Ok, so here is the thing. Fat loss should be what happens in a diet, but all to often we lose muscle instead. To understand why and to dramatically change the way we view weight loss, we need to consider metabolism. Metabolism is the way your body burns calories, or in other words, uses up your energy supply. When we eat, our metabolism turns on the heat and starts to use the food as energy (among other things). But, what happens when the body runs out of food and we don’t eat more? Well, most of us assume the bodybegins to use the stored fat. However, your body stores fat for long-term energy,meaning it will not use fat until there is no other choice.Typically, if you burn through a meal and the body needs more energy, then it will start converting muscle into a form of glucose, which is short-term energy. After most of your muscle is gone over a period of time then, and only then, will your fat be used as energy.

When you lose weight it is extremely important to lose it in fat and not muscle. Muscle is metabolically active,meaning it burns calories just by being muscle. Alternatively, fat is just fat (stored energy). It has no metabolic activity. As a result, the more muscle we lose when dieting, the more our metabolic rate goes downmaking it easier for fat to be stored. Alternatively, the more muscle we have, the more calories we can burn, making it easier to lose fat.

To make sure you are losing the right kind of weight, here are some suggestions.

·         Choose muscle-building foods. Pick a food plan that includes foods that are fresh and not processed. Your body will actually use these foods as bone and muscle builders. Most boxed or packaged food is just waiting to be stored as fat in your problem areas.

·         Maintain muscle. Choose an exercise plan that will maintain and tone your muscle so that you can burn even more calories while at rest.

·         Eat more frequently. Try 4-5 small quality packed meals per day instead of the conventional 2 to 3 meal guideline. This will boost your metabolism and give you more energy and fewer crashes throughout the day.

·         Avoid calorie drops. Large drops in your calorie intake compared to your normal dietwill actually cause your body to store most of your food intake. Your body responds to a calorie drop as a starvation period and will prepare for the worst by storing energy. Determine the calories you need for maintenance then drop gradually, or possibly not at all since you will be eating quality food.

Joel Danford is a Personal Trainer at Ocean View Fitness. His gym is located at 200 S Miramar Avenue in Indialantic. For more information call 321-591-5061 or visit Facebook.com/OceanViewFitness25.