Fat Loss vs. Weight Loss: What Are the Differences?

Did you know that about 42 percent of Americans are obese? Unfortunately, obesity can lead to many related conditions, including stroke, cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. 

Whether you want to reduce your risk for obesity-related health conditions or get your dream body, this fat loss guide can help! It will explain the differences between fat loss vs. weight loss and some tips for reaching your goals. So, keep reading to learn more! 

Understanding Body Composition

Before setting out to lose weight, it’s crucial to understand body composition, the components that make up our body. These affect the number on the scale and include:

• Bones
• Organs
• Water
• Muscle 
• Fat

Unfortunately, if you’re obese, you have too much fat in proportion to lean muscle, which can lead to the health conditions mentioned at the outset. Thus, improving your overall well-being means getting rid of excess fat while building lean muscle tissue.

What is Fat Loss?

Fat loss is when you reduce the amount of fatty tissue in your body. You can lose fat by reducing your calorie intake and getting more active. 

However, the quality of your food is crucial for fat loss since poor nutrition or eating too few calories will cause your body to burn muscle rather than fat. And although you will see the number on the scale drop, this weight loss won’t give you the results you desire in the long run or improve your health. 

Therefore, losing fat isn’t only about the number on the scale since this doesn’t reveal the changes to your body composition. You’ll need to use other methods to track your progress, such as:

• Body fat scale
• Measuring and comparing your body dimensions (bust, neck, waist, hips, arms)
• Skinfold calipers
• Using before and after pictures 

Of course, if you are overweight, you will likely see changes to your weight as you lose fat. Just keep in mind that this isn’t the most important indicator of your progress. 

Tips for Effective Fat Loss vs. Weight Loss

Now you understand the difference between losing fat and losing weight. But, how can you keep your muscle mass while you lose fat? These tips can help! 

Don’t Starve Yourself!

Eating too few calories will result in muscle loss. So, reduce your food intake by about 200-300 calories instead of following an extreme crash diet. Even though your results won’t be as quick, they’ll be real and long-lasting! 

Eat Plenty of Protein

If you want to build muscle, amino acids for weight loss are essential because they are the building blocks of protein and muscle tissue. And protein also helps you feel fuller and speeds up your metabolism.  

Most people who want to build muscle and lose fat try to get about one gram of protein per pound of their body weight. For instance, a 150 lb person should eat 150 grams of protein. 

Exercise to Build Muscle

While exercise is important for any weight loss plan, strength training is especially helpful when losing fat. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn, resulting in a leaner appearance! 

Of course, cardio can help, too, as long as you don’t overdo it. Ideally, your routine should include both! 

Enhance Your Health with Fat Loss

After reading this informative post about fat loss vs. weight loss, you can set clear goals for your health and fitness. 

But, of course, you should speak to your doctor before making changes to your diet or starting new exercises to ensure you stay safe. Yet, once you get the green light, use these tips for fat loss to improve your health!

 And if you enjoyed this weight loss guide, check out more of our health-related posts!