Ever jump on a pair of scales and wonder if someone is playing a cruel trick on you?! You’ve been working super hard in the gym, watching what you eat and overall feeling better. But then you jump on the scales and the number doesn’t represent your hard work which is deflating and can make it all seem like hard work.
Rather than let the scales ruin your weight loss mission, here’s some facts that will HELP you lose weight.
MYTH: Muscle Weighs Less Than Fat.
FALSE. Both weigh exactly the same. The different between the two (as you can see in the picture) is that muscle is far denser than fat, and therefore takes up less space. I have often had clients who will be the same height and weight, but can have totally different body sizes due to their body fat percentage.
What is Weight Loss?
Weight loss generally refers to seeing your numbers on a scale getting lower. Time to celebrate right? Not just yet. The number on your scale actually represents the total sum (in kilograms) of ALL your body parts – your muscle, your fat, your hair, all fluid, blood, bones etc. So…if I told you NOT to eat for 48 hours or NOT to drink any water for 24 hours, according to the scales you would lose weight. Or to prove my point and get extreme, if I told you to cut off your left foot, according to the scales…you’ve lose weight.
And if the scales say you’ve lost weight, then it’s time to go eat donuts and cake to celebrate. But before you go binging on those carbs, lets look at what else have you done in the process of dropping weight on the scales – you’re weaker, smaller and now only have 1 foot.
And well…that’s not good unless you like the nickname Hop-a-long. And if all of that wasn’t bad enough, by trying to lose weight fast through fad diets or depriving yourself of food, whilst the short term effect seems appealing, the long term damage and likelihood that you will put that weight straight back on is high.
What is Fat Loss?
Fat loss is a reduction in the amount of fat you carry in your body. So if you go from 25% body fat down to 20%, you’ve lost 5% fat in your body. Yes, now that would be time to celebrate! Fat loss is much more complicated than weight loss – it involves a process where the body actually starts to breakdown its own fat cells and convert them into energy the body can use.
Using fat for energy?! Whoa now, this sounds too good to be true. So how do we get ourselves into this FAT BURNING gear? You need to focus on getting your nutrition on track, giving your body what it needs so your body can switch out of stress mode (where it WILL hang on to fat) so it can focus on burning fat. That means eating clean with nutrient dense foods like leafy green or cruciferous vegetables and whole sources of protein, avoiding processed food.
You also need some healthy fat such as coconut oil and avocado to optimise your body into a fat burning machine. And before you freak out about fat making you get fat, when combined with good nutrition with a slight calorie deficit (you eat slightly less than you expend) you will find yourself in the perfect fat loss scenario.
5 tips for Burning Fat:
- Focus on good nutrition – Eat fresh, nutrient dense foods like green leafy vegetables, fruits, unprocessed meats, eggs, nuts, and seeds.
- Ditch your scale – Instead take measurements (waist, chest, thigh, and arm), a full body picture every 2-4 weeks to track progress or trying getting a body scan (see below for more information on how In Health Performance Coaching can help).
- You’ll start to see size reduction in places that the scale could never show.
Make sure you’re doing some form of strength training. Heavy weights, and intense exercise seems to work the best for building muscle. More muscle = more fat burning. - Don’t look for shortcuts – If you see something that proclaims you will burn fat and drop 5 kgs in 2 days, it’s a lie! Look for long term healthy solutions that will get you results for life
- Get some sleep – When we don’t sleep properly, your body’s insulin sensitivity drops making you more likely to store fat than burn it.