Indulge in the creamy goodness of white sauce pasta, a…
Creamy White Sauce Pasta Recipe: A Delicious & Easy Pasta Dish
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When you stand up on a weighing scale to measure your weight and the biggest smile comes on your lips when you see that the reading is less than the last time. You are overjoyed, you want to dance, you want to eat your favorite dessert for a reward but wait did you lose fat or you just lost weight? Let’s understand more about weight loss vs fat loss.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WEIGHT LOSS AND FAT LOSS?
Before we understand the difference between a plan for weight loss vs fat loss, it is important to know the components of body weight. 70% of the bodyweight is due to water, the rest of the weight is due to muscle, fat, organs, and bones.
How to understand the difference between weight loss vs fat loss? Weight loss means that you have shed off your extra kilos which will include loss of muscle, fat, and water from the body. Fat loss means reducing stored fat from the body which includes those flabby inches and is the right way to lose weight?
Let us understand with an example
The Story of Meera and Shayra
Let’s take the example of two friends Meera and Shayra who are losing weight for their farewell party to explain to you about weight loss vs fat loss.
Both have decided that they will lose at least 5 kgs before the party date which is in three months. Meera is on a strict diet and is doing cardio regularly while Shayra chooses to eat healthy by balancing the carbohydrate, protein, and fat in her diet. She also focused on consuming adequate vitamins and minerals. Not only is she doing cardio exercises but strength training as well.
Who do you think will lose weight faster?
Of course Meera. But what Meera is doing, is making her body lose muscle, fat, and water. This will definitely lead to early weight loss but at the same time, this will make her metabolism slow and once she stops dieting and doing exercises, chances are that there will be weight rebound. She will become the same weight as earlier or might even gain more weight than before.
However, when Shayra will check the weighing scale, the pointer might not lower down as expected but she will definitely feel the difference from the clothes she wears. The weight she lost was stored fat which takes time to lose but it keeps her metabolism steady and she feels healthier.
The day of the farewell party arrived. Both Meera and Shayra were happy with their weight loss. Now, they wanted this weight loss to stay but when you start cheating with your diet, it becomes difficult to gain back the control.
What happened afterwards?
After enjoying the delicious farewell party meal, both decided that since they have put so much effort into losing weight, they should give themselves a treat for a few days. Meera’s weight bounced back while Shayra’s weight remained the same even after cheating on her diet. The reason is – Shayra’s earlier focus was on fat loss and not just weight loss, like Meera.
WHAT IS THE RIGHT WAY TO LOSE FAT?
When focusing on losing weight, it is important to concentrate on losing fat and retaining muscle. The advantage of muscle mass is that it will help you burn fat faster. If you just aim at quick weight loss, you will tend to lose muscle.
To lose fat, you need to include strength training in your exercise regime. Weight training, yoga sessions, and resistance exercises will help you lose fat and increase your muscle mass. This doesn?t mean that you ignore your cardio routine. The right combination of cardio and strength training can give you better results.
Also, you need to stop yourself from getting obsessed with calorie counting. Here is a short video that shows why calorie counting is useless?
Your focus should be on cutting down sugar and processed foods. Choose whole wheat and whole grain over refined carbohydrates. In most cases, adding fiber to your diet is a must as a high fiber diet will boost your health and will help you stay slimmer.
Ditch those sugary drinks and switch to water. You can add mint and lemon to beat its bland taste. Here our some of our favorite recipes –
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF FAT LOSS OVER WEIGHT LOSS?
When you lose fat, your lean tissues are maintained and if you combine your diet with strength training, the lean tissues increase. It is important to understand that as compared to fat, muscle is less dense in terms of energy and takes less space in the body. When you lose body fat and gain muscle, the chances are that you will look much slimmer and toned.
WHY IS FAT LOSS PREFERRED WHEN IT IS A SLOW PROCESS?
It is true that the process of fat loss is slow as compared to weight loss but it is the right way for health management. You might feel that if I restrict my diet for weight loss completely, the results will be fast and I will get to see quicker results.
Yes, you are right but you are putting your health at risk because it will make you weaker and you will lose lean body mass. Even if you are on resistance training, your body will feel less strength because you are losing muscle along with fat and water.
Fat loss does take time as it takes time to accumulate fat in the body. Likewise, it takes time to lose it as well.
ROLE OF METABOLISM IN FAT LOSS
Your body’s metabolism plays a very important role in fat loss. Two people consuming the same diet and following similar exercise routines might not lose the same amount of weight. The reason is due to the difference in the metabolism rate of both individuals. There are multiple other reasons.
Watch our complete video to understand why people lose weight differently. When aiming for weight loss, it is important to consider the body?s metabolism as well.
HOW TO MEASURE FAT LOSS?
