Atlanta Wellness Clinic Podcast

Weight Loss vs. Fat Loss: What's the Difference?

• Catina Wilson • Episode 4

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Why Is There A Difference Between Weight Loss And Fat Loss?

Your bathroom scale might be lying to you. That dropping number doesn't tell the whole story of what your body is actually losing. Are you shedding valuable muscle along with fat? Are you sacrificing your metabolism for temporary results?

Licensed nutritionist Catina Wilson tackles the crucial distinction between weight loss and fat loss in this eye-opening episode. When you understand that weight loss encompasses everything—water, muscle, and fat—while fat loss specifically targets adipose tissue while preserving muscle, you'll approach your health journey differently. Catina explains why excess fat contributes to numerous health conditions and why focusing exclusively on scale numbers can lead to frustrating cycles of weight regain.

Strength training emerges as the unsung hero of effective fat loss. While many women avoid weights fearing "bulkiness," Catina debunks this myth and reveals how resistance training supercharges metabolism to burn fat even at rest. She shares practical protein strategies to preserve muscle during caloric deficits and explains why crash diets backfire by triggering muscle loss instead of fat reduction. With insights on effective tracking methods beyond the scale, including body composition analysis and macro monitoring, this episode provides a comprehensive roadmap for sustainable body transformation.

To learn more about Atlanta Wellness Clinic visit:
https://www.ATLWellnessClinic.com
Atlanta Wellness Clinic
1827 Powers Ferry Rd. SE, Bldg 1 STE 250
Atlanta, Georgia 30339
770-726-8978

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Atlanta Wellness Clinic podcast Hosted by licensed nutritionist and clinic owner, katina Wilson. We're here to kickstart your weight loss journey Because, let's be honest, the only thing we want gaining weight is our wallets. From medical weight loss and nutrition coaching to body contouring, we help Metro Atlanta women get real results. Let's dive in.

Speaker 2:

Many people use weight loss and fat loss interchangeably, but did you know that they're not the same? Understanding the difference is key to achieving sustainable, healthy results. Welcome back everyone. Millie M, co-host and producer, back in the studio with licensed nutritionist and clinic owner, Katina Wilson. Katina, how's it going?

Speaker 3:

Good, how are?

Speaker 2:

you Doing well. Thank you so much. Everyone listening wants to know what's the difference between weight loss and fat loss.

Speaker 3:

Well, I mean, you hit it on the head, right when you kick things off. They are certainly not the same. So let's start with a little bit of definition. So when we're talking weight loss right, we're talking overall body mass loss, right? So that could be water, it could be fat, it could also be muscle. So it's really about stepping on a scale and you see the number change. It could be any one of those things. That's what we would kind of coin, kind of like weight loss.

Speaker 3:

When we're talking fat loss, fat loss is more desirable. So when you think about fat, adipose tissue or body fat, that's for a lot of people who are trying to lose weight, it's that excess fat, it's that excess adipose tissue that they're trying to get rid of, and so you want to get rid of that while preserving muscle, because having excess fat is actually what contributes to a lot of different diseases heart disease and even some cancers and diabetes for a lot of folks. So the goal when we're reducing fat would be to reduce fat. When we're trying to lose weight, let's over index on losing fat and we certainly don't want to lose muscle.

Speaker 2:

So how can strength training help with fat loss?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, great question. Strength training actually strengthens your metabolism. When you lose too much muscle, it actually lowers your metabolism and so with strength training, think about it as a way of keeping that metabolism going even when you're not exercising, right? So when you're strength training and you're building that muscle, your body now 24 hours a day, seven days a week it's constantly burning that fat. When you're losing too much muscle, then your metabolism actually slows down. So strength training is definitely a way to balance it. So when people talk kind of diet and exercise, a lot of people when they're losing weight they want to focus on cardio. Cardio certainly is important. It's great for your cardiovascular, for your heart health, and it's fun. For a lot of people it is fun. Well, for some people it's not. Because it's you know, the treadmill becomes the word dreadmill, right?

