Lose Weight or Shed Fat

Sometimes the wording we use makes a problem harder to solve. Everyone says they want to lose weight. But whether they know it or not, what they should concentrate on is healthy fat loss. Understanding the distinction & acting on it will make all the difference.

Losing Weight Isn't The Key

Even doctors blur the distinction between being overweight and having too high a body fat percentage. Suppose that you and your identical twin go to the doctor for a physical. The doctor tells you both that you need to lose 20 pounds. Your conformist twin joins a respected weight loss program to do exactly that as fast as possible.

You decide to try something different. You get your hands on a quality fitness program, which leads you to start eating healthier without going on any extreme diet. You begin lifting weights, and start doing cardio workouts. Your goal is fat loss and improved fitness instead of maximum weight loss.

Half a year passes and you and your twin are back at the doctor for a follow up visit. Your twin has lost the 20 pounds the doctor wanted them to, while your weight is almost the same as before. Despite their success at doing what they were told to, the doctor tells your twin that they need to lose another 10 pounds. In the next breath the doctor tells you that you're in great shape and don't need to lose any more weight. Why the difference?

Losing Weight Isn't Nearly As Important As Losing Fat

This wouldn't matter too much if you could jump right into a program that let you build muscle and lose fat without having to make any mid-course corrections. But that's rare. Usually, you need to modify and tweak things as you go along to keep the progress coming. You wouldn't know how to tweak things since you dived right into the deep end and changed your entire lifestyle at one.

What happened is that everyone except you confused losing weight for getting fit and losing body fat. Just looking at your twin illustrates why weight loss isn't what you should be after. They're skinnier than they used to be. But they're still looking kind of flabby. And you've also noticed that they have less energy than they used to, and honestly, they don't look as healthy as they used to.

In their rush to lose weight at all costs, they succeeded in losing some fat. But they also lost some water weight and a lot of muscle mass too. As a result, their body's composition hasn't changed much. There is just less of everything.

Your situation is totally different. Sure, you didn't come close to losing the amount of weight the doctor told you to. But with all that exercise and healthy eating, you've added some muscle to your frame. And even though the number on the scale hasn't changed much, the shape of your body has changed and you fit into those old jeans that used to be way too tight. You also don't look flabby anymore. You look toned and fit. Plus you're full of energy.

Make Sure You Remember The Difference

You need to understand that people misspeak when they talk about losing weight. Concentrating on weight loss instead of fat loss is perhaps the biggest mistake people make and a big reason why people fail so miserably. Find a fitness program that suits your life and follow it (I've reviewed the best on this site). Soon you'll be losing fat and getting fit instead of obsessing about your weight. You'll see and feel the results and no one will care about the number you see on the scale.