The only way you get that fat off is to eat less and exercise more.

The only way you get that fat off is to eat less and exercise more. - Jack LaLanne

Meaning  of  the  Quote : 
This is something so many people around me don’t seem to be able to grasp. While there are a myriad of reasons (and even more excuses) for why someone is overweight, ultimately, it’s a math equation.

Calories in vs calories out. If more goes in than go out, you will gain weight. If more goes out than goes in, you will lose weight. Weight gain (or loss) is typically in fat or in muscle. This quote also points out another critical point.

That point is to include exercise in your food modification program. Diet alone will teach the body scarcity, urge it to lower your metabolic rate, and train it to store every calorie. By exercising, you keep your metabolic rate up, and your body can burn more calories even at rest.

Why is being aware of what you do important?  
In this case, we’re looking at both the food we eat as well as the exercise we do. If you aren’t familiar with Jack and his ideas, you might want to click on his name after the quote. What he did worked for him, and might be of some use to you. But as we are all different, we will each have to find what works for us.

Being aware of what goes into your body is the first step. What have you been eating, and of what is it composed? The body can burn fat or sugar, but most people have trained their body to burn sugar. There are ways to train the body to burn fat, but you have to exercise and reduce carbs.

What have you done to drive calories out of your body? Did you walk for half an hour? That counts for calories out, and some level of exercise and fitness, depending on speed and other factors. There are all kinds of exercise programs, and all sorts of places to exercise, so (short of a doctor’s note) there really is n’t any excuse.

Where can I apply this in my life?
Many people focus on their weight, and I feel that is the wrong target. I believe we should be more concerned with our level of fitness. For me, I have recently completed a food modification program that has helped me drop 30 pounds. I would n’t mind having them back, but as muscle, not as fat.

This is what I mean by weight not being my target. One can lose weight, but still have unhealthy levels of fat, and be terribly unfit. So many diets focus on deprivation, or the temporary removal of ‘bad food.’ This can lead to the body burning more than just fat, and that is something that scares me.

However, as soon as the diet is over, so is the weight loss, since most will go back to their old habits, which will take them right back to their old weight. That’s one of the reasons why I don’t like the word ‘diet.’ It has become synonymous with a temporary action.

To lose fat, we need to examine how we got there in the first place. Has your metabolism slowed due to aging, general fitness, or activity level? Have you changed eating habits? What is different, and when did it start? In my case, it was primarily metabolic slowing due to age, and had been going on for several years.

However, my eating habits had never been great, and to win the “battle of the bulge,” I was going to have to make some changes. Over time, I may well choose (or be forced) to do more, but for now, I’m focusing on reducing the “empty calories” of highly processed sugar based foods.

Since my weight gain was small, and over a fair amount of time, it should n’t take a huge amount of change in my diet to reduce my calorie intake to a more reasonable level. By cutting out a soda per day, and reducing my chocolate and candy intake, I should be able to adjust
nicely.

That said, I also want to do something about my level of fitness, which will boost my metabolism to some extent, burning even more calories. I’m going to start with walking, and eventually move on to running (using the Couch to 5K program). It will likely take me more than the usual 6 weeks, but I plan to keep after it until I get it done.

What are you ready, willing, and able to do to get rid of some fat? What can you eat a little less of, or eat fewer times each week? What are the big calorie items that may give you momentary pleasure, but would take an hour or two on the treadmill to burn off?

And speaking of treadmills, what can you do to help yourself in the exercise department? Can you do some walking around the neighborhood? Perhaps a half hour of general purpose exercising, like jumping jacks, push ups, crunches, burpies, chin-ups, and curls? If you don’t have weights, can you put water or sand in a milk jug and use that instead?

If you’re having trouble doing things regularly, perhaps you can actually put it in your schedule. A half hour here, a half hour there, pretty soon, you’re getting more fit, and perhaps even a little stronger. If that’s not enough, you can try getting a workout buddy, both for encouragement, and for the committment to each other. If you don’t have any friends, you can always pay someone. I mean, hire a personal trainer at a local gym.

There are plenty of paths to get from where you are presently to where you want to be. But all will ultimately require you to change your life. No short term plan will make a lasting change. For that, you’ll have to make a lasting change to your eating and/or exercising habits.