The key to dieting is not just losing weight, but how to lose body fat. Therefore, we will introduce the basic knowledge of body fat to build a healthy body, recommended diet and exercise to reduce body fat.
To be healthy, you need to reduce fat moderately. There are two types of fat in the body, subcutaneous fat under the skin and visceral fat around the internal organs.
The combination of these two fats is body fat, and the body fat percentage is the percentage of body fat in your body weight. By quantifying body fat, you can prevent obesity and excessive spoilage.
Body fat percentage is the ratio of body fat to body weight. If you use a home-use body composition analyzer or body fat scale, you can easily measure your weight.
The formula for calculating body fat percentage is "body fat percentage% = body fat mass (kg) ÷ body weight (kg) x 100".
Even if you don't have a body composition analyzer, you can use a formula to derive it from your own weight, but it takes time and effort. The body composition analyzer can be purchased from the 2000 yen range, so it is recommended to have it as one of the health care items.
Body fat percentage tends to fluctuate depending on the amount of water in your body, so measure it at least 2 hours after eating. In addition, since the amount of water in the body fluctuates even during the day, it is easier to compare by measuring at a certain time such as "measure every morning" without any fluctuation in the numerical value. Also, it is said that some errors may occur depending on the manufacturer, so let's measure and record with the same machine.
By the way, the body fat percentage is the following degree of obesity depending on the percentage.
○ Male
mild obesity 20% or more
Moderate obesity 25% or more
Severe obesity 30% or more
○ Female (15 years old and over)
Mild obesity 30% or more
Moderate obesity 35% or more
Severe obesity 40% or more
What is the difference between body fat percentage and BMI?
Another standard that serves as a guideline for dieting is the BMI (BMI) value. BMI is an abbreviation for Body Mass Index, which is an index derived based on immunological surveys and is an international calculation method. The BMI value is also called the body mass index and can be easily calculated by yourself.
○ BMI value calculation formula
BMI value = weight kg ÷ (height m x height m)
○ "Diagnostic criteria for obesity" by the Japan Society for the Study of Obesity
18.5 or
less / Underweight 18.5 to less than
25 / Normal weight 25 to less than 30 / Obesity (1 degree)
30 to less than 35 / Obesity (2 degrees)
35 to less than 40 / Obesity (3 degrees)
40 or more / obesity (4 degrees)
For example, a woman who is 160 cm tall and weighs 50 kg. The calculation formula is "50 kg ÷ (1.6 x 1.6) = 19.5", which is normal weight according to the diagnostic criteria set by the Japan Society for the Study of Obesity.
Body fat percentage and BMI are calculated from different perspectives, so use both values to make effective use of them in your diet.
People with low BMI and low body fat percentage may be of the wrong type or too bad. On the other hand, if the body fat percentage is high even if the BMI value is low, it is a so-called "hidden obesity" in which the body looks bad but has plenty of fat.
What is the ideal body fat percentage for men?
You may have seen an article such as "A soccer player has 3% body fat". Some athletes have single-digit body fat, but the standard body fat for men is 10-19%.
If you are within this number and want to aim for a tighter body, you should aim for around 15%.
What is the ideal body fat percentage for women?
For women, 20-29% is standard. Compared to men, women's bodies are naturally richer in fat, which is also essential for the secretion of female hormones. In addition to creating a feminine body silhouette, it helps prepare for pregnancy and childbirth and protects organs.
Therefore, if you lose too much body fat, your period may stop temporarily and your risk of osteoporosis may increase in the future.
If you are an athlete or model woman and have extremely low body fat percentage control, you may be putting a strain on your body as a woman rather than being healthy.
If your body fat is 20% or less, your period is more likely to stop, so even if you think you want to get rid of it, don't let it fall below this number.
What causes high body fat percentage?
If the calorie intake and calorie consumption are out of balance and you continue to live in excess of the calorie intake, fat will accumulate and your body fat will increase. This is a function of the body that has been in place since the days when human beings could not eat satisfactorily, and it stores energy in the body in case it cannot eat.
However, in modern times, people can get enough energy from meals, have fewer opportunities to walk using transportation such as cars and trains, and have developed communication devices such as personal computers so that they do not have to move. It was.
Therefore, it can be said that the calorie intake easily exceeds the calorie consumption, and the environment is such that body fat tends to be high. This is one of the reasons why obesity is increasing in modern people.
What causes low body fat percentage?
If you are active and exercising even with plenty of food, you will likely burn more calories and lower your body fat percentage.
