Weight or Fat Loss: Which Should Be Your Primary Goal?

There are a few key components that make up your body: there’s fat, and then there’s lean body mass, which comprises muscle, bone, water, organs, and so on.

Obesity is caused by having too much fat concerning lean muscle tissue, which increases your risk of chronic health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart disease. 

The American Council on Exercise outlines that healthy body fat levels for women vary from 14 to 31 percent and for men from 6 to 24 percent, although only athletes are at the low end of those ranges. Besides, age, sex, and exercise level all influence your body fat percentage. 

When talking about losing weight, people may want to shed fat most of the time. This is because the extra weight is possibly harmful, and the fact that you do not want to lose lean tissue. Muscle tissue is essential because it provides strength and burns calories. 

Losing Fat Without Shedding Muscles

Here’s the truth: It’s difficult to reduce fat without also losing some lean body tissue, similar to how you can’t only eliminate fat in one region of your body.

However, there are several things you can do to tip the scales in your favor and retain as much lean body tissue as possible. You can also see a weight loss clinic for professional advice. 

Avoiding a Crash Diet Program

Quick-fix diets claim to help you drop plenty of weight in a short amount of time. The problem is that most of your weight loss will come from lean body mass—namely water and muscle—rather than your body fat. 

As a result, the scale may read lower, and your pants may fit looser. The downside is it is a short-term thing because the weight you lose will return (or may even double) as soon as you get off the crash diet. 

Reducing Your Calorie Intake

Cutting back on your calorie consumption is a must for healthy fat reduction. When you consume fewer calories than your body requires, your body uses stored fat as an energy source, resulting in fat loss.

On the other hand, crash diets might backfire if you severely reduce your calorie intake, so make sure to steady your pace. Decreasing your calorie consumption by 500 to 1,000 calories per day is ideal for long-term fat loss. This will result in a weekly weight loss of around one pound, most of which will consist of fat.

Balancing Cardio and Strength

Cardio is good, but add strength training in your weight loss programs to reduce weight while maintaining and gaining muscular tissue.

Yes, strength workouts do not burn as many calories as aerobic activities do within a short period, but it indeed prolongs the burn. It also aids in the retention of metabolism-boosting muscle, allowing your body to burn more fat in the long run. 

Conclusion

Losing body fat is generally healthier than losing weight since your weight includes lean body mass. Make sure to aim for a weekly total weight reduction of around a pound by cutting calories, avoiding crash dieting, eating lots of protein, visiting a wellness clinic, and emphasizing strength training for your exercise routine.

Weigh to Wellness offers weight loss programs in Birmingham, AL, headed by board-certified medical experts with over twenty-five years of experience. Start your weight and fat loss journey by reaching out to us today!