Body Control: Losing weight or dropping body fat? What's the difference?

How often have we made the decision to lose weight and made the decision to go on a diet? The event is too frequent for many. My goal is to share with you the difference between losing weight and dropping body fat and to show you how you can accelerate your efforts by focusing on what you really matters to you.

Losing weight vs. dropping body fat: what's the difference?

There is a big difference between the two. Your total body weight is the measure of all the organs, muscle, fat, water, and bone tissues measured in pounds. The most common way to find this number is with a weight scale. The one thing that the weight scale is going to do for you is tell you your total weight. And that's all that it's good for. The alternative to the scale and it's what I highly recommend is checking your body fat percent.

Your body fat percent is the measure of the amount of fat mass relative to the rest of your body's organs and tissue mass. In other words, there is fat mass and lean tissue mass. Lean tissue mass is the mass of all the other organs added together excluding your fat mass. The mass that you measure that is only body fat can be defined as fat mass and that fat mass has a percent value relative to lean mass.

It's fat mass that creates that fat look. It's the fat mass that accumulates as flab on the body. Lean mass is highly active and is known to increase your metabolism. By decreasing the amount of fat mass and at the same time increasing your lean body mass, your metabolism will kick into high gear. By increasing the amount of lean body mass your potential to burn more calories increases very much.

By boosting your metabolism you will burn more body fat. Too often, we lose lean body mass while losing weight when really what we want to do is drop body fat. By lowering your lean body mass (LBM) your potential to burn body fat decreases. At the same time you slow down your metabolism. Do you want to slow down your metabolism?

How do you measure body fat percent?

There are several ways to measure body fat percent and one of them is the tried and true method of using body fat calipers. As I mentioned, there are many ways to measure your body fat percent. I only mentioned one way but there are many others and many of them are very reliable methods. The most important thing is to get you thinking that there is a difference between losing weight and dropping body fat. So, what do you want to do: lose weight or drop body fat?

"Cap" Josue Cano Don't Wait Get in S.H.A.P.E. Drop body fat fast and get fit quick To book Cap to speak at your next event call or e-mail: (877) CAP-3159 cap@dontwaitgetinshape.com www.dontwaitgetinshape.com

About the Author
Specialized Strength Trainer (C.S.C.S.) and specializing in fitness boxing, "Cap" Josue Cano helps people drop body fat fast and get fit quick. He's a funny, entertaining health and fitness speaker and author of the book: Don't Wait Get in S.H.A.P.E. He trains clients 1-on-1 for fitness boxing and stength training improving fitness.