How Fast Can You Lose Body Fat?
by Yuri in Weight Loss
Having worked with over 22,000 people all around the world who’ve wanted to lose weight and get in shape, one of the most frequent questions I come across is…
“How fast can you lose body fat?”
The answer is…
It depends.
Your ability to lose body fat will be influenced by numerous factors which include:
- your body types (determined by genetics)
- the number of fat cells in your body
- your activity level
- overall quality of your diet and caloric intake
Body Types and Fat Loss
There are 3 body types (or somatotypes) that can comprise and individual. They are endomorphy, ectomorphy, and mesomorphy.
Now it’s important to understand that rarely are we purely just one type but rather a “blend” of all three.Â
Let’s look at the characteristics of each one…
Ectomorphs
- Naturally skinny, wiry, lean
- Fast metabolism – burn everything they eat
- Tendency to be overactive and restless (hyperactive)
- Extremely hard to gain weight
- Lower body fat and thus easier to see muscle definition
For the ectomorph, it is obviously easier to lose weight. The challenge for the ectomorph is to gain weight and muscle mass. A huge amount of strength training workouts and high caloric diet is required in order to do so.
Generally, ectomorphs are not looking to lose additional body fat as they are already fairly lean and slim.
Mesomorphs
- Naturally lean, muscular, and strong (muscular before they even started working out)
- Highly efficient (fast) metabolism
- Gaining strength and muscle is easy
- Losing body fat is easy due to high amounts of muscle
Mesomorphs are blessed with the ability to easily put on muscle and improve their strength with working out.Â
Because of their higher muscle mass, they also benefit from having a fast metabolism, which enables to burn tons of calories (and fat) throughout the day.Â
Mesomorphs are usually seen in bodybuilding, 100-m and 200-m sprinters, and Olympic rowers.
An example of a pure mesomorph is Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Endomorphs
- Naturally high levels of body fat (often overweight)
- Slow thyroid or other hormone imbalances may be present (sometimes)
- Naturally slow metabolic rate/low set point (fewer calories burned at rest)
- A lot of cardio is necessary to lose weight and body fat
- Difficulty losing weight and tendency is to gain fat as soon as exercise is stopped
- Respond best to frequent, even daily, training
Endomorphs are usually the people who are looking to lose fat. After all, they are the ones who struggle with it.
There is a tendency for endomorphs to have sluggish thyroid function, which inevitably lowers their metabolism – making it more difficult to lose weight.
Because endomorphs also have a greater number of fat cells, it is easier for them to store fat and harder for them to lose it.
Just like the ectomorph struggles to build muscle, the endomorph struggles to lose body fat.
But it can be done. It just requires a lot of hard work. More cardio workouts are recommended (3-4 per week) to burn extra calories and strict adherence to a lower calorie healthy diet is strongly recommended.Â
Number of Fat Cells
Fat cells – or adipocytes – Â have the role of storing energy in the form of fat. They also provide cushion that protects the vital organs and insulates the body.
Obesity or being overweight does not depend on body weight but on the amount of body fat (adipose tissue) present. Â Recently, it was discovered that the formation of fat cells appears to be controlled by the adipose gene WDTC1.
It is postulated that this gene serves to keep us lean during times of plenty and research has shown that increased adipose gene activity is associated with slimmer individuals.
Traditionally, it has been assumed that you are born with a set number of fat cells. For instance, an average adult has about 30 billion fat cells with a weight of 30 lbs or 13.5 kg.
Some people say that the number of fat cells stays constant in adulthood in lean and obese individuals, even after marked weight loss, indicating that the number of adipocytes is set during childhood and adolescence (right around puberty).
BUT…
If excess weight is gained as an adult, fat cells CAN increase in size about fourfold before dividing and increasing the absolute number of fat cells present.
Therefore, we should consider the possibility that fat cells are not fixed for life but can multiply based on a lifestyle that leads to excessive weight gain.
If you have more fat cells, then it your body will be more likely to store energy as fat, especially if you do not exercise regularly and eat far too many calories for your needs.
Tomorrow, we will look at the importance of activity level (exercise) and diet in helping you lose fat fast.
STAY TUNED…
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