Weight Loss Vs. Fat Loss

When you ask people why they go on a diet, they usually say that they want to lose weight.

Weight loss is certainly a common desire but is this really the goal or do people want to lose fat?

In this article I want to talk about weight loss vs. fat loss and how these two things will create a completely different body for you. I will also share tips on how to make sure you’re working toward the best looking body you can have.

Let’s begin by actually defining the difference between weight loss and fat loss:

- When you’re trying to lose weight, all you care about is the number of pounds that you weigh. You want that needle on the scale to show a lower number than it currently does. You don’t really spend too much time worrying over the “kind” of weight loss that you achieve.

- When you’re trying to lose fat, your goal is to become as lean as possible. You want to lower your body fat percentage and you care much less for what the scale tells you. You may still lose weight, but you want to make sure that this weight loss is due to a reduction in fatty tissue and not muscle tissue.

These are totally different goals. When you’re trying to lose fat, you may not even care about the number of pounds that you weigh. You may even want to gain weight in order to build more muscle tissue.

The Illusion Of Weight Loss

A lot of people put too much emphasis on weight loss and don’t realize how much of an illusion it really is. There are plenty of ways in which measuring your weight can lead to the wrong conclusion regarding your health and your appearance. Here are some inaccuracies you may encounter when focusing on weight loss:

1. Initial weight loss due to water loss – Often, when you go on a diet, you can lose a lot of pounds during the first week or 10 days. This is often due to water loss and not fat loss. While you may get a bit less bloated, you’ve achieved very little so far. This kind of weight loss is often shortlived.

2. Judging people by their weight alone can lead to ridiculous conclusions: a man can weigh 240 pounds in a variety of body shapes. He can either have a huge beer belly or he can be a 6′ 5” basketball player with single digit body fat. Naturally, these two people will look vastly different from each other.

3. Your weight changes on a daily basis. Weighing yourself after a meal or after a workout will lead to totally different results. The same goes for measuring yourself at different times of the day. Not a thing to rely on.

4. When you do begin dieting and working out regularly, you will add muscle tissue to your body. Muscle tissue is actually heavier than fat. It takes less space but is denser. So, you may be losing fat and improving how your body looks and how you feel, but the scale still shows a number which is higher than what you had in mind when you started working out.

How to Lose Fat and not Just Weight

To make sure you’re achieving fat loss and not just weight loss, you need to be alert and to take certain steps:

1. Make sure to do strength training to maintain muscle tissue. Otherwise, whatever weight loss you achieve will be partly due to a loss of muscle tissue. You want to focus on fat burning.

2. Measure yourself properly – The best way to see how you’re doing is to measure yourself with a tape. The goal is often to get as lean, toned, and firm as possible. So, measure the width of your hips, thighs, waist, chest, and shoulders, when you begin your diet and fitness program and make periodical measurements to judge your progess correctly. Keep in mind that you may want some body parts to get bigger (such as chest and shoulders) and others to get smaller (such as hips, thighs, and waist).

3. Don’t weigh yourself too often – This is also one of the main motivation tips that I can give you. Weighing yourself too often can be demoralizing. As your weight fluctuates, the results can lead you to believe that your diet plan isn’t working. I recommend weighing yourself once a week at most.

4. Measure your body fat percentage – Most gyms have fat measuring devices. Some may be more accurate than others. You can also buy such a device yourself. However, measuring yourself with a tape should give you a good idea of your progress or lack thereof.

5. Care about clothes and not pounds – The way you fit into your clothes is an excellent way to measure your progress. You want to look good in your clothes. Being too thin can also make your clothes look bad on you, which is why pure weight loss is not always the best way to judge how you are really doing.

In Conclusion

While weight loss and fat loss are not always on contradiction with each other, the real way to measure your progress is not by how many pounds you weigh but how much body fat you have. By working toward a leaner self, you will look better, fell better, have more energy, and truly create a new YOU.