Difference between losing weight and losing fat, why is it so important? Well, it’s EXTREMELY important. Also yes, there is a difference. I’ve lost 50 pounds twice in my life and have kept it off this time, so I know a lot about this topic.

If you are planning on losing weight, making sure as much of it as possible is fat, is critical.

If you’ve ever wondered how to lose fat instead of weight, you are in the right place!!

Man, I just ate an entire Detroit style deep dish pizza. It was 8 slices, there is something wrong with me. I got it will Halal pepperoni on it, and man was it delicious. NO REGRETS. I may have ate some Oreos on top of that.

I should probably start talking about what I’m supposed to be though! Difference between losing weight and losing fat! If you just lose weight, it includes fat and muscle, just drop your calories as much as you can and do tons of cardiovascular activity (cardio). That’s it.

If you want to target fat, you’ll have to have more of a game plan, which is recommended. Losing muscle, is a TERRIBLE idea and could get you into bigger trouble down the line.

I’ll be discussing why it’s so important to keep in mind and tips to conserve as much muscle as possible. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn by just existing!

So when you are done with your diet, it’ll be easier to keep the weight off. Your metabolism will be higher and you’ll also look better.

So you might be asking, how do I conserve more muscle? Is lifting weights the only weigh (get it?? haha, ok fine, I meant “way”)? Lifting weights is extremely important, but not the only way to keep your muscle!

EVERYTHING About The Difference Between Losing Weight and Losing Fat – Fat Loss Explained

 

I’ll be touching on 5 different topics. They all tie in together, by combining them, you will mostly lose fat instead of muscle. If you are new to weightlifting, you could even build muscle.

1. Why It’s So Important: Difference Between Losing Weight and Losing fat

I’ve heard some people say, they just want to lose weight, they don’t care where it comes from. That’s a terrible idea. It’s CRITICAL to lose fat and not muscle.

Muscle burns more calories as opposed to fat. So, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn by just existing. That means you can shove more Nutella protein pancakes topped with Kit-Kat down your throat.

Having more muscle means you have a higher metabolism because your body needs more calories to sustain the muscle.

When you go to exercise, your body will once again, consume more calories. There’s no exact number I could find of how much more calories muscle burns as opposed to fat, but it’s definitely more.

When you are done with your fat loss phase, it will be easier to keep the weight off as well if you have more muscle due to your increased metabolism.

There is no advantage to losing muscle. Always try to preserve as much as you can. You might be asking, how do you preserve muscle so you can eat more Nutella protein pancakes topped with Kit-Kat. Fear  not! Lets get into that!

2. Have Patience

I’ve been there. I’ve looked it the mirror and just wanted to weight to melt off or hidden behind my friends in pictures because I didn’t like the way I looked.

I had a lot of experience losing weight and gaining it back. For the first time in my life, I’ve lost and kept most of it off. The food that I eat, I love.

I just took a slower and more feasible approach to keep myself from being too miserable throughout the process. I’m not overly restrictive either.

Food is the not the enemy, you don’t have to give up anything. You don’t have to give up carbs. Just limit you calorie intake per day and exercise. You don’t have to exercise all day. You will get there, I promise.

I’ve lost 50 pounds..twice. I’ve gone on other diets too lose and weight and always kept gaining it back. That’s why I started this website, I don’t want people making the same mistakes I did. I don’t want people to be miserable.

Sorry for the sappy story, but it’s all true. I’m sure you’re an amazing person (except if you’re the guy who sat in front of me on the plane back from Turkey and reclined your seat all the way, you’re a piece of trash), you can become the best version of yourself.

You don’t have to follow a certain fat loss diet or do certain weight loss exercises. So don’t fall into that trap either. There is no one size fits all diets or exercises.

You’ll have good and bad days, just keep going.

3. Don’t Lower Your Calories Too Much Right Away

When a diet starts, everyone is very motivated and eager to lose as much weight as possible. That is great, but you want to take a logical approach to it.

You also don’t want to lose the weight as fast as possible, you could end up gaining it back fast too. You’ll start losing muscle potentially as well. Another thing is, you’ll be miserable going from 0 to 100 that quick.

