by Lacey Lenning

Created on: October 06, 2010   Last Updated: October 07, 2010

Fit but Fat:  Myth or Fact?

Beet-faced while gasping for air, an apple-shaped man crouches over the exercise bike peddling with white hot fury.  A flurry of skinny legs cycles beneath a mass of adipose tissue shrouding whatever abdominals he might possess.  Although you are accustomed to viewing this psychotic behavior daily in the gym, you wonder what benefit he actually receives from his biking ritual.  For months he has performed this same routine without any visible bodily improvements.  Could he possibly exemplify the description of being “fit but fat”?

Delving into the definition of fitness, you discover the true meaning: good health or physical condition, especially as the result of exercise and proper nutrition.  On the other hand, fat is having too much flabby tissue; corpulent; obese.  Initially, you would assume that one could not possess both traits simultaneously.  Is this instinctive assumption fact or fiction?

Fitness

Examining fitness in more detail, you can compare its attributes to those held by the meaning of fat.  According to the definition, a healthy individual appropriately balances a nutrient-filled diet and physical activity. The synergy created between food choices and exercise determines the fitness of an individual.

Good health requires a consistently wholesome menu to result in bodily transformation.  Substances that are mindlessly devoured cause one to accumulate unsightly stubbornly-clinging rolls.  If one chooses to eat carelessly, his/her body will resemble a haphazard appearance.  Self-control must be exerted during meals. Contrary to the false claims purported by advertisers and media gurus, one cannot eat all the foods craved while maintaining superior health.  True fitness is a combination of physical exercise and solid nutrition.

Fat

Fat is verified by experts to be the evil force inflicting several metabolic diseases upon the population.  Studies also have demonstrated the debilitating effects of abdominal fat upon the cardiovascular system.  Forced to pump blood through storage tissue and clogged arteries, the heart is taxed beyond its capabilities over time.  Because fat is non-active storage compared to working muscles, the metabolism is slowed when excessive fat is amassed.  Contrary to fat, muscles simulate a furnace roaring for more calories to fuel activity.

Through observation, you have noticed several gym rats who train intensely 6 days/week with miniscule results.  No matter which exercises they perform, they cannot drop that visceral fat disfiguring their waistlines.  Though they incorporate strength-training and cardiovascular activity in recommended levels, they struggle to improve their physiques. Naturally, you are led to believe that a truly fit person will resemble a trained athlete, not these chubby diehards.

When asked if one can be fit and fat, your resounding discovery is an emphatic “no.”  Fitness encompasses more than physical activity, as nutrition is a vital element. Surplus fat inhibits various bodily systems from functioning at their peak.  That misshapen man hunched over the bike must discover the missing factor to achieve ultimate fitness.  You now possess the knowledge to make that difference in his life.

Learn more about this author, Lacey Lenning.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.