Losing Fat or Losing Weight? Which one to focus on

Weight loss is NOT the same as Fat loss.

Weight loss is simply a loss of overall body weight. Fat loss is a reduction in body fat. Most folks “should” want to lose body fat and not weight.

Time and again, I have seen people go after the wrong thing ie weight loss.* Not necessarily because they do not understand the difference, but because weight loss is generic and relatively easy to accomplish, see and feel and the fat loss is specific, requires 1:1 Coaching and help understanding body composition, takes time and discipline and requires making lifestyle choices. *This does not apply to people who are severely obese.

Let’s look at each of these a little bit closer…

Weight Loss
A typical scale shows your weight, but it doesn’t tell you how much of that weight is muscle, fat, water, bones, or organs.

Remember, there are many ways to lose weight (crash dieting, dramatically decreasing your calories, fasting, etc.), but the true question is: What type of weight do you want to lose? With your typical crash diets, you can potentially lose a significant amount of weight, in a short period of time. But the weight you lose will be muscle, fat, bone, water, etc. NOT GOOD!

What you really want to do is, decrease the fat on your body, while increasing and/or preserving the muscle mass on your body. This may or may not show up on the scale as significant weight loss, but it will greatly impact the composition of your body.

Fat Loss
It is possible to get thinner without actually seeing a change in your weight. This happens when you lose body fat while gaining muscle. Your weight may stay the same, even as you lose inches, a sign that you‘re moving in the right direction. Simply said, if you are 38 and above, and are struggling to fit in your favorite jeans when you were 28 year old, then you need to lose body fat. 

Measuring your BMI is a pretty reliable starting point to determine whether you have too much body fat.

The length of the journey to reducing body fat and keeping it off varies from person to person. When done right, you gain muscle in the transaction. Muscle boosts your metabolism, and burns fat 24 hours a day (even while you’re sleeping). Muscle is your greatest asset, when it comes to fat loss.

FAT LOSS DONE RIGHT

1. Be smart about your calorie intake
2. Prioritize Strength Training
3. Take your time.

TOP 3 Takeaways About Weight Loss 

1. Crash diets DO NOT WORK! If you drastically reduce calories, you’ll lose weight, at the expense of your nutrition.
2. You’ll also lose muscle, therefore slowing down your metabolism
3. The body will burn fewer calories, and when your diet is normal again, you’ll gain the weight back faster.

Need help losing fat and keeping it off, and understanding how your body needs to be trained? I am here to help.