1) Through increasing lean body mass and reduced nutrient intake (I will call this, Method One).
2) Through increased calorific burning from exercise (And this, Method Two).
Method One focuses on building lean tissue such as muscle (in the right places), sinew and bone density, which are metabolically active tissues. Metabolically active means that they require energy throughout the day to function. The more lean tissue you have, the more calories you burn.
Lean tissue as listed above is of great importance to every human. The denser your bones, the less likely they are to break. The stronger your sinew, the less likely a sprain or tendon tear. The stronger your muscles, the more mobile and functional you are. It should also be noted that muscular tissue is the most metabolically active, easiest and fastest to manipulate so that is the focus of exercise – muscles.
If you are currently carrying an excessive amount of fatty tissue on your body then you will also need to reduce the number of unhelpful nutrients you consume over the course of the week. Any surplus nutrients will be excreted where possible and then stored as fat where excretion is impossible – thus making you fat. Too much food = getting fat. Your food choices can make energy consumption easy to manipulate. Whole natural foods such as; fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, nuts and whole grains should be the foundation of your nutritional intake. Treats like chocolate and sugary foods should be a treat to be consumed rarely and in small quantities, gluttony is not attractive or healthy.
Building lean tissue can be done in a very short time with resistance training. Moving relatively heavy objects in a manner that stimulates lean tissue increases in the right places. For example; a large number of women would rather not build arms, like many men, so the focus of lean tissue growth should be on the rear side of the body where the lean tissue will be evenly distributed giving the trainee a toned bum, legs and back, which by the way, happen to be the most functional areas to add active tissue.
Building lean muscle tissue in the right places will dramatically alter your physical appearance; a more upright posture, a tighter bum, broader shoulders and a flatter midsection are just a few examples.
The type of regime this entails requires very little time spent in the gym each week (thirty minutes, twice per week) and a little discipline in the kitchen.
It should also be noted here that if you were to take a break from exercise for a period of a few weeks for a holiday then you will not suddenly put the weight back on as so often happens with regular exercise programmes (see Method Two). Lean tissue will not be lost for many months. Unless you are totally bedridden.
Method 2 and it’s downfalls will be covered in another post from me, Epsom’s Personal Trainer…