Settling the debate: Fat loss Vs Fat burn

This one is short but punchy.

Being an organisation that pertains to holistic health and fitness, the discussions around these topics get pretty intense. We tend to get into the nitty gritty of it and then we find ourselves going from pillar to post to find a final verdict. During one of our recent team hangouts, we were deep into discussion about how to lose weight and how to lose fat. We found our discussion valuable, so we are covering it in a short write up here. Hope it helps you too.

Many of us overlap the meaning of fat loss and fat burn.

Fat burn is the process of oxidizing the fat in the body that implies breaking down of fatty acids with the help of oxygen. Fat loss is a larger umbrella term that refers to overall reduction in body fat. We would be burning fat in the process of working out but our body fat levels might still be constant. This does sound confusing, right? Well, in order to reduce body fat level, (fat loss), the oxidation of fats (fat burn) should happen at a higher rate as compared to the fat deposition rate. For improved fat loss, improved fat burn needs to happen. 

When we decide to lose weight, what we are actually wanting is to lose the fat. If we stop eating, we would definitely lose weight but also the muscle and fat. Essentially the goal for successful weight loss should be to keep the muscle intact while getting rid of body fat as much as possible. The reason behind this is that muscles act as powerhouses for burning the fat and stand responsible for production of energy. If there is too much energy derived from calories, then the muscles will fall short requiring energy for increased metabolism that indirectly helps burn the fat. Thus the calories intakes should be maintained optimally while being on an exercise program for replacing the burnt energy calories.

Proper nutrition also plays an important role in determining how the body is dealing with fats. Body weight is a cumulation of the muscles, body, organs and the amount of water retained. When loss in weight happens, all of these constituents come into play. Fat loss is the reduction of the body fat stored in the body. Being fit is not a result of losing body weight. The true indicator of your body being in shape or not is loss of fat percentage. Therefore at all times the focus should lie on losing the fat. A good way to ensure this by engaging in workouts that combine weight training and cardio exercises. Strength training can aid in gaining muscle and losing fat simultaneously.