Another top reader question! Should we focus on fat loss before getting fit? Does that mean we do lots of cardio and hold off on weight training? Can we achieve both at the same time? I see why this question comes up often… it’s a good one. Luckily, I have a good answer for you!
When I began blogging, it was because there was so much information out there. I would research one question and feel more confused after my hour or two of googling. Because I have a Bachelors of Science in Biology, my goal with posting stuff like this has always been to simplify. So, in just a few minutes after reading this post, you’ll hopefully leave with a clear, simple answer to your question!
Whenever I discuss fat loss, I like to point out that fat loss is different than weight loss. I’m not in the business of weight loss. What?? No… I’m here to help you lose fat. I don’t want you to simply become a lighter version of yourself. I want to help you change your body composition… increasing muscle mass and reducing body fat. You may lose some weight while doing this but that’s not the main goal.
Here is something you may not know about my journey. I’ve gained about 8-10 pounds since I started. Funny thing is when I began, you couldn’t see any muscle definition on my body. My flexed arm and non-flexed arm looked the exact same. I had no visible abs. Now, I have all of that and I weight more. Oh, and I’ve lost 2 pant sizes since then! This is why I could care less about weight. But, I do care about fat loss!
Bottom line… I focus on helping you achieve a fit and lean body by changing your body composition. It takes some strategy, but that’s what I’m here for.
How to Lose Fat and How to Get Fit
I am going to cut right to the secret sauce of my approach to getting fit and losing body fat. For getting fit, I focus first on workouts and use food to assist that goal. For losing body fat, I achieve that first through nutrition and then through my workouts as a supplement. What I mean by that is getting fit happens primarily in a gym while losing fat happens mostly in the kitchen.
GETTING FIT
The only way to get fit is to build muscle. That occurs during our workouts. Pretty simple, right?! Well, the answer to that question is but the execution of the plan takes a bit more effort. For us to get fit, we need to prioritize our workouts, especially those weighted workouts. Personally, I’ve found that in order to get fit, women need a plan that includes traditional weight training (not just some exercises that use weights); there is a big difference! All of my workouts here focus on traditional weight training and our upcoming summer challenge will be all about that, If you need help there, don’t you worry, I’ve got your back!
Our nutrition acts as a supplement in this process. Macronutrients, especially protein and carbohydrates play a key role in muscle hypertrophy and muscle protein synthesis aka “getting fit.” In tomorrow’s blog post, I’ll talk more about carb timing. To get fit, know your weight training workouts matter and your nutrition will help!
LOSING FAT
On the contrary, losing fat is all about nutrition and our workouts will assist in the fat loss process. Now before you skip over this section, know it’s probably the most important part of this entire post. I say that because I spent years working my booty off in the gym but didn’t change my nutrition habits; the result was I started developing muscle but I couldn’t see any of it because of my stubborn body fat hiding it.
In order for us to ignite the fat loss process, we must eat according to those goals. I won’t bore you here with all of the ways to do that. If you’re seriously interested in changing your body composition and losing fat, I highly suggest you check out my Eat Your Way Lean Meal Plan. There are pages and pages of science that teach you all about this as well as the complete plan on how to eat to see physical results (like fat loss) through food. To keep this short, I’ll just say that food matters; and not just general healthy eating… a food approach tailored to getting fit and losing body fat.
Our workouts will assist this process but we cannot purely rely on our workouts to lose fat. Believe me, I’ve tried it! Our workouts can help us burn more calories, but fat loss (remember… different than weight loss) is not as simple as burning more calories than the amount we consume. Workouts help fat loss in 3 main ways: 1) weight training helps us build muscle and muscle cells burn calories just to survive =increasing our basal metabolic rate 2) workouts help us burn calories 3) workouts provide motivation to eat well. Whenever I workout, I feel good and I am so much more motivated to enjoy a healthy meal than if I don’t workout. You know what I mean?
Cardio vs Weight Training
Speaking of workouts, with the question of “should I focus on fat loss before getting fit?” often comes this follow up question: “should I then do lots of cardio before I even begin weight training?” NO!
Cardio is a great workout! And I suggest including it in every type of fitness plan. But, we’ve got to realize that cardio is simply elevating our heart rate for an extended period of time. Cardio can be going for a 3 mile run. Cardio can be a 50 minute Zumba class. Cardio can be dancing nonstop at a night club or to Disney tunes with your child. Weight training is also a form of cardio… more specifically, HIIT cardio.
For this reason, I always suggest beginning lifting right away even if fat loss is your primarily goal. I see it as hitting two birds with one stone: you’re elevating your heart rate/burning calories AND focusing on changing your body composition by increasing muscle mass. And like I just shared, increasing muscle mass, leads you to burn more calories at rest! Still, I like to strategically add cardio in.
My main point is don’t delay any weight training thinking that cardio is the better option for losing fat.
Can We Achieve Both at the Same Time?
I’m going to keep this short and simple too… it is absolutely possible to get fit while losing body fat at the same time.
When we are working out and eating for our goals, it’s almost impossible to separate these two processes. Sometimes you’ll hear people (me included!) saying they’ll focus more on one at a time. For example, a common training approach is to prioritize muscle hypertrophy for several weeks then focus on fat loss. I actually find that approach to be the most effective (and that’s what you’ll see in our summer challenge). However, even when we prioritize getting fit , we are also losing fat in the process.
The Conclusion
Here are my key takeaways from all of this…
- Understand the difference between weight loss and fat loss… weight loss is simply becoming a lighter version of yourself whereas fat loss is a change in body composition (body fat percentage)
- If you want to get fit and see muscle definition, then focusing on fat loss > weight loss has got to be the gaol
- Focus on making your muscle goals through traditional weight training; ensure you’re getting enough protein and timing out carbs strategically to support that goal
- To lose body fat, eating healthy in accordance to your goals is a MUST (see my meal plan if you have any questions on that)
- Hit those weights primarily even if losing fat is your main goal; supplement with cardio workouts
- You can and will get fit and lean at the same time even if you focus a bit more on one at a time
- Enjoy the process
Wow, I found this article to be super informative. I agree completely with your philosophy of not being in the business of losing weight, but losing fat. You’ve really laid it all out in such a simple and easy to understand manner. After I graduated college and stopped lifting from soccer, I focused more on cardio because I enjoyed it. Now that I’ve started to learn more in the health and fitness world, I’m back to lifting because what you’ve stated above – I’m elevating my heart rate and burning calories, but also building muscle mass! Win-win in my book!