However, if you are eating a lot but you are losing weight and your body fat percentage is low, you may have a metabolic disorder such as "hyperthyroidism." Thyroid disease is as high as 1 in 50 to 100 in men and 1 in 30 to 60 in women.
One of the symptoms of hyperthyroidism is that it is difficult to eat. Other characteristic symptoms include increased metabolism, palpitation, sweating, and feeling extremely hot, so consult your doctor if you have such a tendency.
How to reduce body fat?
In order to reduce the increased body fat, it is essential to review lifestyle habits.
Body fat does not decrease just because you skip a meal for a few days. On the other hand, if you skip a meal, you will think that your body is starving and will accumulate fat.
Here are some recommended diets and exercises to help you lose body fat.
Eating a well-balanced diet is the basis for losing body fat. On top of that, let's also incorporate the following.
・ Eat well, but don't overeat
If you skip a meal, you will be hungry for a long time until the next meal, which may lead to overeating. As a result, the blood sugar level after eating rises sharply, making the body easier to store fat. Eating three meals daily also helps prevent wasteful snacks.
However, try not to eat too much on the 8th minute of your stomach.
・ Chew well and eat
Have you ever counted how many times you eat each bite? People who eat fast are said to swallow almost without chewing.
Let's chew well and eat "30 times a bite" as a guide. It stimulates the satiety center and increases satisfaction, and it produces a lot of saliva, which makes it easier to digest and reduces the burden on internal organs.
Reducing the burden on internal organs leads to improvement of internal organ functions, leads to an increase in basal metabolism, which accounts for most of the energy consumption, and makes it easier to reduce body fat.
・ Ingestion of dietary fiber with vegetables, seaweed, and mushrooms
Dietary fiber cleans the intestines and helps the body eliminate unwanted substances, and can also prevent postprandial blood sugar spikes.
Also, if you put it in your mouth first, such as salads and side dishes that are rich in dietary fiber, you will feel hungry and you can prevent the blood sugar level from rising sharply.
・ Be careful not to consume too much alcohol
Alcohol has calories in itself, and people tend to want high-calorie snacks such as fried foods. Also, if you get drunk, you are more likely to consume more calories than you need, such as "Tighten the ramen!" Sake is said to be the chief of 100 medicines, but the appropriate amount is about 1 large bottle of beer, 1 go of sake, and 2 glasses of wine a day. Let's enjoy as much as you can control.
The trick is to increase the amount of activity in order to exceed the calorie consumption rather than the calorie intake.
・ Aerobic exercise such as walking
Lack of exercise is thought to be the main cause of high body fat. Increase calories burned by exercising.
First of all, it is recommended that you do not start strenuous exercise suddenly, but incorporate light exercise into your daily life, such as walking in the neighborhood.
Even if you don't get up early, you can do aerobic exercise with a little ingenuity, such as walking faster than usual on the way to work, climbing the stairs of the station by one step, and getting off in front of the station on the way back.
Even if you exercise in small pieces, the effect will be the same, so if you do not have a lot of time, be aware that you will move a little.
・ Muscle training such as squats
It's hard to build muscle just by living your daily life. Build muscle mass by incorporating muscle-loading exercises such as squats and push-ups. As muscle mass increases, basal metabolic rate increases, and the energy that can be consumed in daily life increases.
I mentioned earlier that for women, if your body fat drops below 20%, your period is more likely to stop, but it's important to note that reducing body fat too much can be a burden to your body.
It is not "body fat = the enemy of diet", but body fat is inherent in the body and has a role.
First, "subcutaneous fat" has the function of controlling body temperature and protecting the body from external enemy stimuli. It also secretes hormones.
"Visceral fat" works to fix the position of internal organs and prevent the stomach from drooping, and it is also an energy storage.
There is "triglyceride" in the blood, which is also necessary to balance cholesterol levels, not low. Don't look at your body fat as an enemy, and try to control it within the standard range.
It's easy to think that when you lose body fat, you lose weight smoothly, but to lose body fat, you need to gain muscle mass.
Due to the difference in density between body fat and muscle, muscle is 2-3 times heavier when the same amount is compared. Therefore, even if you lose body fat and gain muscle mass, you often do not see much change in your weight.
Even so, the quality of the body has changed significantly, and the body line should also have changed. Don't just focus on your weight, measure your body size and wear tight pants so you don't miss any changes in your body.
The effect of improving lifestyle habits should surely come out.
The body fat that you have on your body is what you have acquired through your lifestyle. There is no shortcut to reduce it, and steady efforts to improve lifestyle habits lead to a healthy diet.
Even if you lose your temper temporarily, you may rebound or get sick, so let's improve your lifestyle little by little over the medium to long term
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