Why is it that fat loss, and reducing body fat, related information and products are so much in demand, yet obesity and being overweight are on the up and up - and are actually at the highest rate ever?

With the health and fitness industry booming it seems absurd that this is occurring. What the heck is happening, folks?

Quick Note: Fat Loss is not the same as Weight Loss: Please don't get the two confused. Weight loss is "overall" loss of body weight where Fat Loss is based on reducing body fat.

The fact is that losing body fat is not easy. Other than the temptations of fast-food, laziness and stressful lives people tend not to succeed at fat loss because they are either not committed, not well informed on fat loss or they are committed for the wrong reasons.

Making Sure You are Trying to Lose Body Fat to Please YOU, Not Everyone Else. Think about why it is you want to lose body fat. Make sure you really want to put in 100% effort.

You want to feel great about making this decision not obliged to do it. Losing body fat can help increase your self-esteem as well as boosting your health so giving it your best shot with a positive frame of mind is always the "way to go".

Re-orgnanising Your Lifestyle - Don't Make it Difficult on Yourself!

Re-orgnanising your lifestyle may be quite a challenge for most people and families. But if you want to succeed at fat loss I am sure you want to be able to do it without tearing your hair out.

Your goal is to re-arrange and plan your day so that you, your family and your new lifestyle can run smoothly. Such as planning your low-fat meals and recipes in a diary.

Planning your grocery shopping with a shopping list to prevent you from buying unnecessary junk food is also a great idea. Pre-preparing meals, making appointments for your exercise time slot etc. all needs to be written into your appointment book or diary.

You can tick each appointment off as the day progresses. When planning your shopping list remember, that unless you have the time, don't go getting all creative with low fat banquets etc. for lunches and dinner. Choose simple to prepare ingredients and meals.

Different Types of Exercising for Burning Body Fat

There are plenty of ways to exercise to burn off body fat. Sure cardiovascular exercise via treadmills and indoor cycles are great but if you really want to ramp things up a notch then try using machines that use both your upper and lower body.

Why? Because you're exerting yourself further in turn burning off more calories. If you enjoy being outdoors then walking, jogging, running, roller blading — just to name a few — are also great. Finding an activity that suits your body's needs and fitness level is important.

Weight or resistance training is a huge plus when it comes to cutting back body fat. Did you know that the more lean muscle mass you have the more calories you burn? This means that your body can burn more calories day and night — that's right — even while you're sleeping!

To maximise your potential to burn off calories much more efficiently include weight / resistance training AND cardio into your program. I've included some examples below of training routines to give you an idea of a typical program to help combat body fat.

For those of you who are genetically gifted with lean muscle and a higher metabolism OR who aren't too keen on getting lean then as low as two cardio sessions per week can be ample.

Beginners and Intermediate: (FBW = Full Body Workout)

Mon: FBW; Tues: Cardio; Wed: FBW; Thurs: Cardio;
Fri: FBW; Sat: Cardio; Sun: OFF

If your metabolism is slow then you will probably need to add an extra day or two of cardio per week.

More advanced: (UB = Upper Body; LB = Lower Body)

Mon: UB; Tues: LB; Wed: Cardio; Thurs: UB;
Fri: LB; Sat: Cardio; Sun: OFF

Where to go from here...

After reading this article you should have a greater knowledge of where you may be going wrong with your fat loss or how to get started on a new fat loss program.

If you are keen to get started on your own personally designed fat loss programme please feel welcome to call us 0860 11 6978.

Ronald Abvajee is founder of My Personal Trainer Wellness, South Africa's first 'virtual gym'. Click here to learn more.