Weight Loss vs Fat Loss

He could stand to lose some weight regardless if its fat or water.

“Weight Loss” is the term most people use to describe their dieting efforts. It’s not uncommon to hear people refer to ‘wanting to lose weight’ or needing to ‘drop a few pounds’. Regardless of what the exact words are, the point is always some sort of reduction in ‘weight’.

Fitness competitors and bodybuilders tend to speak more of ‘fat loss’ or reducing ‘bodyfat’ levels.

Reducing body fat levels will also result in weight loss, but to a bodybuilder there is a distinct difference, and that is the understanding that there is also a certain amount of ‘water weight’ that also must be dropped to get ready for a show.

In both cases overall body weight will be reduced (either from a reduction in body fat or body water).

When you embark on a weight loss program you will likely lose both body water and body fat. There is no need to make a distinction between the two as it is advantageous to both your health and your overall look to reduce both.

It’s not possible or practical to try and divide fat loss from weight loss, and it’s not worth your effort or attention.

Focusing on a reduced calorie diet will take care of both and get you to where you want to go.

John

Posted by johnbarban in Fat Loss, Weight Loss
Tags: Fat Loss, Weight Loss |13 Comments

13 Responses to “Weight Loss vs Fat Loss”

  1. Jordan D. Says:
    July 2nd, 2010 at 11:06 am

    That’s refreshing. People are always trying to convince us that “weight loss” is bad and “fat loss” is good. I got caught up in this long, drawn-out debate with a low carb advocate the other day, and he was trying to convince me that I’ve lost a lot of “lean mass” because I’ve been eating a low-cal diet instead of a LC diet to lose weight. LOL! Hmm, let’s see… I was 255 pounds… now I’m 195 pounds… I think I’m doing okay! lol.

    Obviously I lost a lot of water weight, and maybe a little bit of other types of lean mass, but… I’m 60 pounds lighter! How bad could that possibly be?!

    Thanks but no thanks, low carb guy, I’m very happy with my low-cal diet and *weight* loss, so I think I’ll stick with that. :-)

  2. MikeGP Says:
    July 2nd, 2010 at 11:30 am

    Muscle loss?

  3. usernametooshortnowitstoolon Says:
    July 2nd, 2010 at 12:10 pm

    John, are you saying that water loss is also healthy? If so, how?

  4. johnbarban Says:
    July 2nd, 2010 at 12:14 pm

    User,

    Yes, explanation is too long to put here.

    JB

  5. Keith Says:
    July 2nd, 2010 at 2:04 pm

    So are you saying losing water can improve your health markers as much as losing fat can? Thanks

  6. johnbarban Says:
    July 2nd, 2010 at 2:11 pm

    Keith,

    No it’s not a one to one type of deal or a direct relation so to speak. The state of being overweight is partly a state of retaining too much water as well as fat, so as you lose weight you will lose some water along with fat.

    The process of water loss helps with reducing stress on joints, and stress on the heart, reducing blood pressure as well. So the water retention contributes to some of the health problems of being overweight but it’s not necessarily practical to try and separate fat and water loss out and categorize the health benefits of each because it’s not possible to lose one without losing the other (without it being a temporary drug induced solution)

    JB

  7. Josh B Says:
    July 2nd, 2010 at 2:58 pm

    So much for the explanation being too long. That could have been tomorrow’s whole post lol.

  8. Dave Says:
    July 2nd, 2010 at 3:53 pm

    John,
    I was always obsessed with fat loss in the past. It was really more about not losing muscle though. That was before I figured out that if I’m doing resistance training and progressively getting stronger, I couldn’t really be losing muscle. Now I don’t worry about weight loss or fat loss; I just look in the mirror and take measurements every few weeks to make sure that I’m satisfied with my appearance.
    Dave

  9. Tracey Says:
    July 2nd, 2010 at 5:32 pm

    I’ve always found this a confusing topic of debate as well. I’ve heard many trainers say to keep my protein levels high when cutting calories or I’d be losing muscle mass not fat?????

  10. usernametooshortnowitstoolon Says:
    July 2nd, 2010 at 5:55 pm

    Tracey, losing muscle mass is a matter of reducing the stress you impose on your muscles, not a reduction of protein.

  11. Alek Says:
    July 2nd, 2010 at 7:56 pm

    Isn’t the he in the photo a pregnant bitch :D

  12. Tracey Says:
    July 3rd, 2010 at 1:50 pm

    Thank you for clearing that up!

  13. usernametooshortnowitstoolon Says:
    July 3rd, 2010 at 8:43 pm

    No problem, Tracey.

    Just know, however, that while you won’t lose muscle mass by reducing protein, the optimum rate of muscle growth (assuming you have a good progressive resistance program) also require a daily average of 80-120 grams of protein. You can still grow muscle with less protein – it’ll just be slower. You can also still grow muscle with more than 80-120 grams of protein, but you’re not gonna make it grow any faster by exceeding that amount. You can also eat just 20 grams of protein, and while I don’t know how much slower your muscle growth will be then, you also will not lose muscle.

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