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 Women
Are Thinking Thin but Growing Fat
By Kelli Calabrese MS, CSCS
Despite your obsession with thinness, somehow your body has not
connected to your mind and each Monday as you creep on the scale
you become more desperate. Do you look at your body in the mirror
and wonder how fat seems to be growing in places its never been?
If this sounds familiar, don’t despair! I’ll share with
you some hidden secrets that can help you understand why you may
be getting fatter rather than fitter and why fat loss is a greater
challenge for women than men!
Father Time – Beginning in our mid-20s, women lose approximately
7 pounds of muscle mass and gain 15 pounds of fat every decade.
(Men lose about 5 pounds of muscle a decade)
So, by our mid-40s, we will have lost almost 15 pounds of metabolically
active muscle and replaced it with 30 pounds of sluggish fat (if
you are not exercising). While the scale tells us that we are only
15 pounds heavier, our metabolism has been dramatically reduced
and body composition has changed in unfavorable proportions. The
good news is that these changes are, in large part, the result of
inactivity and can be reversed with exercise.
Unfortunately it gets worse for women. After menopause, the rate
of muscle loss doubles going from 7 pounds a decade to 14 pounds.
By the time a woman is in her 60’s she can have as little
as 20 – 30 pounds of muscle left and she is more prone to
falls and breaking bones.
Also with age, the skin begins to lose its elasticity, sag and lose
its ability to contain fat giving a rippled appearance often referred
to as cellulite. The dimpled effect is caused by the fibers of connective
tissue losing elasticity and allowing the fat to seep through like
yogurt through cheesecloth. Yuck!
Muscle is what drives your metabolism. For every pound of muscle
on your body you need 35 – 50 calories per day to sustain
it. For every pound of fat on your body, you need a modest 2 calories
per day.
Hint: begin strength training today!
Female Fat is Different from Male
Fat
Men and women do not live in an equal world when it comes to our
bodies and specifically body fat. Men are taller with larger muscles
and bones and a faster metabolism.
At puberty, girls put on fat and boys put on muscle. From fertilization
to breastfeeding, women have different physical experiences than
men. Although the odds may appear to be stacked against women they
can overcome these obstacles and make improvements to their shape
and health.
Fat Storage
Women are both blessed and cursed with the ability to store excess
body fat. Fat serves an important biological purpose by helping
to insulate the body, pad the internal organs and provide energy.
And nature has also cleverly designed women’s bodies to carry
almost double the amount of body fat as men because we bear and
nourish babies.
Fat is the primary energy source our bodies use to support fetal
development. Therefore, to keep it available for the developing
fetus, our bodies tend to store extra fat in the abs, hips, butt
and thighs. Grrrreat!
Unfortunately, we don’t have control over where our fat cells
decide to swell and shrink, but we can make great strides in helping
the cells release fat by exercising.
In order for fat to be metabolized, it must be released from the
fat cell and be transported by the bloodstream, where it is shunted
to the liver and other active tissues to be used as fuel.
Unfortunately, blood flow to fatty tissues is poor compared to the
circulation in muscles and organs. So, fat regions tend to remain
fat partially due to poor blood circulation.
The less circulation-stimulating exercise we perform, the more
our bodies are inclined to accumulate fat, although more blame tends
to lie with greater food intake.
Hormones
Estrogen is a hormone responsible for secondary female sex characteristics
and can influence the body’s enzymes to store fat in the lower
body, while suppressing the storage of fat in the upper body. Women
may have noticed that when they diet, the first place they see lost
inches is in your bust area. Drats!
During pregnancy and the menstrual cycle, hormones encourage the
fat cells to retain water. The water retention slows down circulation
and makes it more difficult to mobilize fat. The good news is that
exercise can help to regulate hormone responses and ultimately become
fat releasing machines.
The other main hormone women produce is progesterone. Progesterone
affects appetite and mood. It makes you hungrier during the second
half of your menstrual cycle and is responsible for your ravenous
appetite during pregnancy. Progesterone can also make you feel sluggish,
sleepy and therefore less inclined to exercise. Women who take birth
control pills gain on average 3 to 5 pounds as a side effect.
