Weight loss refers to a decrease in your overall body weight from muscle, water, and fat losses. Fat loss refers to weight loss from fat, and it’s a more specific and healthful goal than weight loss.
Focus on fat loss, not weight loss:
Many weight loss programs claim to help you lose weight quickly and easily. However, it’s important to realize that a significant amount of this weight may include water and muscle losses.
Losing muscle can be detrimental, as muscle is a crucial component of your overall health. Maintaining a healthy percentage of muscle has several benefits:
– regulating healthy blood sugar levels, maintaining healthy fat levels in the blood,
and controlling inflammation.
– reduces the risk of age-related muscle loss, which results in frailty and potentially
disability.
– the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest. This is the main
reason why men generally have higher calorie needs than women.
How to lose fat and maintain or gain muscle
There are a few simple ways to ensure you’ll lose weight in the form of fat and either maintain or gain muscle mass:
– Eat plenty of protein
– Exercise
– Follow a reduced calorie diet: to lose weight, you must create a calorie deficit.
You can create a calorie deficit by eating fewer calories or exercising, but preferably both.
Weight loss refers to a decrease in your overall body weight, whereas fat loss refers to weight loss that occurs specifically from losses in fat mass.
A body fat scale or skinfold caliper is more useful for monitoring fat loss than tracking your body weight alone.
Sources: Health Line
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