Common Fitness Mistakes: #1 Fat Loss vs. Weight Loss
I would like to introduce a series about common fitness mistakes by addressing what I think is one of the biggest mistakes; the issue of prioritizing weight loss over fat loss.
Somebody steps on the scale only to be upset by the number they see. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this if they understand their body, there are more important measures of success than the number on the scale. A fixation on weight loss leads to crash diets, poor decisions, and oftentimes a rebound in body weight.
Why is that? Because fixating on weight loss ignores human physiology. While you may not be explicitly stating it, deep down you know the weight you want to lose should be from fat. However, your body wants to lose whatever is easiest to lose at any particular moment. Muscle is hard to keep on your body; it requires a lot of calories and nutrition to maintain. Your body would love to rid itself of some of it if it could. And the poor choices made during a weight loss phase make it really easy for your body to shed muscle.
What is the problem with shedding muscle? After all, I don’t want to be huge. Muscle is what you need to be active and raise your resting metabolism, start losing muscle and you make your fat loss goals that much harder to achieve.
What choices did you make that put you in this predicament? The common ones are choosing a diet way too low in calories, not consuming enough protein, attempting to lose weight extremely fast and the 1-2 combo of excess cardio combined with no performing weight training. All of these choices encourage your body to shed muscle. Don’t get me wrong, the scale will move down, you will lose some fat, but at what cost? You will feel weaker due to the lack of proper nutrition and muscle loss. Your metabolism will be slower meaning that attempting to revert to a “normal” diet will often mean putting fat back on.
You forgot why you were doing what you were doing. You chose to “lose weight” because you wanted to feel better or look better. I promise you that changing the focus to fat loss will help move you in the right direction again.
I hope to help you along that path with a custom exercise plan and personalized diet recommendations.
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