Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Article # 23. Determine Your Body Fat Percentage





Determine Your Body Fat Percentage

Body fat percentage is simply the percentage of fat that your body contains. For your body to function properly it is essential that your body contains a certain amount of fat. Body fate helps regulate your body temperature, it cushions and insulate organs and is the main form of the body's energy storage. It is important for everyone to have a healthy amount of
 body fat.

When people say they want to lose weight it is implied that they want to lose fat. Calculating your body fat percentage is a better way to determine what your weight loss goals should be and if they are realistic. Rather than just stepping on a scale and deciding how much weight you want to lose, it is better to determine your body fat percentage and achieve a healthy range. So before you decide you need to lose 20 pounds, first remember that your body weight consists of lean body mass and body fat.

The amount of body fat that you do or do not have can be potentially dangerous to your health. Carrying too much body fat can increase your risk of developing serious health problems such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Too little body fat deprives your body of stored energy, protection of your organs and can potentially cause your body to enter a state of catabolism, which is when your body begins to use muscle protein as fuel.

Your body fat percentage is calculated by taking your age, height and weight, gender and waist measurement into account. Use body fat calculator below to determine your body fat percentage for you. Your results will help you determine a healthy and realistic weight loss goal based on the information you provide.

Losing weight does NOT mean you are losing fat. In fact, most often people simply watching the scale weight are losing the necessary lean mass (muscle) they actually need to keep and they are INCREASING their body fat. If you burn muscle and not fat that means you'll have 'more' fat than muscle. Therefore, you will increase your body fat.
Let's be clear and honest. You are not trying to lose "weight". You want to lose body fat. Unless you are clear in your goal your success is destined for failure. The reason body fat is such a priority is because if you do not know how to burn body fat you will be burning muscle - the muscle you want to keep in order to look great and be healthy.

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