Many a times, we tend to confuse the two terms – losing weight and losing fat. Yes, they actually don’t refer to the same thing and in any case, you should always focus on losing fat rather than weight. If you are thinking about losing weight, it is critical to understand what the entire process entails. In this case, by losing weight, you will be shedding not only fat but muscle, and body fluids among others.
What you should understand is that most of your weight loss should emanate from fat and not from the other elements of the body. Being concerned more about size on the scale could be dangerous as you could be shedding the much needed muscle and hence, risk long-term fat gain.
Testing Your Body Fat
In order for you to establish if what you are losing is fat or weight, it is vital that you carry out a fat test of your body. Thus, a woman weighing 150lb with body fat of up to 35% is considered to be harbouring body fat of over 52 pounds. In the actual sense, a healthy adult woman is supposed to have approximately 25% of fat, or let’s say 37 pounds. In order to attain a healthy level, she will need to shed up to 15lb of fat. In the event that she loses a total of 20 pounds with half of it coming from the fat reserves, she would not have attained the healthy level. Here are the ways to test your body fat.
Is Dehydration Real Weight Loss?
Dehydration happens to be one of the fasted tricks the body loses weight without necessarily burning fat. Here, what is lost most is water and what you must also understand is that the results obtained are short-lived and the weight will soon find its way back. So if you lose weight in this manner, never be fooled that the weight is gone forever since most the fat is still intact in your body. Water plays a vital role in our bodies and by losing it; our muscles will shrink. Water helps to vitalize the muscles and keep them desirable.
Gaining Muscle Boost the Fat Burning Process
If you want to enhance your fat burning process, it is vital to incorporate strength training into your workout plan. Besides, choosing a suitable diet plan from the numerous healthy eating plans available is key to achieving successful weight loss results. Performing cardio alone does not offer long term results as most of the weight will soon come back after you stop exercising. Building muscle is critically important if you want to keep the weight at bay.
Bulking up of muscle is not a health concern and it helps to enhance the body’s fat ratio composition, which is the ultimate objective of losing weight.
Muscle Loss Slackens Metabolism
As much it is hard to lose weight without losing other vital parts of the body, muscle loss will result into weight gain. Muscle helps to lighten up your body’s heating system since it is metabolically active. This reaction is critically necessary when it comes to speeding up metabolism and calorie burning. Regardless of whether you are at rest, you will still burn calories so long as you have built up a great muscle mass. Thus, if you lose muscle, then you will be slowing down your furnace; hence, a decreased metabolic rate, which will in turn lead to weight gain.
Maintain Your Health by Losing Fat
The best way to remain fit and healthy is simply through loss of fat and not muscle. This is to say as much you try to lose weight, it is equally important to improve your muscle mass and the only way to achieve this is through anaerobic exercise. It is also good to take precaution when doing strength training to avoid causing injuries to the body as that leads to bad health.
Conclusion
We all know that putting on or losing too much weight is dangerous. Before embarking on your weight loss process, ensure to check it out with your doctor. Many people fail for merely not following the right advice. Note that what works right for another person may not work better for you.
Author Bio
Vaileria Dennis is a Health and Beauty expert, having 10 years of experience in Beauty industry and providing healthy living tips. She is also passionate about fitness, women’s issues and more. In recent years, she has had an opportunity to learn about Food and Nutrition. She always excited to share her ideas related to beauty tips, healthy food recipes, and diet plans. Join Vaileria on Twitter, Facebook and G+