Just as cellulite is not exclusive to overweight people and many thin girls suffer from it, too much fat is a problem that even those who wear 36 faces, especially if we refer to its version located in areas such as holsters or the abdomen. Losing fat In common, a woman is considered to become a fit body composition when the fat is within 20% and 26% of her total weight.
A higher value would mean that your body has too much fat percentage, but this does not necessarily imply that you are overweight. When fat and kilos don’t go hand in support, the dispute issues: how can I lose fat if I don’t want to lose weight? Is this possible? Dietitian Laura Parada, a nutritionist at Slow Life House, and coach Cristina Diaz, CEO Crysdyaz & Co. and personal trainer of Alexandra Pereira, Laura Escanes, and other influencers agree: yes, you can reduce fat without losing weight or losing size. The two experts clarify the most frequent doubts about this mythified topic.
1) How can you lose fat without losing weight?
Dietitian and trainer agree: losing fat without lowering volume is possible provided that the two factors of any set-up, diet and exercise, are combined to that end. “If a correct diet is carried out that favors the loss of fat, but that provides the necessary nutrients to maintain or increase muscle mass, and physical exercise of strength is added, such as weightlifting, fat will be lost and muscle will be gained” , explains Laura Parada. “This way weight and volume will be maintained, but body composition will be healthier: less fat and more muscle,” says Cristina Diaz.
2) To lose fat, should we stop eating fat?
No. And not only because (healthy) fats are essential a balanced diet and because the body needs them to be healthy, but also because, as the dietitian explains, eating them has other benefits. “The consumption of quality fats will help us burn more fat, making it easier, among other things, for the body to use more fat as fuel, instead of constantly relying on glucose. It also helps control appetite, just like protein.” And here comes the next question.
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3) Is it advisable to increase proteins?
If you want to keep your weight healthy by losing fat, you should do so. “As a general rule, to lose fat a caloric deficit is required. Therefore we must follow a hypocaloric diet, with a deficit of 10 to 15% to start. Protein consumption is a great ally in fat loss, for its satiating effect, but also because it helps prevent the muscle loss that this hypocaloric diet could generate, “recommends the dietitian. However, this does not mean resorting to hyperprotein shakes or other prepared foods: “real” foods such as eggs, fish or legumes can provide enough protein
4) Do foods or ‘fat burning’ supplements work?
They may seem like a good additional help: natural ingredients or pills prepared in the laboratory that promise to accelerate fat loss. Do they really work? On those known as “fat burning foods“, a group that includes for example green tea, chili peppers or radish, Laura Parada recognizes that “they have components that can accelerate metabolism, can be energizing or antioxidants, but their effect is not relevant in the body as to consider them “fat burner.” On the latter, his opinion is much more emphatic: “At the moment I do not know any slimming supplement in the market with completely solid and reliable studies of visible results.”
5) Diet or training, what matters most?
Although it depends on each particular case, especially on diet and physical form than before, to lose fat we can say that the diet has a more important influence, 80% against 20% of the exercise, according to Stop. However, if you want to maintain the same weight or the same size, training to strengthen the muscles becomes essential because, normally, by reducing fat so does body volume.
6) How is the workout that burns more fat?
Coach Cristina Díaz recommends a plan that combines cardiovascular work with functional exercises and strength sessions. She proposes to train about one hour, six days a week (“although someone who is not accustomed to training can notice the change only three days a week”), dedicating three sessions to functional work at high intensity intervals (HIIT) and others three to strength and cardiovascular exercises. “Rest day is essential to assimilate work and see results,” he says.
7) Are there exercises to lose fat in a certain area?
“Unluckily it is very complicated to lose fat selectively. Our body does to save it according to what areas for genetics, hormones or other reasons,” explains Cristina Diaz. Even people with low body fat percentages can have localized fat, “very difficult to lose,” says Laura Parada. “A typical mistake is to lower the calories in the diet and lengthen cardiovascular workouts thinking that this will burn, but only damage the metabolism and probably burn muscle.” Stop recommends combining an adequate diet (balanced and with the necessary calorie intake) with metabolic exercises of strength gain, “which will increase muscle mass and metabolism.”
