Women have more body fat than men, and not without reason. By nature, a woman's body is developed to protect her and a potential fetus. As a result, women have more enzymes for storing fat and fewer enzymes for burning fat. To start with, women naturally have a higher percentage of body fat than men, about 25% compared to 15%. Athletes fall into different ranges with levels as low as 10 percent for women and 5 percent for men. But this minimal amount is only maintained for a brief period, such as competition. If body fat stays below normal for long, the health and body functions go down.

Weight changes you see on the scales and in the mirror daily is not related to how much you've been eating or exercising today, yesterday, or last week. The small weight fluctuations result more from how much water and digested food there is in your body at the moment. When you feel like there is too much water in your system, such as after eating salty or sugary foods, or at that special time of the month when your body lets you know you are a woman, the number on the scales hits its greatest mark. Same thing happens when your stomach is fuller than usual, you are dehydrated and constipated. All that bulk contributes to your total body weight giving you an unwanted reflection in the mirror, reading on the scales and uncomfortably tight pants you planned to wear to a special occasional meeting.

Some of that not-so-great sensation can be contributed to the energy stores in the form of glycogen, not fat deposits on your hips and thighs. When the food is digested and metabolized, it turns into glycogen, or usable energy stored in the liver and muscles. Your body needs and uses glycogen all the time, and your hormones regulate that process making sure that you never run out of energy.

The Bad Side of Hydration 

However, each gram of sugar attracts 3 grams of water, giving your body a fuller healthier better-hydrated look. For example, for every spoon of sugar you eat your efficient self-regulating system will store three spoons of fluid contributing to the overall weight gain of 60 grams or four tablespoons. Salt also attracts water which is stored in the body cells. It naturally comes from all the foods you eat, but all manufactured products contain a lot more. So, the more salt or glycogen you hold, the more water your body has, the more you weight, and the tighter your pants are. But don't get discouraged – this also means that your body fat percentage is lower! How can you be 'fitter' when you feel so 'fat'?

This is because your body composition, or the proportion of fat to lean tissue, depends on your hydration status. Water cannot be dissolved in fat. Try the experiment – add a spoon of oil in a cup of water. The fat just floats there on top. Same thing happens in your body where water is distributed in all tissues but adipose, or fat tissue. On the days you feel bloated, try to pinch your skin and the subcuttaneous, or underskin fat with it. What do you see? Probably not as much as you expected. The reason is that the fat you try to shed stays at the same level, but your water contents is a lot higher, hence the elevated scale reading.

Immediate Weight Loss 

But what happens when you know you've lost weight and you feel a lot lighter today than last week? The opposite you see in the short-term weight gain – loss of body water due to loss of glycogen, salt or plain dehydration or diarrhoea. The danger of this inspiring feeling is that once you get your water restored, your weight is back to where it's been parking for a long time.

Low-carbohydrate or high-protein diets are known for their fast impact on weight loss, but a lot of that short-term weight loss may come from dehydration and loss of muscle glycogen. When you restrict carbohydrates or increase how much protein you eat, the glucose in the body gets depleted. Metabolism of protein also demands a lot of water which your body easily excretes through urine. You may lose weight on these type of diets, but, again, as with any short-term solutions, this is mostly from dehydration.

Keeping yourself dehydrated, such as seen on low-carb diets, is not a good idea. It may look good on the scales, but it is dangerous for health. Besides, water is the best thing you can use for successful weight loss. It keeps you satisfied, assists all physiological functions, helps to detoxify, prevents water retention and constipation, and is a good healthy diuretic itself. Remember – 'The more you drink, the more you shrink'.

Lose Weight Forever

If you see consistent weight loss during the past month or more, reward yourself for the discipline in following the strict diet and exercise plan. Consistent cardiovascular and resistance training coupled with a nutritious diet you can manage to achieve and maintain a healthy body fat percentage. As your body fat levels drop, you will notice that the fat loss comes off in reverse of how it was put on. So, the most recent fat gains will come off first, while the old fat that has been there for a while will take the longest to lose.

If you have a high level of body fat, or you have never been able to successfully lose fat, you should consider trying a program that not only focuses on dieting, but also includes adequate cardiovascular activity and weight training.

Keys To Successful Fat Loss 

The best way to get lean and maintain as much muscle as you can is to diet slowly. The truth is, when you are on a low calorie diet, your body prefers to use muscle tissue for fuel rather than excess body fat. So, the slower you lose weight, the more likely you are losing fat and not muscle.

Ideally, you should aim to lose no more than 1lb - 1.5 lbs per week that's it. If you are obese, then you should try to lose no more than 1% of your body weight per week. Any more than that and you are sacrificing muscle.

Last, but not least, what you see from short and long-term weight loss due to dehydration is the muscles. That's right, more muscular definition. You may even uncover the muscles your body had for years, they were just not visible. One reason is that they were covered by underskin body fat and water storage. When you lose weight and your body composition improves, the proportion of lean tissues in your body goes up. Now you are able to reveal how fit you actually are – what an inspiriting motivation to stick to your diet and exercise!

Remember that you cannot pick and choose the areas from which you would like to lose the fat, or spot reduce. Unfortunately, the human physiology was not programmed to work that way. The only way to decrease the amount of fat in certain key areas is by lowering your total body fat levels. As you lose fat, it will come off all over your body, not just in specific areas. You can, however, change the appearance of your 'trouble areas' by training local muscles. The result would be a toned and more defined look, improvement in lacking areas, and a more pleasing physique.

A successful fat loss program should include:

1. A calorie-restrictive but well-balanced diet with foods from all major food groups

2. Regular cardiovascular activity for at least 30-45 minutes 3-4 times per week.

3. Regular resistance or weight training program at least once or twice a week that includes exercises for all large muscle groups (legs, back, chest).

It all sounds plain and simple, but the key here is consistency. Stay loyal to your program. Take responsibility to commit to your healthy lifestyle - the payoff is well worth the trouble. And remember, it's never too late. If you have tried it before, but failed to continue, look back and see what was the reason. Were you pushing yourself too hard? Did you get discouraged because you didn't see expected results? Maybe you need some patience and persistency in achieving your goals. And what's the rush? You've got a whole life in front of you, so live it, and enjoy every single moment of it.