The scale isn’t the best measure of progress due to the simple fact that the scale can’t differentiate between what is muscle, what is fat, what is water or anything else – all it does is measure the relationship your body mass has with gravity.
With my clients, I use several types of measurements to gauge progress. I take tape measurements of key areas of their body. I use calipers to get an estimated body fat percentage. I use the OMRON body fat analyzer simply for my own as I like to see the difference between the figures I get with calipers versus what figures the OMRON analyzer calculates. I refer clients to Dr. Nicole Gesik at Imua Orthopedics because Dr. Gesik has an InBody Composition Analyzer which is the current industry standard for obtaining body fat figures. I also use scale weight.
In any case, no matter what percentage of error each method may have, I simply look at the overall trend. If a client’s goal is to lose body fat, then figures, on any of these modalities, should trend downward over time.
And like all of these things, there are also various signs and symptoms YOU can monitor, on your own, that can provide a very good idea of whether you are burning sufficient body fat. Our bodies are always signaling us about many aspects of health and fitness, and fat-burning is one of them.
Here are 7 signs that YOU can monitor to determine if you are burning fat.
- Clothes fitting more loosely, especially around the waist.
- People start asking you if you’re losing weight. They often notice it in your face first, and sometimes in other places. Likewise, people may ask if you are lifting more weights — even a slight reduction in body fat leads to more muscle definition.
- Improved performance — increased physical energy leads to less fatigue, and more mental energy, improving creativity and reducing feelings of depression.
- Training and racing also improves. This can also be measured by the MAF Test.
- Increased exercise duration without the need for food intake.
- Reduced cravings for sweets and hunger. Freedom from sugar addiction.
- Improved health — a variety of factors related to reduced fat-burning can raise disease risk. These include increased blood fats (especially triglycerides and LDL cholesterol), blood pressure, inflammatory-related conditions, and a variety of other related conditions discussed in the white paper, Carbohydrate Intolerance.
So now you may be wondering, “OK, Lee-Ann. I hear ya. Now how do I turn my body into a fat burning machine?“
The single common denominator that triggers the most fat-burning is the elimination of refined carbohydrates. Refined or simple carbohydrates include sugars and refined grains that have been stripped of all bran, fiber, and nutrients. These include white bread, pizza dough, pasta, pastries, white flour, white rice, sweet desserts, and many breakfast cereals.
Did you find this information helpful? If you need a little nudge to get you on your fat burning track, shoot me an email and let’s chat!
