Lose Weight or Lose Fat?

Often, both fat loss and weight loss are mistaken to be the same, but think about it- losing weight basically means that when you step on that weighing scale, you should weigh less. Now you’ve lost this weight since there is less of something in your body. The options are fat, muscle or water.

Losing fat is ideal, but losing muscle is detrimental to your health. Muscles help burn calories even when you’re sleeping. Basically, your body takes energy to maintain itself. If you have more muscle in your body, then it takes more energy to maintain it. In fact, it takes about 10 times the energy to maintain the same amount of muscle as it takes to maintain fat.

With weight loss strategies that people adopt, like skipping meals and staying hungry, they end up losing muscle. Your body has to maintain itself whether you feed it or not. So, when you don’t feed it for a long time (like when you skip meals), it starts looking for stored energy in your body. Instead of burning fat, it burns muscle to get that energy. So, when you skip a meal the next time, remember that you’re harming your muscles. Lesser muscle in your body, lesser energy is takes to maintain it. But you still eat the same amount of food, so you land up storing the extra energy in the form of fat. Its a vicious cycle.

Also, muscle is more dense that fat. So, you might lose fat, gain muscle- as a result you look slimmer and are much fitter. But on the weighing scale, you might still weigh the same.

So you see, using your weight as a yard stick is incorrect from a fitness standpoint.

The solution, use your fat loss as a yard stick. How do you measure it? The simple way but not completely accurate way, is a measuring tape. Measure your waist, thighs, hips, arms- whatever your problem areas are. Note down the measurements on a periodic basis, keep track and watch that shy six pack reveal itself!

The more accurate way for tracking body fat through a Body Composition Analysis machine. To get your body fat content tracked, book your free consultation and get a Free Body Compostion Analysis. To book your consultation, email fitness@fitho.in.

Belly fat is harmful to your body and tracking your fat, helps you measure key areas and will help to keep track of your fat loss. That .

Besides the obvious benefits of fat loss- looking hot, healthy heart- did you know that it benefits your sex life too!

So, don’t fret about the weight. Worry only about the fat.

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