a skinny face. Doing hip and thigh exercises will not take fat off of them. Hundreds of crunches will only help tighten and strengthen you core, not flatten the fat.
The fact is, stomach and thigh exercises (and their related machines) are not aerobic or fat-burning exercises. That's because they fail to meet one essential requirement. The activities do not last more than three minutes in continuous duration. Therefore, the exercise remains anaerobic. The burning sensation is not fat being burned or "melting away." Instead, it's the muscles storage of lactic acid as glycogen (not fat) that has been used for energy during anaerobic metabolism.

BIOTIN!

Biotin is a coenzyme necessary for a variety of important functions in our bodies. Biotin helps in the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. It is needed for normal growth, healthier hair and skin and maintenance of nerves, bone marrow, and sex glands. Sources are yeast, liver, eggs, whole grains, and fish.

“How Intense is Intense?”
As well as duration, intensity plays an important role in the efficiency of fat-metabolism during exercise. In general, the percentage of energy contributed by fat diminishes as the intensity of exercise increases.
Fat can only be broken down in the presence of oxygen. Oxygen serves as the catalyst that enables proteins and enzymes of the body to burn fat during an exercise metabolism.
The heart and lungs can provide only so much oxygen -- so fast. When muscle exertion is so great that the demand for energy outstrips the oxygen supply, the body cannot process oxygen fast enough. Therefore the body cannot burn fat. Instead, it reverts back to anaerobic metabolism and burns more glucose.

The Principle of Arrangement of Exercise

A weight-training program should include exercises for all major muscle groups. For optimal efficiency during weight-training, the exercises in a weight resistance program should be arranged so that the larger muscle groups are exercised before the smaller ones. Smaller muscles tend to fatigue sooner and more easily. Therefore, in order to ensure proper overload of larger muscle groups, they should be exercised first. The larger leg muscles should, for instance, be exercised before the smaller arm muscles.

FAT CAN BE INVISIBLE:
There is so-called "invisible fat". It represents about three-fifths of the total fats you consume. These sources include meats, poultry, fish, dairy products (excluding butter), eggs and baked products. All of the fat in an egg is in the yolk. Whole milk, ice-cream and whole milk-cheese have appreciable amounts of fats. Fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals and flours are very low in fat. Nuts, however, have an appreciable amount of concentrated fat in the nut oil.

Muscles Are Trained Fat-Burners:
The more time spent during aerobic activity, the more trained the muscles will become in fat metabolism. Trained muscles can burn fat more efficiently and require less glucose, even during strenuous exercise.
After physical activity has ceased, "fat-burning" may continue at an accelerated rate for some time. Some reports suggests that fat metabolism remains elevated for at least six hours after completion.
Another report suggests there is increased fat use 24 hours after an hour-long aerobic session. The body's adaptation to strenuous and prolonged aerobic exercise burns more fat all day, not just during the exercise. In other words, consistent exercise for more than one hour will most likely raise an individuals resting metabolic rate, which means you consistently burn more fat even while not exercising.

Wellness is generally used to mean a healthy balance of the mind, body and spirit that results in an overall feeling of well-being. It is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. In order to achieve a state of wellness, one has to work on its factors that contribute to being healthy and happy. One way to think about health is by looking at how effectively and successfully a person functions.

ANAEROBIC OR AEROBIC??
Since most weight-training activities last less than 3 minutes in duration, (regardless of actual workout time), weight-training is an anaerobic activity. This means that the primary fuel sources will be either ATP or Glucose. The aerobic (oxygen/fat) fuel system does not come into play. Therefore, fat isn't burned as a fuel source during weight-lifting activites. Remmeber, even though weight-traing does not burn fat, it does increase the body's fat-burning potential.