Freedom From Fat – Consider Fat Loss Rather Than Weight Loss
We are sure that if you have ever considered staying in shape, you have heard the terms weight loss and fat loss. Although weight loss and fat loss are both vital in their own way and are used interchangeably, they have distinct meanings.
We strive and work hard every day to reach our ideal body weight. However, weight loss should not be your only focus in your weight loss journey. Body weight is determined by several factors, including fat mass, muscle mass, bone mass, and metabolism. This is where the difference between weight loss and fat loss lies.
Human body composition comprises of :
1. Fat
2. Bone
3. Lean Body Mass (Muscle, Blood Cells, Organs, Water)
Weight loss is the process of shedding muscle, fat, and water from your body. Whereas the goal of fat loss is to lose body fat, which is a more specific and healthy goal than weight loss.
So, what is weight loss and what is fat loss?
Weight Loss:
Weight loss means that there has been a decrease in body weight. This drop could have been triggered by loss of water, fat, muscle or other body fluids. This drop in body fluids could have been caused by lack of fluid intake, medications, fluid loss or ailments like diabetes.
Taking a look at muscle loss, what is it? Muscles are tissues in the human body. We depend on these to regulate our insulin sensitivity (IS), a biological process. It determines how your body absorbs nutrients. The wrong diet can cause muscle loss, and this can be a harmful way to lose weight. It is best to check your clothes for weight loss. Water loss won’t show much difference in how your clothes fit.
Fat Loss:
A reduction in body fat is considered fat loss. Fat is stored by adipose tissue in humans. These are generally stored subcutaneously (under the skin), or as viscerally (in the body cavity) with little fat being stored intramuscularly (in muscles). We can therefore say that body fat acts as a storehouse of energy.
With loads of body fat, humans suffer from decreased sexual performance, onset of chronic diseases, higher chances of organ failure, reproductive health, and lower mobility.
How can you tell if you are losing fat? The clothes will become loose. Keep an eye on your waistline. You’ll feel more energetic and less tired. Creatively better, less depressed. Reduced cravings for sweets and hunger. Health improvements are accompanied by a reduction in sugar addiction.
Which Should You Aim For? Fat Loss Or Weight Loss?
If you are striving for a healthier body composition, you should consider fat loss over weight loss. By taking a comprehensive approach to fat loss, you can reduce your risk for chronic diseases, inflammation, reduce muscle loss, and help maintain your weight loss. It could also help eliminate excess fat, which is potentially dangerous, while maintaining lean tissue growth. Additionally, muscle tissues provide strength, agility, and burn more calories even at rest. Among the most harmful kinds of fat in the body, visceral fat, could also be minimized through fat loss reduction. When compared to weight loss, focusing on fat loss promotes better body function and vitality.
One should focus on fat loss, not weight loss as fat loss can decrease the risk of several chronic diseases, help reduce the risk of age-related muscle loss, and reduce fat regain.
Types of Fat
Essential Fat: As the name suggests it is needed for humans’ to function physiologically normal. This fat is present in the liver, nerve cells, lungs, heart and muscles.
Subcutaneous Fat: The fat under the skin is usually harmless, and it may even provide protection against certain diseases.
Visceral Fat: This is not healthy in any way. The fat deposits around internal organs. It cannot be viewed as such due to its internal deposit and several diseases are associated with it.
Apple Shape Vs Pear Shape
Apple shaped bodies have more visceral fat. It is prone to health ailments triggered by body weight.
Whereas pear shaped bodies have less amount of visceral fat. It lowers the risk of health ailments triggered by body weight.
Healthy Body Composition
| What | Men | Women |
| Muscle Tissue | 45% | 36% |
| Essential Fat | 3% | 12% |
| Non Essential Fat | 12% | 15% |
| Bone | 15% | 12% |
| Other | 25% | 25% |
The body composition is determined by dividing the human body into its key components like water, muscle mass, tissue, bone, and body fat. Composition therefore describes how a body is put together.
The BCA is better than traditional methods and provides a more accurate picture of how body weight has been distributed. The fat mass and fat percentage are represented here, as well as muscle mass.
