Buzz
At Mytour, weight loss isn’t a frequent topic of discussion, primarily because society tends to overemphasize it. Spend too much time focusing on it, and you risk sliding into the mindset that thinner equals better, viewing food and exercise solely as tools to shrink your body.
To put it differently, I find it frustrating when media outlets frame their health and fitness content through the lens of weight loss. There’s so much more to these aspects of life. Food serves as both nourishment and pleasure, while exercise enhances our health, improves athletic performance, and aids in daily activities. These truths hold regardless of body size.
However, if you genuinely wish to lose weight, it’s entirely possible. Perhaps a healthcare provider has advised it, or you have personal motivations. (As someone passionate about fitness, my goal is often to shed some fat gained during a bulking phase to refocus on muscle growth.) That said, if you feel like you’re constantly striving to lose weight, the National Eating Disorders Association offers a helpline and extensive online resources to support you. Your mental well-being matters more than your body’s size.
I won’t attempt to persuade you that weight loss is necessary, nor will I assume it’s everyone’s goal. However, today I’ll provide you with the fundamental principles of how weight loss functions, offering this information neutrally, free from the influence of trendy diet promotions.
Understanding the distinction between weight loss and fat loss is crucial
When individuals mention 'losing weight,' their primary goal is typically to shed fat, not just overall weight.
Your body is composed of various tissues, including fat, muscle, bones, organs, and water. (Water is a natural and essential component: completely dehydrating a human body would leave you with something akin to jerky.)
In fitness circles, body fat percentage is a common topic. A lower percentage indicates less fat on your body. Being 'leaner' means having less fat, which makes muscle definition more visible. If your goal is to look 'toned,' it means building muscle while maintaining a lean enough physique to showcase it.
There’s little value in obsessing over your exact body fat percentage or muscle mass, as the tools designed to measure these are often highly inaccurate. While more precise methods like medical-grade DEXA scans exist (and can even be done for fun in some states), they still have margins of error. Ultimately, these numbers don’t provide actionable insights.
A standard scale provides a single number (your weight) that oversimplifies the complexity of your body composition. While it’s a helpful tool, don’t let the scale dictate your goals. Losing a significant amount of weight might mean losing muscle along with fat, which can lead to dissatisfaction. Muscle mass is crucial for overall health, to say the least.
Now, let’s break down the fundamentals of weight management.
Weight gain typically involves adding fat and, potentially, muscle.
If you engage in regular resistance training, such as weightlifting, your body aims to build muscle. Consuming sufficient protein to support your workouts will result in slightly larger muscles. However, gaining substantial muscle mass becomes challenging once you move beyond the beginner phase.
If you’re not incorporating resistance training, any weight gained is likely to be primarily fat.
Weight loss involves shedding both fat and muscle
When your calorie intake is insufficient, your body turns to its own tissues for energy. While some of this comes from fat—the primary target when aiming to 'lose weight'—muscle is often sacrificed in the process.
To minimize muscle loss during weight loss, incorporate resistance training and ensure you consume adequate protein to support your efforts.
Another key consideration is that slower weight loss helps preserve muscle mass. Aim for about a pound per week, or even half a pound for smaller individuals. The upside is that a gradual approach is easier to maintain, as it allows you to eat nearly your usual amount of food.
Is it possible to reduce fat without losing overall weight?
Yes, but with some conditions. By engaging in resistance training and consuming sufficient protein, your body can build or maintain muscle. It’s possible to maintain your weight while simultaneously gaining muscle and losing fat, a process often referred to as 'recomp' or body recomposition.
The challenge lies in the asymmetry of building muscle and losing fat. Shedding a pound of fat is relatively straightforward: reduce your daily intake by 500 calories for a week. However, gaining a pound of muscle is far more difficult; someone of my size (a smaller woman) might only gain up to five pounds of muscle per year. If you avoid a calorie surplus—meaning you refuse to gain weight—your muscle growth will be even slower.
Recomposition often happens unintentionally, especially for beginners in exercise. You might not see changes on the scale, but after a year, you’ll notice a difference in old photos. If you don’t have specific weight goals, you can let this process unfold naturally. However, for faster or more noticeable changes, it’s better to decide whether to lose or gain weight and adjust your diet accordingly.
Now, let’s discuss how to lose weight (with the aim of losing fat). If your goal is to gain weight, simply reverse the approach by maintaining a calorie surplus instead of a deficit. If you’re content with your current weight, feel free to stop reading here.
The 'calorie deficit' is your most essential tool for weight loss.
Here’s the fundamental principle: Weight loss occurs when you consume fewer calories than you burn.
While there’s ongoing debate about whether 'a calorie is a calorie' or if certain foods or diets are superior for weight loss, these discussions focus on how to create a calorie deficit, not whether it’s necessary.
The easiest method is to track your calorie intake (typically using a food tracking app) and estimate your calorie expenditure. It’s straightforward and effective.