Pregnancy
Throughout pregnancy, fat cells not only expand, but they can multiply
in number. When pregnancy is over, those fat cells remain and are
always ready to expand in size whenever your intake of calories
surpasses the energy you use. (Take that donut out of your mouth
right now!) With each pregnancy, the weight loss dilemma is compounded
further. The thyroid gland, which also drives the metabolism, notoriously
becomes sluggish during pregnancy in order to help the body hold
on to fat.
Menopause
The average age of natural menopause for women in the United States
is 51. During peri-menopause (the 10 years prior to menopause),
we begin producing less estrogen, which is a protective hormone.
We also tend to sleep less and our appetite becomes stimulated.
Before we reach that pre-menopausal stage, women typically deposit
fat on the hips and thighs. But, as peri-menopause begins, we begin
to deposit more fat around the waist and chest.
Genetics
Many generations ago, lean people tended to die younger, so natural
selection favored those who were fatter. Over the centuries, a genetic
predisposition for fat has been built into our genes. If you take
a look at your mother, mother’s sisters and female cousins,
you may notice a strong resemblance in body types. Some families
seem more predisposed to “cellulite” than others.
Unfortunately we cannot change our genetics, but we can choose
to express the positive genes. Some women are gifted to naturally
look like athletes or models and others can do all of the dieting
and training in the world and still have trouble spots.
While genetics does influence where we store body fat, non-genetic
influences such as lifestyle, environmental and cultural factors
are shown to be more important. You can overcome any weaknesses
and trouble spots to a certain degree with balanced strength, cardiovascular
and flexibility training - along with making nutritious food choices.
You have the ability to transform your body regardless of your inherited
traits. Focus on being the best you can be.
Why Men Have It Easier
Compared to women, men are generally quicker to lose weight as a
result of regular exercise. They tend to carry their fat in the
upper body, and those cells are more prone to release fat than the
fat cells in the lower body, where women tend to store extra weight.
Women are also more likely to increase their total fat cell count,
both at puberty and during pregnancy, which men don’t have
to deal with.
One of the reasons for this difference between the sexes is that
testosterone, the male hormone, stimulates bone and muscle growth.
Men don’t lose testosterone at the rate that women lose estrogen.
As a result, men retain more muscle and more bone minerals as they
age, giving them higher metabolisms and making them less likely
to develop osteoporosis.
Bulking Up
A woman is not engineered to develop huge bulging muscles like men.
Women have low levels of testosterone in their bodies, about one
tenth of what men have, and testosterone is the primary stimulus
for muscular growth. So, even when women strength train, they will
not be able to raise their metabolisms to the rate of a man’s.
Happy Marriage
Just two years after marriage, women start gaining 2 – 5 pounds
of fat a year. The reason is that they begin to pick up the habits
of their husbands who naturally eat 35% more than them to maintain
their speedy metabolisms. Women also traditionally do the cooking
and tend to eat as they cook, during the meal and during the clean
up.
Phew! I am not sharing this information because I want you to get
a divorce or not have children. I am committed to helping your understand
why fat loss may feel like an uphill battle for you. The great news
is that with the right fitness program and healthful eating plan,
a lean, feminine, firm and fit body can be yours. Exercise is the
very best fountain of youth and even better, the results are guaranteed!
Kelli Calabrese MS, CSCS, 2004 Personal Trainer of the Year, Editor
Personal Fitness Professional Magazine, Editor of Wellness and Fitness
Entrepreneur Magazine, Board of Directors for the Personal Trainer
Business Alliance, Lead Exercise Physiologist National Exercise
Sports Trainers Association, Former Lead Fitness Expert for eDiets
and eFitness. Kelli has 3 science degrees in the areas of Cardiac
Rehabilitation, Exercise Physiology and Biology. She has attained
over 20 Fitness and Nutrition Certifications. She is the author
of Feminine, Firm & Fit and co-author of The Power of Champions.
Kelli is available for seminars, personal training, online training
and phone coaching, grocery shopping tours. For more information
about Kelli please visit www.kellicalabrese.com
or e-mail Kelli@KelliCalabrese.com
or call 908-879-1469.
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