Fat Loss Foods You Should Consider Eating
- Fatty Fish
- MCT (medium-chain triglycerides) Oil
- Green Tea
- Whey Protein
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Oolong Tea
- Quinoa
- Coffee
- Eggs
- Berries
- Hot Peppers
- Sweet Potatoes and more
How to Focus on Fat Loss?
- Measure progress using the scale, tape measurements, how your clothes fit, visual changes and how you feel.
- Be patient and consistent. Strive for progress and enjoy the process.
- Be in a moderate calorie deficit. Follow a reduced calorie diet.
- Prioritise strength training and your sleep.
- Eat protein in every day meal.
- Eat healthy and in moderation most of the time.
- Walk and exercise daily.
Achieving Fat Loss
Negative energy balance can be used to lose fat. That means taking in fewer calories than you burn. It is called negative energy balance. Say for losing 500 grams of body fat every week you must reduce the calories by 3,500. That translates to around 500 to 700 calories daily.
Losing Weight by Exercise
Creating a negative calorie balance in the body requires a lot of physical activity. For losing 500 grams in a week, you would need to run anywhere between 11 and 16 km per day.
Losing Weight by Diet
Trying to restrict yourself to certain kinds or small amounts of food may only work short-term. Sustainability could be challenging. Even worse, you may gain weight if you stop the diet plan entirely.
Balance
It is important to strike a balance between diet and exercise. A healthy fat loss should be managed 80% by dieting and 20% by physical activity. By doing this, you will ensure that the body enters fat burning mode quickly and effectively.
Some Of The Key Myths Around Calories
It is important to keep in mind that all calories are not the same. Different foods with the same amount of calories affect the body in different ways. It depends on what you eat, how it gets digested and how much energy it generates. Most diets fail because giving up certain foods does not work as a weight loss method.
Foods with a low GI (Glycemic Index) are preferred by some people. Foods of this kind gradually raise blood sugar levels and insulin levels in the body. However, food with a high glycemic index spikes blood sugar and insulin levels. This leads to insulin overproduction and fat storage.
Top Secrets For Fat Loss:
Reduce Inflammation:
Our body needs essential micro nutrients, anti oxidants, phyto nutrients etc either through food or through supplementation. When there is no deficiency then the body removes toxins and wastes properly and other aspects also function well (hormonal balance, absorption of nutrients and metabolism).
Finding The Required Ratio Of Macronutrients:
It is important to know if carbohydrates, fats and proteins are being taken in the correct ratio. It is best to prioritize and count these. Else we can remove what’s extra or not needed and replace it with the needed macro-nutrients.
Intermittent Fasting:
Intermittent fasting seems to work. It is said that when we fast for 12 hours to 24 hours it triggers our autophagy. It is the human body’s method of clearing out the damaged cells and replacing it with newer and healthier cells that have been regenerated.
Physical Activity:
As discussed 20% of fat burning can be achieved by getting active physically. It helps the body in proper absorption of nutrients and aids in fat loss over muscle loss.
Food Composition Has Changed Over The Years:
1,00,000 years ago there were no grains or processed foods, humans survived on meat, nuts, vegetables and tubers. Some 8,000 years ago there were some grains but no processed food and just olive oil. 50 years ago the trend shifted to some whole foods and around 70% of processed foods.
Normal Eating Behaviour:
Some animals eat for 6 months, store it and then fast for 6 months when they burn it. Humans eat every 2 hours, and keep store, we don’t even fast for 8 hours sometimes. So there is no time to burn the energy.
Six Key Lifestyle Components:
Work around Diet, Activity, Stress, Sleep, Mindset and Meals to achieve healthy sustainable fat loss.
The Bottom Line
In general, weight loss refers to a decrease in your overall body weight, while fat loss refers to weight loss caused by losses in fat mass.
Tracking your body weight alone is not sufficient for tracking fat loss. Body fat scales or skinfold calipers are more accurate.
Measuring your waist or hips in inches or centimeters as well as noting how your clothes fit around your waist can provide simple evidence of fat loss.
Given the importance of your fat-to-muscle ratio for your health, losing weight by dropping fat rather than muscle should be your priority.
By eating plenty of protein, exercising, and moderately restricting your calories, you can prioritize fat loss.