Your body is very smart and will adjust to the lower calories overtime. So, keep dropping your calories slowly so you don’t stop losing weight. If you go too low right off the bat, you’ll just have to keep going lower and have no energy.

Don’t just pick an arbitrary number of calories you think you needs. Calculate it out. I have an entire article that talks about how to do that. I know, it’s more reading, but it’s SO critical that you do this properly. My article Everything About Calculating Calories, goes through how to do that.

I honestly feel it’s one of the most important articles I’ve written, that’s how strongly I believe in it.

Another point I’d like to add it, especially when you start, weigh and track the food you eat. These are other habits that have helped me keep my weight under control. You will know EXACTLY how much you are eating and will me able to methodically adjust your calories as needed.

I’m not saying bring a food scale with you everywhere, don’t go that crazy.

I use the free version of MyFitnessPal to track all my food. I have a digital food scale I bought off Amazon. I’ll link both things below. No, I’m not associated with either of them and get no payment from them.

 

4. Don’t Start Off By Doing Hours of Cardio

I know, I know! People are excited when they first get on their diets and they want to just lose as much weight as possible. Yes, doing cardio for fat loss will help you get more into a caloric deficit (eat less calories than your body needs), but you don’t want to get too much into a caloric deficit.

Just as with diet, you don’t want to go overboard with your cardio right at the beginning. Take it slow, increase your cardio slowly throughout your diet. In my article, Fat Loss Diet Example to Lose Fat Mindlessly: Current Diet and Training Regimen 2023, I go over EXACTLY how I increased my cardio per week, over 16 weeks to lose 20 pounds. It’s under section five of the article.

That was a very slow approach. It didn’t even feel like a diet up until the last 2 or 3 weeks.

Cardio is extremely important, just don’t go 0 to 100 right away, as I said with diet.

5. Weightlift!!!

Yes, you should weightlift. I’m not saying become a body builder, but make sure to spend some time with the weights.

If you are utilizing your muscles, your body will recognize it needs to preserve as much muscle as possible and to lose fat instead.

For all the females out there who are worried about becoming “too bulky”, you need to calm down. It’s extremely hard to build muscle, even as a male. Females don’t have as much testosterone and can’t get that big…naturally, anyways.

Many of pictures you may see online of males or females, might not be natural. People use performing enhancing drugs and edit their photos. There is nothing wrong with that, just be mindful of that.

Weight training will also make you look overall more athletic on top of strengthening your bones and many other benefits.

The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism. That means you can eat more calories! All positives to me.

Some people as “can you lose fat and not lose weight?”,  “why am I losing fat but not weight” or “how to lose fat and gain muscle”. If you are new to weightlifting, you can  lose fat and gain muscle; this might result in the weight scale not changing, but your body will! You’ll be getting thinner, but not losing weight!

You’ll be building muscle and losing fat even if you’re in a caloric deficit!

I have posted many full workout routines, you can find them in the following articles:

1. 4 days weightlifting plan under section 3: Fat Loss Diet Example to Lose Fat Mindlessly: Current Diet and Training Regimen 2023
2. 2-3 days weightlifting plan: EVERYTHING About Weightlifting

6. Consume Enough Protein1,2

Protein is the macronutrient that helps build and maintain muscle, so you need to be consuming enough of it.

Along with weightlifting, this will help you to conserve and/or build muscle even when you are on a diet. Especially if you are new to weightlifting, you can build muscle even in a caloric deficit.

The goal should be to eat 0.8-1 gram(g)/pounds(lbs) of bodyweight a day.

On top of that protein requires more calories to digest as opposed to carbohydrates and fats, so that in itself, could help you lose fat. Here’s the breakdown of how many calories each macronutrient uses to be digested:

1. Carbohydrates: 5-10%
2. Fats: 0-3%
3. Protein: 20-30%

See, what a difference! Don’t stop eating anything or give up carbs, just make sure to get in enough protein!

Use every tool you can to make your body target fat instead of muscle. For some individuals, it will be inevitable to lose some muscle, but they can try to minimize it using the tips I talked about! Now get out there and put in the work!

Disclaimer: I’m not your doctor. Please consult your doctor, nutritionist or any health care professional before making any changes in your own lifestyle. These blogs are just me sharing my knowledge for you reading entertainment purpose only. None of this is medical advice.

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Resources

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