What is fat?
How do you get fat?
How long does it take to lose fat?
What can you do to lose fat?

What is Fat?

Fat is a part of everyone's body.  Fats are composed of glycerols and acids that can be solid or liquid and usually insoluble in water.  Also called lipids, fats or oils that cannot mix with water are necessary for many life forms.  There are many different types of fats, saturated and unsaturated. 

Fats are an important part of nutrition.  They are necessary for the absorption and digestion of vitamins K, E, D, and A.  Essential fatty acids are needed for healthy body function.  Fats support healthy skin and hair, proper body temperature, and serve as protection for organs from shock.  Fat also serves as stored energy in the body, as it can break down into glycerol, which becomes glucose.

Edible fats are found in meats, fish, milk, soybeans, olives and nuts.  Vegetable shortening and margarine are manufactured fats that come from these sources. 

The three major types of fat are saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated.  Saturated fats add to the cholesterol that lines the arteries and its intake should b limited.  Polyunsaturated facts have little effect on cholesterol.  Monounsaturated fat is the healthiest type of fat and increases the body's good cholesterol, which reduces the amount of bad cholesterol that clogs arteries.

People may call themselves or other people "fat," but what does that really mean?  This usually means that a person is larger in size than the average person, or lack muscular shape in various parts of the body.  In reality, everyone has some fat in their body and we all need it.  The problem is that we often accumulate much more than we need to.

The more fat we accumulate, the larger our bodies become.  For a person to truly be considered "fat" or obese, they need to have a body mass index that is greater than 30.  The body mass index is determined by your height and weight ratio.  It is your weight in pounds divided by your height in inches.  If your BMI is higher than 30, you are considered obese, and should lose some fat.

There are several disease risk factors that increase when a person is considered "fat."  These include heart disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and gallbladder disease.  Losing the extra fat is essential in reducing the risks of these problems developing.  It is terribly unhealthy to carry large amounts of extra fat, and losing the excess can help people feel better physically and emotionally.

How Do You Get Fat?

Becoming "fat" happens in many different ways.  There are several main factors that contribute to a majority of people's body fat content.  These include overeating, a lack of exercise, and not eating a balanced diet.

Eating too much is probably the number one reason why people become "fat."  Serving sizes are much larger than they should be, and people tend to eat larger meals, especially when eating at restaurants.  Eating without being hungry is extremely common, and adds to the fat on our bodies.  Snacking while at the movies, watching television, and at parties can get out of hand sometimes.  Holidays and other special events are often celebrated with food, and people tend to eat more when other people are eating around them.  People often lose track of how much they actually consume when they eat while doing other things.  It is simply a habit to eat more than we need to, especially since food can taste so good!

Not exercising enough is also very common.  Modern conveniences have spoiled many people into a lack of physical activity.  Cars allow us to get to places faster than walking.  The internet saves us a walk to the library.  Cell phones keep us from running to the pay phone.  Elevators keep us from using the stairs.  Our busy jobs keep many of us at a desk all day.  We consume many more calories than our bodies are burning because we don't move very much.  There is so much entertainment that we can amuse ourselves and take care of our needs with little or no physically challenging activity.  Most people aren't on sports teams, and few people make an effort to burn calories.  We are either too busy, or too lazy.

This leads to my next reason why we have become "fat."  Nutrition is not a priority on the list.  Fast food is convenient, yet often very high in fat and carbohydrates.  Most people do not get the proper balance of fruits and vegetables in their diet.  Without the properly balanced diet, our bodies store the excess of the sugars and fats that it has an abundant supply of.  Meanwhile, our bodies lack other types of nutrients.  If we focused on balancing our diets to include the proper servings of what we need, we would not store as much fat.

How Long Does it Take to Lose Fat?

Losing fat is not the easiest thing in the world to do.  As a matter of fact, I can even say that it is hard, especially for an adult who has a sedentary lifestyle.  Depending on how much fat has to be lost, it can take weeks, months, and even years to get rid of the excess.  The speed of weight loss also depends on several factors.  These include calorie intake, metabolism, types of exercise, and the amount of exercise.

You calorie intake is very important in weight loss.  It is necessary to maintain a high enough calorie count for healthy bodily functions to continue.  At the same time, it is important to have a low enough calorie count in order to burn the extra stored energy on the body.  It is extremely difficult to lose fat with a high calorie intake.  The higher the calorie intake, the longer it will take to lose the fat.  The lower the calorie intake, the less energy will be available to effectively burn away fat.  Balance is the key to a speedy weight loss.

The calorie intake influences your metabolism.  When you eat, your metabolism increases because the body must work to digest the food.  The faster your metabolism, the faster you will lose fat.  The amount of physical activity you engage in will also determine the rate of your metabolism.  The less you move, and the less often you eat, the slower your metabolism will be.  The slower your metabolism, the slower you will lose weight.

Exercise plays a big role in increasing your metabolism.  Muscle focused exercise is highly effective in increasing metabolism.  Performing strength exercises like calisthenics and weight training will build muscle and increase your metabolism.  Other types of exercise, like cardio, will also help to increase your metabolism because they get your heart pumping.

You have to burn 3,500 calories to lose one pound.  With the balance of calorie count and exercise, you have to make sure that you burn more calories than you eat.  The amount of exercise do should burn off what you eat, and a little extra in order for you to lose fat.

Losing weight at a slow and steady pace will help you to keep the weight from building back up.  How long it takes is up to you.  Slow fat loss is the healthiest approach, and crash weight loss is the least healthy approach.

What Can You Do to Lose Fat?

All of this talk about fat must make you want to lose some fat.  How will you do it?  Here are some proven tips that can help your to lose fat fast.

Eat several small balanced meals per day.  Make sure that you cover each of the food groups each day.  You need fruits, vegetables, and grains in multiple servings everyday.  You need meat and dairy products once or twice a day.  By making sure that your body gets the right amounts of the right foods, you will limit the amount of stored energy that builds on the body in the form of fat.  By eating several times a day, you increase your metabolism.  It works better for weight loss than three larger meals in a day.

Cut back on saturated fats.  You should not avoid fat all together, as some fats are good for you.  You should limit saturated fat, however.  Eat smaller amounts of fatty meat and dairy products, and switch to lower fat varieties of the ones you normally eat.  Bake instead of fry your foods to save fat calories.  Use extra virgin olive oil to fry, if you do choose to fry, because they have more monounsaturated fats than shortenings and vegetable oil.

Get more cardiovascular exercise.  Make an effort to walk, jog, do aerobics, or ride a bike.  You can also rollerblade for a good cardiovascular workout.  The idea is to get your heart pumping to keep it healthy.  It will increase your metabolism and burn more calories.  There are plenty of DVDs available with cardiovascular workouts set to music that you can buy.  Three cardio workouts per week is ideal, with each workout extending at least 20 minutes.

Build muscles.  Weight training and calisthenics are effective ways to build muscles.  The more toned muscles you have, the more calories your body will burn overall.  If you have enough muscle tone, you will burn more calories even if you are just sitting down and resting.  Having toned muscle is very important in losing fat.

With the proper diet and the right amount and types of excises, you will lose the amount of fat that you want.  Reducing your calorie intake and increasing your activity level will aid you tremendously in losing the extra fat and make you healthier overall.  Remember that having some fat is important, and everything else should be eaten in moderation.  Put these things into action and you will lose your fat fast!