The confusion of weight loss vs fat loss; When you set out to lose weight, you are typically looking to lose fat. In reality, as the number on the scale goes down, it's not just fat that's being burned; you're also losing water weight and sometimes even some muscle mass. That's why the confusion of weight loss vs fat loss kicks in.
In fact, the number on the scale doesn't tell the whole story.
Weight loss, in the reference of physical fitness, refers to a reduction of the total body mass, due to a loss of fluid, body fat or adipose tissue or lean mass, namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon, and other connective tissue.
Weight loss can either occur unintentionally due to malnourishment or an underlying disease or arise from a conscious effort to improve an actual or perceived overweight or obese state.
In simple language; Weight loss is decrease in the body weight due to loss of muscles, water and fat.
Weight loss occurs when the body is expending more energy in work and metabolism than it is absorbing from food or other nutrients. It will then use stored reserves from fat or muscle, gradually leading to weight loss.
Athletes seeking to improve performance or to meet required weight classification for participation in a sport, it is not uncommon to seek additional weight loss even if they are already at their ideal body weight.
Others may be driven to lose weight to achieve an appearance they consider more attractive. However, being underweight is associated with health risks such as difficulty fighting off infection, osteoporosis, decreased muscle strength, trouble regulating body temperature and even increased risk of death.
Read more: So what is the Ketogenic Diet??
We store fat in adipose tissue in our bodies — mostly under the skin (subcutaneous) or in the body cavity (visceral), with a small amount in our muscles (intramuscular). Body fat is an energy storage depot.
Fat loss is defined as a decrease in the amount of adipose tissue in your body. When weight loss occurs fat loss also happens in some amount. The amount of fat loss totally depends on diet and lifestyle.
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to an extent that it may have a negative effect on health. People are generally considered obese when their body mass index (BMI) is defined as overweight.
Obesity is most commonly caused by a combination of excessive food intake, lack of physical activity, and genetic susceptibility.
Read more: Fitness simplified
Excess body fat can negatively affect nearly every facet of life, including:
1. Better sleep
Snoozing probably helped you lose more weight in the first place, but as a result of your weight loss, you’ll actually get better quality sleep now. Research shows that losing 5% of your body weight can help you sleep better and longer throughout the night. What’s more, ridding your body of excess fat can also help alleviate sleep apnea and snoring.
2. Better hormonal balance
When you think of hormones, your teenage years may spring to mind, but they play a role in more than just your burgeoning sex drive during puberty. Your thyroid gland makes and releases two very important hormones which regulate your metabolism and can also affect muscle strength among other things. When you rid your body of excess fat your hormones steady and as a result it’s easier for you to maintain or even further your weight loss, says Isabel Smith, M.S., R.D., C.D.N., registered dietitian and founder of Isabel Smith Nutrition.
3. Better mood
Committing to the gym may have pushed your body to the place it is now, but it also enhanced your mental fitness. Working out releases feel-good chemicals called endorphins. Endorphins are responsible for that high you feel post-workout. They interact with the receptors in your brain, reducing your perception of pain, and deliver a positive feeling in the body similar to that of morphine.
4. Stress relief
If you checked off losing weight from your to-do list, you’ve already got one less thing to stress about. Really though, the things you do to lose weight—eating a balanced diet, exercising consistently, and getting lots of sleep—are also some of the greatest ways to alleviate stress and anxiety.
5. Fewer colds
Nothing strengthens your immune system better than leading a healthy lifestyle. Getting your eight hours every night, fueling your body with fresh produce and lean protein, and working up a sweat will pump your immunity up.
6.Control and Prevent Your Diabetes
Prevent, treat, and, in some cases, resolve Type 2 diabetes. Complications associated with diabetes like blindness, limb amputation, kidney disease, and stroke risk decrease or can be controlled by losing weight.
7. Anti-aging effects
Every human being affected by Ageing process. You also!! But the speed of Ageing is different for everyone. Speed of Ageing process is totally depend on your lifestyle & environment you live in. When you lose excess fat it slows down the process of ageing.
Read more: Have you ever heard about IIFYM?
| Weight loss | Fat loss |
| Decreased fitness | Increased Fitness |
| Decreased strength | Increased strength |
| Decreased endurance | Increased endurance |
| Faster Ageing | Anti-aging |
| Decreased Body composition | Better Body Composition |
| Reduced Immunity | Stronger Immunity |
| Reduced Performance | Peak Performance |
Fat loss means losing only your body fat and not your muscle or Lean body mass.
People opting for weight loss only care about the figure on the weighing scale; with little or no concern of losing muscle.
When you lose muscle your BMR (Basal metabolic rate) goes down. which is the worst thing you can do with your body. The only way to preserve your muscle is to take enough protein in your diet and routine strength training.
But some people do exactly the opposite i.e they don’t take enough protein and do only hell lot of cardio!!
Read more: Weight training 101: Reasons Why you should love it
Instead of relying on the scale to track progress, I recommend you to taking body measurements, progress pictures, and monitoring how your clothes fit and your performance in the gym.
"As you make progress on your bodyweight and body fat and body composition goals, don't rely on one variable as progress! Focus on multiple variables, because things like bodyweight are fluctuating all the time!"
One day in the lecture on "High fat diet for sports performance", Mr. Kaizzad Capadia told the best way to check body fat. Which is….
Anything on the body moved & bounced after you stop jumping is the fat. Because muscles and bones are rigid parts they don't bounce like a fat. Fat is flabby tissue.
This is cheapest and best test to determine if you have fat or not.
1.Muscle loss
This is biggest side effect of Weight loss. Because of the muscle loss physical strength of your body decreases.
2. Electrolyte imbalance
Electrolytes should be maintained in an even balance for your body to function properly. Otherwise, body systems can be affected.
Electrolyte imbalances can cause serious problems like coma, seizures, and cardiac arrest.
3. Malnutrition
Malnutrition is a condition that results from eating a diet in which one or more nutrients are either not enough or are too much such that the diet causes health problems.
Malnutrition, usually from not eating enough protein for weeks at a time.
4. Dehydration
Dehydration occurs when you use or lose more fluid than you take in, and your body doesn't have enough water and other fluids to carry out its normal functions.
If you don't replace lost fluids, you will get dehydrated.
5. Fatigue
Fatigue is a term used to describe an overall feeling of tiredness or lack of energy. It isn’t the same as simply feeling drowsy or sleepy. When you’re fatigued, you have no motivation and no energy.
As Weight loss have much more Side effects than that of fat loss like hair fall and fatigue also fat loss have several health benefits "fat loss is always better than weight loss to your body."
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