Although they may seem synonymous, the concepts are distinct and have different impacts on health.
If you’ve always taken it for granted weight loss AND weight loss It’s the same concepts, it’s time to understand what’s behind each situation. Because each of these outcomes has different impacts on health.
While losing weight simply means noticing your weight drop, losing weight actually means losing fat. “In other words, seeing a lower number on the scale doesn’t mean you’ve lost weight. You may have lost lean mass, but maintained the amount of body fat,” explains the nutritionist Desiderio Coelhocolumnist for Estadao.
This means that it is possible to lose weight without losing weight, just as it is possible to lose weight without losing weight.
In the latest article Desiderio even informs that on the same day it is possible to observe fluctuations of 0.5 to 1.5 kg on the scale and that this is normal. It may be related to consuming foods high in sodium or alcohol, hormonal changes, medication use, and even possible constipation. In other words, this change does not mean that someone has gained weight or lost weight.
Losing weight, according to the expert, means losing weight, through decreasing fat mass or increasing lean mass. “Both processes are slower and occur significantly when there is a more sustained change in habits,” he writes.
On the other hand, seeing your weight decrease rapidly due to, for example, a restrictive diet, ends up sacrificing muscle mass, which is not beneficial for your health. After all, muscles have valuable functions, such as increasing calorie expenditure even when you are at rest and also ensuring the execution of different movements in everyday life, such as walking, running, climbing stairs, etc. They are also those that help maintain autonomy and quality of life throughout the aging process, preventing falls and fractures.
According to Guilherme Artioli, professor of physiology at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (FM-USP), focusing efforts on fat loss, that is, real weight loss, can lead not only to changes in the aesthetics of the body but also provides less obvious benefitssuch as improvements in metabolic health, lipid profile, blood sugar and abdominal circumference – transformations that are even more relevant in cases of obesity or overweight.
“Even a modest 10-15% reduction in body weight associated with fat loss and maintained long-term can lead to dramatic improvements in health and a reduction in the risk of numerous chronic diseases, although conventional aesthetic standards may not be fully met “, underlines the specialist.
What are the best exercises for those who want to lose weight?
To achieve healthy weight loss and reduce body fat, Daniela Agostinho, coordinator of the Physical Education Department of the Society of Cardiology of the State of Sao Paulo (Socesp), suggests the merger aerobic exercisessuch as walking, running, cycling or swimming, with strength modes, such as bodybuildingpilates and movements that use your own body weight.
This approach, she says, strengthens muscles, which helps increase resting energy expenditure. “While aerobics improves physical capacity and energy expenditure during movement, weight training increases active muscle mass, increasing resting energy expenditure. This is why this combination is interesting,” explains Daniela.
This means that focusing solely on aerobic exercise (which actually burns more calories) can lead to an apparent weight loss on the scale, but in reality what also happened was a reduction in muscle mass.
“By combining aerobics with weight training, we guarantee fat loss, as well as maintaining or even increasing muscle mass. This is especially important for overweight or sedentary people,” emphasizes Artioli.
Is it possible to lose weight without changing your diet?
Food plays a vital role in the weight loss process. This is due to the fact that, to lose weight, you need to create a caloric deficit, that is, use more energy than you consume, as Desiderio explains.
This means that regardless of regular exercise, calorie expenditure is unlikely to exceed energy expenditure from food. To give an example: it is more feasible to reduce your daily intake by 500 calories than to try to burn another 500 calories through exercise.
Therefore, it is considered essential to combine a balanced diet with an exercise routine when you want to lose weight. However, it is worth highlighting the importance of nutritional monitoring, after all, very restrictive diets can pose risks to mental and physical health, including eating disorders, body image distortions and dysfunctional eating patterns.
“Social networks currently promote many of these radical and intense methods, which promise quick results, but caution is needed,” warns Desire. “When someone begins to restrict their diet too much, this can trigger obsessive thoughts about food, weakness due to the sudden reduction in calories, as well as affect sleep, the immune system and increase the propensity for disease, among other problems” , he adds.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
