Fat Loss Vs. Weight Loss: Why It’s Time to Throw Out Your Scale

Facebook Video Do you want to lose weight? Most women I ask respond with, “Yes!” Here’s the truth: anyone can lose weight. Simply stop eating. Now, as a professional health and wellness coach, I do not recommend that as a strategy to anyone. In fact, most of my Burn Fat & Feast clients cannot believe how many calories I suggest they eat when joining this Weight Loss Fitness Program. They wonder how eating more will help them lose weight. The secret lies in understanding the difference between weight loss and fat loss and how to maintain your ideal body composition.

Weight Loss and Fat Loss: What’s the Difference?

Take a look at this before and after photo of one of my Burn Fat and Feast clients:

Can you guess how many pounds she lost from the first photo to the second? Over the course of one year, my client only lost three pounds. But, as you can see, the change in her body composition is drastic.  This photo illustrates why it is incredibly important to understand the difference between weight loss and fat loss. While we use the terms interchangeably, they mean two very different things.  Body weight is the sum of everything in your body, including your bones, organs, muscles, fat, and water. So, “weight loss” can mean everything from losing fat to losing muscle mass, and it often includes both. Fat loss, on the other hand, is directly tied to lowering the amount of fat in your body. Fat loss preserves muscle mass and bone mass.  Now, you may be thinking, “Sarah, I don’t care what you call it, I just want to lose it and fit into my favorite skinny jeans or feel comfortable wearing a bathing suit this summer.” I completely understand. I’ve said the exact same thing. But here’s why you should care: weight loss can actually damage your body and cause more harm than good. 

The Dangers of Weight Loss 

If you are solely focused on weight loss, you will simply become a mushier version of yourself. This is not a good visual, I know. But it’s the truth. Loss of muscle mass means loss of tone. When you follow the eat less, exercise more model, you will find yourself playing the weight loss game rather than fat loss–losing muscle mass to achieve a certain weight. On the surface, losing muscle mass may not seem like a huge issue to you, as long as you reach your desired number on the scale. However, not only will you not achieve your ideal body shape, but weight loss has an ugly side effect: weight gain rebound.  Restricting calories and doing excessive amounts of cardio is not sustainable. Your metabolism will slow and you will find yourself putting on weight and gaining more fat in the long run. 

Weight Loss and Your Metabolism 

The more weight you lose–a combination of fat and muscle mass–the slower your metabolism is going to function.  Losing muscle mass is part of the aging process, which means your metabolism is going to naturally slow down as you get older. And when you focus on weight loss rather than fat loss, your metabolism will slow down at a faster rate, making it even harder for you to reach your body goals.  If you feel like what you have done in the past is no longer working, you are not alone–and it probably has something to do with your metabolism. This is a sign it is time to refocus your fitness goals on fat loss rather than weight loss. 

Lean Muscle is Your Key to Fat Loss 

In my opinion, muscle is the number one fat loss aid on the market. If you have more muscle, you burn more fat because muscle boosts your metabolism and burns fat all hours of the day. With increased muscle mass, you will burn fat while sitting on the couch watching your favorite Netflix show and even while you sleep.  This is why lean muscle is your key to achieving fat loss. Unfortunately, most people do not prioritize muscle maintenance. Instead, they under-eat, increase their workouts, and lose a good portion of their lean muscle mass in the process.  Have you experienced this? Once you start, you have to cut even more calories to maintain your energy deficit, which results in even more muscle loss. It is a vicious cycle that continues until you find yourself eating so few calories you feel weak in your mind and body. And your weight loss will not be sustainable. 

Measuring Fat Loss Progress 

It is time to break the cycle and put your scale away for good. The number one way to measure your fat loss progress is to stop weighing yourself. Here’s why:

• The scale is unreliable 
• Body weight can fluctuate (remember what composes “body weight”)
• The number is irrelevant: two people with similar heights can weigh the same but look completely different because one has less body fat than the other 

Progress is not measured by a number on a scale, and that number does not define you or the success of your health journey. Here is an example to illustrate why the number on the scale is irrelevant:

The picture on the left is me in my 20s; the one on the right is me in my 40s. As you can see, I weigh 15 pounds more today but am smaller than I ever was as a young adult.  The scale does not define you… ever. If you are glued to your scale, I encourage you to find more reliable ways to measure your progress. 

Start Your Fat Loss Journey Today with Burn Fat & Feast 

Are you ready to toss your scale aside and start your fat loss journey? The time is now to get stronger and leaner, increasing your metabolism and energy through advanced, cutting edge strategies that are sustainable.  By joining Burn Fat and Feast, you will learn how to effectively gain lean muscle mass and lose fat, not weight. Start by joining me and other women like you for a FREE five-day training on how to gain muscle and lose fat quickly and effectively. There is so much more to fat loss than what the number on your scale says. Sign up for 5 Days to Burning Fat and Increasing Energy now!