Fat Loss vs Weight Loss

Fat loss and Weight loss, is it the same?...absolutely NOT. One thing you’ll read constantly on this site is that we NEVER talk about weight loss. Instead, we always talk about fat loss. Why? Because your goal should never be to lose weight, but to lose fat.

You can certainly be forgiven if you say, “I need to lose a few pounds.” It’s practically ingrained in our language – like saying, “Oh, my God” even if you aren’t religious.

Marketers certainly haven’t helped either – they all talk about losing weight as opposed to losing fat. Because it’s easy to lose weight and hard to burn fat.

As if weighing less somehow makes you healthier. In fact, when it comes to your health what you weigh – as long as you’re not obese – is irrelevant to your health as long as you exercise 3 to 5 days per week.

Recent studies have shown that exercise determines your overall health to a much greater extent than your overall weight.

What’s more, each person has a different ideal weight according to their physical characteristics and body type.

This has been largely ignored by medical professionals for years as they used the BMI (Body Mass Index) to determine if people are overweight. The BMI basically uses your height and weight to determine your ideal weight. It does not take into consideration muscle mass – those who lift weights are consistently seen as “overweight” – and also ignores your body type and bone density, albeit lesser factors.

Nowadays, body fat percentage is really the factor to look at in terms of health and much more importantly – looks. Because face it, while some just want to be healthy, it’s vanity that drives the fitness and diet markets.

Health does not sell billions of dollars in supplements and bizarre fitness equipment every year, looks do.

For most men, they could care less how much they weighed as long as they had that “ripped” look that requires either the right genetics or a rigorous exercise and disciplined diet. If fact, they would enjoy having ten extra pounds of muscle mass to show off at the beach.

BTW: Putting on ten extra pounds of muscle is truly a challenge – most people have trouble gaining even a few pounds of muscle. They tend to make the muscle mass they have stronger, instead. Hence the use of steroids and other muscle gaining supplements.

The same goes for women who want that J-Lo butt. That’s muscle, baby, not fat and it weights more per volume than fat. It’s also, sad to say, genetics.

Only those that want that starving supermodel look will be interested in losing muscle mass. Unfortunately, that super thin look starts with specific genetics – being tall with long legs makes all the difference. The only other way is a full body cast for 6 to 9 weeks – fun, fun.

Back to the muscle is heavier than fat myth – it’s not. They weigh the same – the correct way to say this is muscle is denser than fat and occupies less space for a given weight. So a person that weights 150lbs with low body fat and high muscle mass will look hot, while the same person at 150lbs and high body fat with low muscle mass will look like a flabby porker.

Looking at this picture you can see why having muscle is better – it looks better and for the same weight it takes up less space...i.e. you will be slimmer.

But most dieting programs – especially the crash diets – cause you to lose muscle and fat. Your dimensions may change – a smaller waist, for example – but you still have the same ratio of body fat to muscle. This makes you look flabby an unappealing – no matter what the bathroom scale says.

Enter your search terms Submit search form