Alternatively, you can follow a specific diet plan: one that limits carbohydrates to induce (harmless) ketosis, another that bans sugar and even beans, or one that restricts eating to certain times of the day. The outcome remains the same: reduced food intake. (You don’t need to count calories to eat less.)
Every diet claims to be the only or best way to lose weight, but in reality, there’s no 'best' diet. Choose what works for you, but be cautious—some overly restrictive diets can harm your mental health. Remember, no diet holds a magical secret; you don’t need to adhere to any specific framework to lose weight.
Steps to establish a calorie deficit
In theory, it’s straightforward: Determine your calorie expenditure and consume fewer calories than that. The catch is that you’ll never know your exact calorie burn, and you’ll need to accept this uncertainty.
Here’s how to proceed:
Estimate your daily calorie burn as a starting point.
Consume slightly fewer calories than that estimate.
Monitor whether your weight changes.
For the initial estimate, the most accurate method is to track your food intake over a few weeks when your weight remains stable. (We suggest using Cronometer for tracking.) The average daily calories consumed during this period can be considered your maintenance level.
If you’re in a hurry (and let’s face it, most of us are), use a TDEE calculator (not BMR or RMR) like this one. TDEE, or 'total daily energy expenditure,' accounts for all your daily activities, including exercise.
No calculator is perfectly accurate, but this one is fairly reliable. For me, it’s spot-on at around 2,300 calories; I know I gain weight at 2,800 and lose at 2,000 with my current exercise routine. (It’s also highly recommended by fitness forums. While this doesn’t guarantee precision, remember, we’re aiming for a rough starting point.)
Once you have your TDEE, subtract a few calories. A 'healthy' weight loss rate is typically one to two pounds per week, according to sources like the CDC. Larger individuals may aim for the higher end, but I’d suggest starting conservatively. A 500-calorie daily deficit theoretically results in a pound of weight loss per week, while a 250-calorie deficit yields about half a pound. Though faster weight loss might seem appealing, a slower pace is more manageable: less hunger and more flexibility to enjoy treats, snacks, meals out, and drinks.
Monitor your weight loss progress. Over time, the rate will slow, which is normal. Research indicates that while a pound of fat is 'worth' about 3,500 calories (hence the 500-calorie daily deficit), later in your diet, it may take what feels like 7,000 calories to lose each pound. (This isn’t a violation of thermodynamics; your body becomes more efficient at conserving energy, skewing your calculations.)
Exercise plays a crucial role, but perhaps not in the way you imagine.
Alright, you might be wondering, what about the calories burned through exercise? Well, here's the reality: It's not as crucial as you might think.
Of course, exercising is still essential, but I’d suggest not obsessing over the precise number of calories you’re burning during your workouts.
Cardiovascular exercise is vital for numerous health benefits. It lowers the chances of heart disease and other long-term health issues, while also boosting your stamina for daily tasks like walking or yard work. Strength training is equally important—it helps maintain muscle mass and reduces the likelihood of injuries and aches. Both cardio and strength training are essential, regardless of your weight loss goals.
However, the calories you burn? Don’t focus on those figures. For starters, they’re already factored into your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) when you indicated your activity level. Additionally, calorie counts displayed on gym machines and activity trackers are often far from precise.
Lastly, recall how efficiently your body conserves energy? Exercise doesn’t always burn as many calories as expected. After an intense HIIT session, you might end up lounging more, or your body might compensate by reducing energy use in other areas (studies have even noted changes in energy expenditure by internal organs). At the end of the day, you’re just a human trying to make sense of it all—no need to overcomplicate things.
To clarify, exercising does help burn calories, even if the exact number remains uncertain. Many people notice that increasing physical activity makes weight loss more manageable and less unpleasant. Without exercise, my Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) would hover around 1,600 calories, requiring me to eat roughly 1,200 calories to shed weight—equivalent to just one Chipotle burrito. However, as someone who stays highly active, I burn far more, allowing me to lose weight while consuming 2,000 calories. Living on 2,000 calories is not only more enjoyable but also healthier in the long term compared to a restrictive 1,200-calorie lifestyle.
Distinguishing between a diet and a lifestyle shift
Modern diets often claim they’re not diets, but let’s be honest—that’s nonsense. If your goal is weight loss through eating, you’re dieting. You might simultaneously adopt healthier habits, such as increasing vegetable intake or exercising more, which is fantastic! However, a “lifestyle change” suggests maintaining the same habits indefinitely for consistent results. Weight loss isn’t sustainable forever, nor should it be.
A better approach is to treat weight loss as a temporary endeavor with a clear endpoint. Instead of fixating on a target weight, set a timeframe—say, two months—and observe the results of maintaining a sensible calorie deficit during that period. Afterward, take a break and eat at maintenance levels. Then, decide whether to continue losing weight or conclude your efforts.
This strategy ensures you’re not stuck dieting indefinitely and avoids the temptation of crash diets promising rapid weight loss. Extreme measures like surviving on spicy lemonade or pricey detox juices simply aren’t worth your time.
