Weight loss is not the healthy approach if you need to burn excess energy, stored as fat, on your body. Weight loss and fat loss have become terms that we use interchangeably, however, technically they are not the same… and losing weight is counterproductive.
We all say we want to lose weight when talking about dropping the excess kilos to look and feel better, however, in reality we really want to lose body fat. Fat is how the body stores surplus energy. Losing weight is not as healthy because it refers to total body composition.
Weight Equals Total Body Composition
Our bodies are made up of layers of tissue and water. We have skeletal bone and muscle, cardiac muscle, organs, visceral adipose tissue (fat lining internal organs), and subcutaneous adipose tissue (fat just beneath the skin.) This weight combined makes up our total body composition, therefore weight refers to the entire mass of our body and not just one element.
If you were to lose weight, you would be referring to a reduction of total body mass, which is a combination of:
- Muscle
- Bone mass
- Water
- Body fat
This is not ideal. The only element on this list that anyone should lose is surplus body fat. Loss of muscle, bone mass, and water all lead to serious health issues.
Fat Loss versus Weight Loss
It’s time to reframe the paradigm of weight loss and call it what it is – fat loss. We say we want to lose weight, what we truly mean is we want to lose body fat.
Fat is the excess caloric intake that the body stores, as it doesn’t need those additional calories consumed to function. Fat stores are designed to be accessed in a time when energy (food) is not available. However, modern times mean food is always available.
Fat loss indicates the body is burning its stored energy. If you burn all the calories you consume in a day through food but your body needs more energy, it will dip into the fat stores and get the energy required that way.
The Theory of Thermodynamics
The theory of thermodynamics posits that as long as you burn more calories than you eat, regardless of how you do it, according to the laws of physics fat will be used up.
- If you consume more energy than you need, this stored energy becomes fat
- Burn the number of calories you consume and you maintain your weight
- If you burn more calories than your body consumes, you lose fat
So, if you are intentionally trying to lose fat, you are trying to place your body into a calorie deficit. This is done by reducing calories and increasing the amount of exercise you do.
FYI: 1 kilogram of fat is 7,700 calories.
The Scale versus eBIODY
Where so many of us go wrong is that we rely on the scale to indicate progress. However, most scales do not differentiate between fat loss and weight loss, they simply provide us with total mass loss, which is both deceptive and discouraging.
Authentic Health Studio uses a sophisticated scanner from a French company called eBIODY, which provides professional body composition analysis. This non-invasive machine scans the entire body to give a clearer picture of a person’s overall health status. Scales show a person’s weight but the eBIODY scanner indicates the entire body mass composition, including lean muscle, skeletal mass, and body fat percentage. It’s non-invasive operation makes it a comfortable experience for the client.
The eBIODY enables us to better understand the strategy required to help a client achieve their goal, while also giving them a greater range of metrics to improve areas other than just weight. For example, a person might lose body fat and increase their muscle mass meaning they weigh the same on the scales but if they didnt use a scan they might feel they made no progress. Other beneficial metrics the scanner provides is; estimated calorie expenditure, Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), and hydration status.
Weight loss is not an indication of health. You can lose muscle mass and bone density if you are not careful. Lean muscle is crucial to strength and efficient metabolism. You can also dehydrate yourself through water loss. This is weight you don’t want to lose. So gaining weight can be a healthy process. And the scale is not an accurate indication of progress.
Lose Fat While Building Muscle
Building a healthy amount of muscle can help you maintain healthy blood sugar levels (insulin blocks fat loss), reduce your blood fat and triglyceride levels, and keep your metabolism working at its best. You can control inflammation in your system and ease the pressure on your joints. Combined, this speeds up the fat loss process.
If you genuinely want to lose fat, adopt the following behaviours:
- Eat more protein
- Eat green vegetables
- Drink water – more likely you’re thirsty, not hungry
- Stop processed carbs and sugars – they spike insulin which blocks fat loss
- Be in a small calorie deficit every day
- Strength train to grow lean muscle and a functioning metabolism
- Walk regularly
- Stop dieting – they set you up for failure and the overwhelming majority of people gain all the weight back plus bonus kilos
- Stop obsessing over the scale – measurements or clothes are a better indication of fat loss
- Ask for support – accountability is crucial, because we allow ourselves excuses
If you are serious about fat loss, change your lifestyle. Yes, that’s boring now, but stop being a slave to instant gratification and look at the long-term wellness benefits.
Authentic Health Gives You Energy To Burn
For those who genuinely need to lose fat, Authentic Health Studio understands this can be confusing, overwhelming, and often discouraging. However we have successfully navigated these waters several times for our clients. We can tell you right now, it’s not a quick fix and it’s not going to be a success only journey. But you can do it. You absolutely can!
You need to change behaviours and most crucially, you need to change your mindset. You need to understand what happens to your system and your hormones when you consume food and work out. You need to level up your metabolism and switch your body into a fat-burning machine. That’s a reality, not a platitude.
If you are tired of feeling tired, Authentic Health Studio will give you energy to burn! Please book a free consult, we’re excited to introduce you to the best version of yourself.
PS: Whenever you’re ready… we have results-driven, no-nonsense programs to improve your health and fitness:
1. Join Us For Semi-Private Personal Training – Semi-private personal training is a signature service running both morning and night. What makes it our most popular service? It’s personalised, cost-effective, and gets great results. Contact us now with ‘Semi-Private Offer’ in the subject line to learn more.
2. Join Us For 1:1 Personal Training – We realise some people want to do the work on their own, we also know many of you have goals that are personal to just you and that you might want a program written specifically for you. Contact us now with ‘Personal Training Offer’ in the subject line to learn more.
