Lose Weight or Change Your Body Composition?
The Difference Matters
Most of the time when people talk about changing their weight, you usually hear people say I want to lose weight – meaning I want the number on the scale to go down. Most scales only tell you how heavy you are or as a friend of mine likes to say “your relationship with gravity.” That number we see does not tell us how much of your body is fat, lean mass (muscle), or water. Along with bones and organs; muscle, fat, and water are what make up our total body weight.
Why is Body Composition More Important Than Your Weight Alone
When we lose weight, if we do not get adequate protein and do resistance exercises (lifting weights and performing bodyweight exercises), we will lose too much muscle. Losing muscle is counter-productive. Losing muscle can make you weak and fragile as you age, increasing your risk of falling and suffering devastating fractures. You may be losing weight, but you are not gaining health.
Having a higher level of muscle is more healthful because:
- Muscle supports your metabolism (aids in burning calories), making weight loss/maintenance easier and regaining weight harder.
- Muscle gives you strength to work and do the things you enjoy
- Muscle gives us the ability to be more functional as we age increasing our quality of life
- Muscle is denser so it takes up less room (or volume) than body fat. People with more muscle and lower body fat tend to look thinner compared to the person with less muscle or more body fat).
What you lose is most important – lose excess body fat and maintain or gain muscle. I encourage people to move away from the idea of losing weight and embrace the idea of changing their body composition.
Measuring Body Composition
When you are trying to change your body composition, there are various methods to measure your progress, including:
- Skinfold Measurements: Using calipers to measure the thickness of skinfolds at specific sites.
- Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA): A device sends a small electrical current through the body to estimate fat and lean mass.
- Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA): A highly accurate method that uses low-level X-rays to measure bone density and body composition.
Conclusion
While body weight is a useful measure, it is not the only measure we should rely upon. Understanding body composition provides a more comprehensive view of an individual’s fitness and health status. Focusing on improving body composition—through balanced nutrition and exercise—can lead to increased muscle and lower body fat. A healthy body composition as we age can increase the quality of life and minimize health issues like diabetes, heart disease, and improve functional fitness.
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