Genetics and Obesity: Were we born to be fat?

Excerpted from
The 3-Apple-a-Day Plan: Your Foundation for Permanent Fat Loss
By Tammi Flynn

Genetics play a role in your body type and how yon store fat. Yet other factors greatly influence your risk of being fat or overfat - factors that you can change or prevent.

The big fat facts of life

Fact one: we can't always blame our parents. Yes, our genes affect the rate at which our body accumulates tat and where the fat is stored. And, yes, a family history of obesity does increase our chances of becoming obese (overfat) by about 30 percent, and of course our family affected our eating habits and activity levels when we were children. But we have 70 percent control over how healthy and tit we are as adults-what we Jo to take control is up to us.

Fact two: No matter who we are, we all have an unlimited potential to make new fat cells, which means we all think obesity and obesity-related diseases it we continue to overeat and under-exercise.

So now's the time to start making changes. The thousands of people who have followed the 3-Apple-a-Day Plan have come from a variety of backgrounds. Most everyone who stuck with the plan has seen great results. The difference between boys and girls Have you ever wondered why men seem to lose weight at the drop of a hat and women seem to have more of a struggle? Or why building muscle seems to come naturally to guys but takes longer for us gals? Does "you are what you eat" ring a bell?

In my twenty years of experience in the health and fitness industry, I have observed that men and women have different preferences, which may influence how they lose body tat. When it comes to food preferences, for example, men tend to choose protein over carbohydrates. In terms of exercise, they go for the weight training every time-with as little cardiovascular training as possible.

My women clients, on the other hand, prefer carbohydrates over protein, and they choose walking for weight loss (cardiovascular training) instead of weight training.

Are you connecting the dots?

Muscle, fat, and metabolism

Because of their higher muscle mass, men tend to burn 10 to 20 percent more calories than do women (who have higher levels of body fat). Think about this: 1 pound of muscle tissue burns 40 to 60 calories per day whereas 1 pound of fat tissue burns a measly 2 calories per day. No wonder these guys lose weight so easily. Their higher muscle mass endows them with a higher metabolic rate. But ladies, you can change all that by adding some muscle mass through weight training!

Use it or lose it!

As you age, if you do not use your muscles, you'll lose them. The muscle tissue shrinks, resulting in lower metabolism and an inability to bum calories. Starting around age twenty-five, you lose about 1 percent of muscle every year, which results in a reduction of metabolism. So let's do the math.

By the age of thirty-five, you will have lost approximately 5 pounds of muscle. For each pound of muscle lost, you lose the ability to burn 40 to 60 calories per day. So 5 pounds of muscle times 40 to 60 calories per day equals 200 to 300 calories less that your body is able to burn per day. By the age of fifty, you may have lost 25 pounds of muscle, reducing your calorie-burning ability by 1,000 calories. You may begin to notice that you eat less, but you are getting fatter. Although this may be somewhat exaggerated, I think you get the point.

But all is not lost. Weight training increases muscle mass, which increases your ability to burn calories. It's possible to minimize, even reverse, some of the damage from inactivity-it you start now!

It your goal is permanent tar loss, weight training is the answer, and it is a vital part of the 3-Apple-a-Day Plan.