Weight Loss Versus Fat Loss: It Is not Interchangeable!

By Dr. Coleen Andruss, Healthy Lifestyles

Weight loss is scale loss only and doesn’t indicate whether you are losing water, fat, or muscle mass. Newer scales give more detailed information, but our brains are trained to look at the scale number; many let that number dictate success.

Fat loss refers to the specific amount of scale weight that comes directly from losing fat tissue. One must monitor the body fat content because you do not want to lose muscle mass. If you are losing weight on the scale but the body fat analysis is staying the same, this could mean that you are losing muscle. Your size will become smaller, but the body fat will be the same or even more as you lose too much muscle.

Losing fat is an internal process. Research states that usually you will lose the fat surrounding the organs first, and then you will start to lose the softer fat that lies under the skin in your thighs, buttocks, and eventually your waistline. Belly fat is the most difficult to lose as that fat is so much harder to break down. Even though you may not feel the internal loss from around the organs, this is what makes you leaner and stronger, makes your body more energy efficient, and improves your health.

Our bodies contain approximately 75 percent water. About twothirds is intracellular (within the cells). Fat cells contain water. When our fat cells become too plump and the water content is higher than normal, our body becomes more resistant to losing the fat. To remove water from body fat and make our bodies more responsive to our fat loss efforts, reduce salt intake, drink more water, reduce carbohydrate intake, exercise, and prioritize protein.

Daily protein recommendations to maintain muscle mass while losing fat vary from 1.2 to 3.4 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, depending on goals, age, sex, health status, body mass, and amount of calorie deficit. In maintenance, the average recommendation is 0.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day while the recommended daily allowance is 0.83 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. Anything above 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day is classified as a high protein diet. Remember that protein can be hard on the kidneys in certain cases, and the body cannot assimilate much more than fifty grams of protein per sitting. So if you are on a super high protein plan, it is recommended that you space out your eating.

Inevitably, when in a significant caloric deficit (more than 500 calories per day) some muscle mass will be lost. It has been stated that when people “diet” and lose weight too quickly, anywhere from 20 to 35 percent of what they lose is muscle, with the higher percentages occurring in people who start with lower weights to begin with. The current recommendation is to not lose more than one to one-and-a-half pounds of body weight per week to help ensure prevention of muscle breakdown and a decrease in metabolic rate.

Even with exercise and adequate protein (twenty-five to thirty grams per meal minimum), if someone loses more than 0.7 percent of their weight per week, they will lose some muscle. For example, a 200-pound person can lose no more than 1.4 pounds per week without losing muscle as long as they are also exercising and eating adequate protein. The greater the caloric deficit, the faster one loses, and the longer one is in this state, the higher the risk of muscle mass loss and the more dangerous rapid loss becomes. While weight loss can improve health, losing weight too rapidly leads to low muscle mass which leads to decreased bone density and a lower metabolic rate. This muscle wasting, called sarcopenia, occurs with any method of weight loss if done too quickly. Sarcopenic obesity, what we call “skinny fat,” is when the scale looks good but the body fat is still high. A lower scale weight does not always mean a person is healthier. True fat loss improves cardiovascular outcomes, but sarcopenic obesity does not. Losing the extra pounds you are carrying can have a profound effect on your overall well-being if it is done in the healthiest way. Consider the following statistics:

• Studies show that weight loss of 10 percent of total body weight can reduce risk of chronic diseases by up to 41 percent.

• Research shows that losing 16 percent of total body weight can reduce the amount of fat in the liver by up to 65 percent in those with fatty chronic liver disease.

• Even minor body weight losses of up to 5 percent can lower obesity-related inflammation in the body.

• For every extra ten pounds on your body, your risk of developing osteoarthritis increases by about 36 percent, and being ten pounds overweight increases the force on your knees by thirty to forty pounds with every step you take.

• Research shows that a 9 percent reduction in body weight is enough to decrease the number of apneic episodes in people with sleep apnea, thus reducing risk of sudden death due to heart arrhythmias in the middle of the night.

• Losing fat weight has been shown to improve memory and cognitive function and has demonstrated positive changes in brain activity in those parts of the brain responsible for recognition and memory retrieval.

• Fat loss has increased pregnancy rates and decreased instances of miscarriages in those with obesity-related hormone imbalances and fertility problems.

So lose that fat weight and not the muscle weight. Take your time, and create new habits. Don’t starve yourself. Be safe. Learn a healthy lifestyle so that you can keep it off forever. Turn to health professionals who can take you through this process safely so that you can live a longer, healthier, more enjoyable life!

About the Author

Dr. Coleen Andruss practiced as an internist for ten years and has specialized in weight management for twenty-nine years. She and her staff have personally experienced weight management issues and have a compassionate understanding of patients in the Healthy Lifestyles program. Dr. Andruss’s internal medicine background helps her to see underlying medical problems when formulating individual plans that work.

The summer sun is rising high in the sky here in the southwest. The balmy days of early summer can quickly heat up to searing temperatures that can become dangerous for hiking if you are unprepared. Your dog will be ready and willing to accompany you without a second thought! That is why it is up to you to be the voice of reason. How will you know when hot is too hot for a walk or hike with your dog?

First, it helps to know a few things about dogs. Their normal body temperature is between 101 and 102.5 degrees, several degrees higher than our own. Depending on the breed, their fur provides them with insulation, not only from the cold but also from heat. Longer hair allows air to circulate and regulate a dog’s body temperature to avoid overheating. Many pet parents mistakenly choose to shave their pets, thinking it will help to keep them cool. In actuality, they are not only damaging the pet’s coat but also likely putting them in danger of heat stroke. Also, the skin of a dog’s paw pad, while tough, is still susceptible to getting burned on hot pavements, sand, or even grass and artificial turf.

With these things in mind, we must be attentive to the risks and make a sound judgment about summertime conditions for a dog walk, no matter what time of day. When preparing for your walk, it helps to literally think like a dog. When you are one to two feet off the ground, the heat radiating from the pavement can be overwhelming. Do a quick surface temperature check of the pavement, sand, or surface on which the dog will be walking by placing your hand on the ground. Can you hold it there for seven seconds or more? If yes, then you are good to go.

It’s worth noting that the ambient temperature compared to asphalt temperature can be quite shocking. There are some