Losing weight is not the same as losing fat

Most people use the terms “weight loss” or “fat loss” indistinctly. But do you know that its meaning is totally different?

In this article I will try to give you an idea so that you better understand the human body and its weight loss needs.

What is the difference between weight loss and fat loss?

Your body is made up of tissues, organs and fat. Muscle tissue is the most active and is responsible for staying energetic, which is why it uses more calories than fat. Fat is just your “bodega” of energy. Obviously you should preserve muscle tissue if you want to stay healthy. So when you think about losing weight, make sure it is fat and not muscle you lose.

Why is it important not to lose muscle?

The muscles are the ones that perform all the movements of the body so you do not have to lose it. Muscles also speed up your metabolism, as every pound of muscle in your body consumes 30 to 50 calories a day. On the other hand, excess fat only builds up around your body and makes you feel tired, lacking in oxygen, not to mention all the other complications to your health that come with it. So when you try to lose weight try to keep your muscle mass intact, or better still try to increase it, this is efficient weight loss.

How Does Weight Loss Affect Lose Muscle?

When people undergo very strict diets they are happy with the early and very marked weight loss they observe on the scale at first, often this weight loss is due to the loss of muscle and water. The disappointment comes when they recover the water that they had lost and they rise again of weight. With these types of diets you can lose up to 50% of the muscle, however the worst thing is that due to this loss of muscle your metabolism slows down and at this point even the lower calorie diets do not have a greater effect because now your body is burning fewer calories.

As a result you could end up storing more calories which translates to more body fat. So when you go into a weight loss program find out first how it works and do not let yourself take anything else for what it promises.