Weight loss is easy to measure as you just have to climb up on your weight scale and the indicator will tell you the reading. Measuring fat loss is a little tricky as fat loss takes time and does not show on the weight scale that early.
The best way to measure fat loss is to measure body circumference. There are other factors that tell you are making progress. You feel lighter, and energetic throughout the day. The feeling of getting tired easily vanishes. You get fewer hunger pangs.
To check inch loss, you can measure different places in your body which include the chest, each arm, navel, two inches above and two inches below the navel, hips, and each thigh. If you think that this is too much work, you can just measure your chest, waist, and hips.
HOW TO MAKE FAT LOSS MORE EFFECTIVE?
It is said that for weight loss, you need to check on your diet and do exercise as well. A lot of people tend to think that doing cardio exercises burns more calories and helps them lose weight quickly. Well, it is not completely true.
Watch our complete guide on why cardio is the biggest fat loss mistake.
Also, if you want to build muscle, you need to add weight training to your health regime as well. With weight training, you help your resting metabolic rate to increase which means that your body will burn more calories even when you are at rest or sleeping and it also tones your body
WHAT IS THE HARM IN LOSING MUSCLE?
Well, you might ask what difference does it make if I am losing muscle; at least I am losing something? The thing is muscles are important players for your body movement as well as function. If you lose muscle, your body strength gets affected and you will find your functional performance to be decreasing. You will feel more strained during the workout. Also, when doing everyday activities, you will feel sluggish because of a decrease in muscle.
WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT MISS TO FOCUS ON?
The food you eat. Yes! It is very important to keep track of the quality and quantity of food you are eating for your body?s energy. It is best to include foods that are rich in nutrients in your diet. Below are a few examples:
- Whole grains such as oats, whole grain pasta
- Legumes such as lentils, kidney beans, chickpeas, beans
- Nuts and Seeds such as flaxseed, almonds, chia seeds, macadamias
- Greens such as broccoli, spirulina, broccoli
- Berries such as strawberries, blueberries and blackberries
- Vegetables such as cabbage, kale and arugula
It is best to avoid foods which are poor in nutrients. Below are a few examples:
- Processed food such as cheese, ready meals, meats
- Sugary desserts or sweets
- Baked goods such as pastries, donuts and fried food items
- Alcohol and Sports Drinks
MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE WHEN CHOOSING THE RIGHT DIET PLAN
An ideal diet plan will not ask you to stop consuming food or water or any other nutrient to lose weight. It is made completely on the balance of each portion of the nutrients required for your body. The aim of the ideal diet plan is to lose fat and not just weight. Also, following a diet plan should make you feel more energetic, healthier rather than leaving you weak or lethargic.
Today, you can find numerous plans on the internet bragging for quick weight loss. Before you start to follow them, you need to make sure that such diet plans are not hampering your health in a negative way.
ONLINE DIET PLANS YOU SHOULD AVOID
Liquid Diet Plan
One such example includes a Liquid Diet Plan which suggests staying completely on liquids for a week. They lure you with losing weight in a week by just taking juices and smoothies. What they don?t tell you is that this type of diet causes you to lose water and muscle.
This type of diet plan lacks components that can lead to muscle loss and make you feel weaker. Thus, you might feel that you lost weight but you will also feel less strength. You might get other deficiencies as well.?
No Salt Diet Plan
Another example is the No Salt Diet Plan which includes not taking salt for a week. Following this type of diet can prove to be very harmful to your health. Since avoiding salt can lead to multiple issues like low blood pressure, memory loss, greying of hair, and hallucinations.
Salt is an essential component that maintains our body balance systems. Following such kinds of diets is a big NO unless recommended by your dietitian.?
Cleanser Diets and Products
There are diet plans which claim to clean your body such as Cleanser Diets and Products. They can have implications like diarrhea, loose motions, and can cause serious electrolyte imbalance leaving your body much weaker.
Low Calorie Diets
Some people think that if they don’t eat anything or eat very less, they will automatically lose weight and they start to follow Extreme low-Calorie Diets. But these can also hamper your body’s metabolism and weaken your immunity. They lead to muscle loss and not fat which leads to reduced body strength.
Next time you choose a diet for weight loss, make sure it does not affect you in a negative way. Get the perfect diet plan NOW!?
SUMMARY
The next time you plan to lose weight, focus more on losing fat. It is important that you understand weight loss vs fat loss. While fat loss focuses more on losing stored fat, weight loss includes loss of muscle, fat and water. Fat loss will tone your body and will make you look slimmer and you will feel stronger while just focusing on weight loss will make your body sluggish and reduce your functional performance. Choose wisely!
References
- Blog.shawacademy.com
- Workingagainstgravity.com
- Menshealth.com
- trainingpeaks.com
- Pointenutrition.com
- Health.harvard.edu
- Greatest.com
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