A certain amount of body fat is important for both men and women. Fat helps protect our organs, insulate our bodies, provide energy and absorb certain vitamins. But if your body fat percentage is over 30 percent for females, or 25 percent for males, you are considered obese and at the risk for various diseases. The good news is that body fat reduction is easily attainable through a healthy diet and daily exercise.
Significance
Although the driving force for many people to lose weight or body fat is for physical and aesthetic reasons; carrying excess body fat and weight leads to an array of health problems such as type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease and stroke, metabolic syndrome, certain types of cancer, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, gallbladder disease, fatty liver disease and pregnancy complications.
Healthy Carbohydrates
Although simple weight loss is mostly dependent on calories in, calories out; your body fat percentage is more reflective of your nutrition. The quality and quantity of the foods you eat play an important role in how much or how little body fat you have. A diet rich in natural foods will help you burn unwanted fat. Fruits and vegetables are high in antioxidants, minerals and vitamins and have fewer calories than their processed counterparts. They are also rich in fiber. Fiber is an indigestible carbohydrate which binds to fatty substances in your intestine and excretes them as waste. Fiber also aids in regulating your blood sugar level and helps keep you full between meal times. Keep carbohydrate intake to 40 percent of your day's calories.
Healthy Fats
In contrast to what many believe, healthy fats, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, actually help you lose weight and reduce body fat. These healthy fats are found in fish, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds, flax seed, flax oil and olive oil. A diet with a moderate intake of fat has been shown to help reduce body fat more than a higher carbohydrate diet of the same calories. Healthy levels of fat at every meal will help you feel more satisfied and eat less. Healthy fat intake should be about 30 percent of your day's calories.
Exercise
Exercise is not only good for weight loss, but is an important component for fat loss as well. Daily exercise results in an increase of lean mass with a decrease of body fat. Although your weight may stay the same, you will still have lost inches, since muscle weighs more than fat.
Calorie Control
Your diet should consist of enough calories to support your nutrient requirements, but not lead to an excess of calories. Calories are your body's source of energy, but an excess of calories at the end of the day that go unused leads to the storage of fat---no matter where those excess calories came from. Use an online resource to help you determine how many calories you should eat per day. Make sure that your age, gender, height, weight and activity level are taken into consideration when determining your caloric needs, then reduce this number by 500 calories daily to result in one lb. of fat loss per week.
References
- McKinley Health Center: Macronutrients
- President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition: Exercise and Weight Control
- Weight Control Information Network: Do You Know the Health Risks of Being Overweight?
- Virginia State University: Heart Healthy Eating: Cholesterol, Fat, Fiber, & Sodium
- World's Healthiest Foods: Almonds
- Medline Plus: Tips for Losing Weight
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