Weight loss vs. fat loss

The bathroom scales give you a quick and easy measure of your total body weight (and possibly your self-esteem), but they are a completely inaccurate guide to your health, wellness and body fat levels.

Total body weight gives you a measure of many things, including body fat, hydration levels, muscles, bones, organs, food in various stages of digestion, and even hair. Losing body fat has a wide range of potential health benefits, but losing muscle, bone or fluids can be damaging to your health.

The bathroom scales can’t differentiate. When you lose weight on the scales, you could just be celebrating dehydration.

They key is to improving your healthy is to focus on losing body fat, not just weighing less. Here are just a few more reasons why fat loss is a much better health and fitness goal than weight loss.

• Fluid levels fluctuate - The human body is made up of approximately 70% water, making up a significant portion of body weight. Even small fluctuations in fluid levels can cause weight to fluctuate by up to 2kg per day, especially in menstruating females. Your weight on the scales can fluctuate by up to 2 kilograms a day, and it has nothing to do with changes in your level of body fat.
• Muscle weighs more than fat – Muscle gives you strength and energy, and boosts your metabolic rate. When you are active, the amount of glucose you store in the muscles increases, potentially increasing your body weight a fraction. When you try to exercise more, you may actually gain a little weight on the scales, but can still be losing body fat. Sadly, some people think their exercise program isn’t working and use this as an excuse to give up, when in fact they are doing well.
• It doesn’t tell you what you need to know – Weight loss doesn’t always mean fat loss. Weight loss could even mean you have an illness. Fat loss is associated with improved health, wellness, loss of centimeters and improved energy levels. Instead of worrying about the bathroom scales, try to focus on:

• Girth measurements
• How your clothes fit
• How you feel
• Your energy levels
• Stress levels
• Less puffed on exertion
• How you sleep