BODY COMPOSTION

Body Fat and Dietary Fat

Body fat is necessary for normal body function. It is vital for our nervous system and hormone production. It provides padding for internal organs, insulates our body against cold temperatures and is needed to carry out other metabolic process in the body. This is why dietary intake of fat is part of a healthy diet. Limiting dietary fat intake will not automatically transfer to a decrease in body fat. Restricting dietary intake of fat may also reduce the absorption of important fat soluble vitamins. 25-30% of daily caloric intake in a well-balanced diet must consist of fat. Although fat is an important part of a diet, excess body fat is simply excess baggage that can slow down an athlete. Losing excess body fat is no simple matter. It takes dedication and hard work.
Gains and Losses

No matter where calories come from in a diet, weight is gained or lost by taking in more or fewer calories then the body burns. If more calories are taken in than burned there will be a net gain in body weight. Increases in body weight are due to increases in lean body mass (bone or muscle) and/or fat mass. An individual may feel, look and actually be leaner while body weight remains the same or actually increases, especially if resistance training is being done. This is usually due to gains in lean mass and a reduction in body fat. Because of this, the weight scale is not a good indicator of actual lean body mass to fat mass ratio.

Exercise is critical to healthy sustainable weight loss. All exercise places energy demands on the body increasing calorie expenditure. High intensity short duration exercise (e.g., weight training or sprinting) primarily derives energy from a form of stored carbohydrates. Low intensity long duration exercise (e.g., running or bicycling) beyond 20 minutes primarily derives energy from fat. Either type of exercise will facilitate weight loss if daily caloric expenditure exceeds daily caloric intake. An athletes main objectives with weight loss are to optimize the use of fat as an energy source (burning fat) and spare lean muscle mass. To accomplish this task, low intensity long duration exercise (aerobic) is recommended as a supplement to sports specific training (e.g., weight training, agility drills, sprinting). The recommended frequency of aerobic exercise bouts is two to no more than three times a week. The use of low impact aerobic exercise equipment or walking instead of running will theoretically minimize loss of lean muscle tissue in the legs.

Keep in mind that it is impossible to spot reduce. In other words it is not possible to burn fat off the abdominal region for example, by doing large quantities of sit-ups or side bends. Fat is burned off all areas of the body during prolonged exercise and not just in the area being worked. Also, muscles if not used does not turn too fat and fat does not turn to muscle.

A good resistance training program will facilitate gains in lean muscle mass. Avoid low intensity long duration exercise when attempting to gain lean body mass. It will minimize gains in muscle size due to the volume of exercise and training the smaller muscle fiber types. Instead, maintain conditioning levels with the use of sports specific training. Whether attempting to lose or gain weight, the objective is to improve lean mass to fat ratio.

Go to Body Composition Part 2... Tactics