Beauty Traps: The Dangers of Excessive Dieting, and the Mystery of "Excess Fat" in Healthy Women
No matter what methods women use to attract attention, whether it's outward appearance or deception, more and more women simply don't understand their own bodies! Some may view obesity as ugly, and since dieting is one way to lose weight, many women completely ignore its potential effects and begin to diet excessively. As a result, muscle mass and muscle function decline, and they become increasingly lethargic after dieting. Conversely, due to a weakened metabolism, the chances of fat accumulation increase significantly.
Every woman should understand the importance of exercise and the function of her muscles. Women often focus excessively on their appearance, neglecting the fact that the greatest fat-burning mechanism is muscle itself. Reconnect with your body! Let your muscles come alive again and let go of the misconception that "beauty is everything." Exercise will help you achieve what you want; besides reducing fat and achieving a more balanced figure, it will also make your eyes, skin, and even your personal qualities shine naturally from within.
Even healthy women struggle with excess fat.
In fact, only a small percentage of women have a body fat percentage below 22%. For women with normal hormone levels and adequate exercise, 22% is a natural and healthy percentage. However, if you want to maintain a body fat percentage below 22%, you need to follow a fairly strict exercise and diet plan, although this may not be entirely accurate, as only professional athletes can maintain a low body fat percentage. I have tested hundreds of female dance instructors and found that their average body fat percentage was 18%. Female marathon runners who regularly participate in competitions have roughly the same percentage. Younger runners may have a lower percentage, while runners over 30 may have a higher percentage. Generally speaking, female athletes over 30, even those who run regularly and have undergone competitive training, mostly have a body fat percentage above 22%.
An interesting study focused on members of an all-female mountaineering team. Each member had experience climbing mountains over 5,500 meters and underwent rigorous training. Many might assume these women would have very low body fat percentages; however, the study revealed that these strong mountaineers had an average body fat percentage of 21%.
What do these figures suggest? Generally speaking, very few women have a body fat percentage below 22% or 21%. Even with a low percentage, they may still suffer from excess fat. Women with a body fat percentage between 18% and 22% often have excess fat in certain areas, especially the hips and legs. Generally, unless one is very young or has inherited specific family genes, most women have more fat in their legs and hips, even elite athletes. For example, professional tennis players or marathon runners cannot have the same well-developed hips and leg muscles as their male counterparts. This excess fat seems to be an inherent part of womanhood, something they can't seem to get rid of.
Why do women who exercise regularly, eat a controlled diet, and have a body fat percentage of 18% still have excess fat? Let's do a simple math calculation: If a 50 kg woman has a body fat percentage of 15%, that means she has 7.5 kg of fat. Imagine the following scenario: Suppose 0.5 kg of fat is equal to 0.5 kg of butter. If you add 7 kg to that 0.5 kg of butter, how much butter is there? What is the fat content of that butter? Now imagine stuffing that fat into your body, how would it be distributed? For most women, it would be: 0.5 kg in each breast, and for those with fuller breasts, perhaps 1 kg! Another 1 kg in the intestinal tissue, 1.5 kg in the subcutaneous tissue, and the last 4 kg in the buttocks! This is roughly how a woman's fat is distributed. However, in reality, most women have a body fat percentage exceeding 15%, meaning they would need more than 7.5 kg of fat. Therefore, the average woman has approximately 4.5 to 9 kg of subcutaneous fat.
Among the women I tested, the average body fat percentage was 30%, and these participants were more focused on dieting and exercise than most women, so their goal of reducing their body fat percentage from 30% to 22% was a significant undertaking. If your goal is to achieve the same 18% body fat percentage as a dance instructor, then I must honestly tell you that this is unrealistic. Therefore, I suggest a more realistic weight loss goal: a reduction of 0.5% of body fat per month. If you can consistently consume low-calorie, low-sugar foods and combine this with regular, uninterrupted aerobic exercise, this weight loss plan would take approximately 16 months.
In fact, many women understand that dieting alone cannot truly achieve weight loss. Only by combining it with appropriate exercise can they reduce their body fat percentage to below 22% within a year. Appropriate exercise is the only way to maintain a balanced and healthy figure. However, thinking solely from this perspective is unrealistic. Recall what we mentioned earlier: track and field athletes have a body fat percentage between 18% and 20%; figure skaters around 16%; and gymnasts typically have around 14%. But don't forget, these athletes' average age is only 17. If your current body fat percentage is 30% and you are over 30, achieving this goal may require double the effort!
Feeling discouraged? Cheer up! Because proper exercise and a planned diet will allow you to experience other pleasant changes in your body before you even lose weight. Start an exercise program today!
You'll see results in a week. You'll sleep better and more comfortably, even if your sleep duration is reduced. A biopsy will reveal an increase in enzymes that promote fat metabolism in your gluteal muscles. After one month, you'll maintain a good body temperature and won't need to wear heavy clothing even in cold weather; after three months, you'll experience less emotional stress even with a strict diet; and after four months, your fat metabolism will be twice as effective.
Yes, losing weight isn't easy, but you can immediately enjoy the other benefits of exercise. So, personally, my focus is on hoping that my body fat percentage will be lower next year than it is this year. If you were already overweight, this method of weight loss might take several years to show results; after all, changing your body's existing functions always takes effort and time!