What's the Difference Between Weight Loss and Fat Loss?

Focus on fat loss, not weight loss

Many weight loss programs claim to help you lose weight quickly and easily.

However, it’s important to realize that a significant amount of this weight may include water and muscle losses (2, 3).

Losing muscle can be detrimental, as muscle is a crucial component of your overall health.

Maintaining a healthy percentage of muscle has several benefits, such as regulating healthy blood sugar levels, maintaining healthy fat levels — like triglycerides and cholesterol — in the blood, and controlling inflammation.

Indeed, several studies have linked a higher fat-to-muscle ratio to chronic diseases like metabolic syndrome, heart disease, and diabetes (4, 5, 6).

Maintaining your muscle mass may also reduce your risk of age-related muscle loss, which results in frailty and potentially disability (7).

Additionally, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest. This is the main reason why men generally have higher calorie needs than women (8).

Consequently, losing weight in the form of muscle can decrease the number of calories you burn at rest, making it easier to regain any weight you lost in the form of fat (9).

Emphasizing fat loss rather than weight loss can decrease the risk of several chronic diseases, help reduce the risk of age-related muscle loss, and reduce fat regain.