General Weight Loss Versus Fat Loss. Which Is Better?

Women generally tend to gain weight until about age 65 and begin to lose weight thereafter. A great deal of this excess weight for women tends to localize in the girth around the internal organs and, unfortunately, this is mostly fat. Hormonal and lifestyle changes are often the cause of weight gain but not always.

Our goal in weight loss should be maximum lipolysis which makes way for lean body mass. Lipolysis is the biological process of breaking down fat lipids and triglycerides in the food we consume, and which is already stored in our bodies. This process largely occurs in the mitochondria(1) of the muscles which is why the more muscle we have, the more fat we burn. Exercise helps regulate lipolytic enzymes and improve mitochondria function and this is why strength training or other vigorous exercise helps us with fat loss. (Be sure to check out our previous blog, “Exercise and Stretching: Simple Remedies for Cellulite and Fatigue” here. This article discusses the kind of workout routine that burns fat while building lean muscle tissue.)

The liver also and very importantly strives to flow chi energy throughout the body which is completely characteristic of the Wood element’s need to grow and flourish. Without first having an adequate flow of chi, other systems of the body can become compromised.

Losing fat and increasing lean body mass is healthiest when it comes to weight loss. While we can afford to lose fat, we can’t often afford to lose lean body mass or muscle.

Physical training, no matter our age, has proven very positive for increasing lean body mass even in the very elderly.

Losing the fluff of fat and gaining muscle firmness and tone will create in you the kind of leanness that makes for a strong, toned better-proportioned body that is able to meet the physical challenges of daily life.

In addition, once your muscle mass begins to increase while fat decreases, you’ll notice you have the greatest prize of all–more energy.

Lean body mass is also important for:

Muscle loss often happens when we focus solely on calorie restriction for weight loss. Restricting calories usually involves macronutrient restriction. Without enough protein in the diet, the body cannot rebuild lean body mass even if we’re strength training. Also, the amount of lean body mass we carry directly impacts our metabolism. Less muscle causes a lower basal metabolic rate (BMR)(2) which translates to a lower calorie burn throughout the day. This demonstrates the symbiotic relationship between lean body mass and a greater ability to burn calories from fat.

But even given our health goals of fat loss, we need to keep in mind that it’s actually important to carry some body fat.

It’s relatively easy to know when we’re carrying too much body fat but the Body Mass Index (BMI) is a more specific indicator of how much fat we carry and if that fat is within a healthy range. The BMI is calculated by taking your weight in pounds and dividing that number of pounds by the square of your height in feet.

A high BMI can indicate high body fatness. BMI screens for weight categories that may lead to health problems, but it does not diagnose the body fatness or health of an individual.

To easily calculate your BMI, go to this link provided by the National Institute of Health and enter your height and weight inside the purple-framed chart. Then refer to the left column highlighted in yellow to determine which BMI category you fall in.

Our body shape and weight change naturally as we age, especially if we make no lifestyle changes. Understanding the difference between mere weight loss and fat loss is important for our health, vitality and quality longevity.

Just maintaining a thin body created by general weight loss without attention to muscle tissue maintenance or building is no longer proven to extend longevity as was once believed. It’s more so lean body mass created by a combination of fat loss and exercise that gives us the ability to undertake daily activities with confidence and to mitigate and slow the aging process.