Speaker 3:

So, some people, cardio can be fun, absolutely, but let's balance it with weight training and could be resistance training, right? So Pilates is very popular, bar is very popular Definitely women especially. Sometimes we're afraid to pick up those heavy weights. The reality is we're not going to get bulky like a lot of men would get just because our bodies are not designed that way. The muscle is going to get bulky like a lot of men would get just because our bodies are not designed that way. The muscle is going to give you, especially as you're losing weight, that fit, toned physique that we're all kind of looking for, right? So, again, you want to focus on losing the fat. Strength training, resistance training, can definitely help preserve the muscle. Another thing that preserves muscle going down the path of your weight loss journey, make sure that you've got adequate amount of protein. It could be in the form of eggs or meats like lean chicken, lean beef. It could be a healthy protein shake. You definitely want to make sure that you're getting an adequate amount of protein to help also preserve that muscle.

Speaker 2:

Do you prefer one form of protein over another? A shake, a bar chicken? Does one work better than another?

Speaker 3:

I wouldn't say that one necessarily works better. I think it comes down to personal preference. For me, I like it all right. It's very easy for me in the morning, as I'm making breakfast, to make a smoothie and I'm going to drop a scoop of protein in there. Sometimes, when I'm busy and I'm on the run, having protein bars in the car are very, very helpful, but I certainly like a nice grilled piece of meat, whether that's steak or chicken, and definitely healthy vegetables and that sort of thing as well. For me, it's a variety and I think it just comes down to personal preference.

Speaker 3:

There are good vegetarian, good vegan options that are out there. Beans, lentils, are certainly things that people can lean in on. Nuts, if you're not allergic, are also a good protein source. But I think the more protein you have, the better chance you have at preserving muscle. And then, to your earlier point, resistance training, strength training. You should definitely do some of that. Don't be afraid of the weights, don't be afraid of it, especially if you're a woman. It really is going to help you get not only supercharge your metabolism, but it's going to give you that lean look that you're looking for.

Speaker 3:

Perfect for summer bodies, yeah, so why do crash diets often lead to muscle loss instead of fat loss? Well, because it's just that it's a crash diet. Your body is losing weight so fast and many times these diets are not necessarily low in nutrients. You end up losing your body and it's trying to hold on to all of that fat, really trying to protect itself. So it kind of turns on you in a way and it starts to eat at the muscle, and so that's why people tend to feel a little bit weak and sluggish when they're doing these kinds of crash diets, because instead of burning the excess fat, the body is taking the muscle instead.

Speaker 2:

So what are the best methods to track fat loss rather than just relying on the scale?

Speaker 3:

So here at the clinic we help with that. One of the things that we do is we actually have a full body scan. It's called a testiku body scan and it measures everything from head to toe. We look at everything from not only the number, so the weight, how much you weigh. We obviously we look at body mass index, but then we look at visceral fat, that's the fat that's, like you know, surrounds your organs, and we look at percentage of that. We look at the percentage of excess fat on your body. We look at the percentage of muscle and over time, as you're losing weight, we're monitoring.

Speaker 3:

We want to make sure that you're not losing too much muscle, that you are doing those resistance exercises, that you are following our protein heavy meal plans, because our goal is to get in front of that as quickly as possible. So having access to a machine like our body scan machine is certainly one way to ensure. Another way is to track your macros. For some people and it varies there's different kinds of schools of thoughts, but for most people who like to track macros, that's really about tracking a certain percentage of fat that you want to get into your body. You know, healthy fats that you want to eat on a daily basis, a certain percentage of protein that you want to get on a daily basis and a certain percentage of carbs that you want to get on a daily basis, and that is just a combination of tracking literally everything that you're putting in your mouth. So there's different ways to be able to kind of track and monitor.

Speaker 2:

Love it. Thank you, Katina. We'll catch you on the next episode. Have a great day.

Speaker 3:

Thank you.

Speaker 1:

That's a wrap on this episode of the Atlanta Wellness Clinic podcast. If you're ready to kickstart your weight loss journey, and not just your bathroom scale and frustration, visit atlwellnesscliniccom or call us at 770-726-8978 for a free 10-minute weight loss consultation, because the best time to start was yesterday. The second best time right now. See you next time.