Well yes there is a difference that many are unaware of and knowing the difference may lead you to reassessing your fitness goals. Major difference is what happens to the fat in your body, with weight loss you may follow a cardio based training programme which not only burns fat but muscle too. Whereas fat loss is all about reducing your body and visceral (internal more dangerous fat surrounding your organs) fat while increasing muscle percentage which will be created by following a weights & high intensity cardio programme.
"So if I lose fat and increase muscle I will still be the same size?"
No, muscle is a lot more dense than fat so even though weighing the same a stone of muscle will appear a lot smaller than a stone of fat. We all have muscle on our body which contracts to create movement but what makes us appear bigger or smaller are the levels of fat on top.
"But my weight is too high for my height and my BMI says I'm overweight".
BMI readings are just a general measurement which doesn't take the specific distribution of weight into consideration. An olympic sprinter for example is clinically obese using the BMI measurements, I myself have a BMI reading of 26.2 which makes me overweight as the bracket deemed as normal is 18-25. Neither myself or any olympic sprinter would ever be seen as overweight or obese and any suggestion of needing to lose weight would be laughed at.
"ok i'm beginning to understand a little, so what will happen to my body shape with fat loss?"
Ok with losing fat and increasing muscle you will be left looking smaller, leaner while creating a more defined & clear body shape. You can drop dress/suit sizes without dropping too much weight and with a more definite shape your clothes will hold better. Looking in the mirror you will look completely different even if you don't weigh much different.
Once again a blog inspired by a client/trainer conversation and I hope this article will be of useful note when setting your fitness goals. Forget the weighing scales, concentrate more on body composition and measurements of key areas arms, chest, waist (measure at point of belly button), hips (around widest area of hip) and thighs (just below buttocks). Allow your clothes to be your guide, set clothe sizes as your goal.
Fat loss over weight loss
Written by
Erron Dussard
STONEiMAGE Management
www.stone-img.com
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