The real problem with many weight loss programs is that not only do they fail, they can do more harm than good.  Why is that?

A program that focuses on weight loss through restricting calorie intake and engaging in some form of exercise overlooks an important element in safe and sustainable weight loss.  You might lose weight on one of these programs, but the weight you may be losing could be muscle mass instead of fat. That’s not good.

Weight Loss vs Fat Loss

Let’s take an example of someone wanting to lose 30 pounds. They could lose 30 pounds of fat or they could lose 30 pounds of muscle. They look the same on the scale, the same 30 pounds. However, if they’ve lost muscle mass instead of fat, they’re unhealthier than they were before the weight loss. Why? By losing muscle, they’ve just increased the proportion of fat compared to muscle in their body. They’ve got the same amount of fat but 30 pounds less muscle. In other words, they’re actually fatter than they were even though they’ve lost 30 pounds. That’s not healthy, and the weight loss may not be sustainable because an increased ratio of fat can affect hormone function and lead to cravings.

Losing muscle can make you unhealthier than when you started, so much so that you might have been better off not having lost any weight.

The First Step to Healthy, Sustainable Weight Loss

A healthy weight loss plan should specifically target fat to actually improve your health. A safe and successful plan for sustainable fat loss must be designed specifically for you. 

The first step in a healthy weight loss program is finding out what your fat to muscle ratio is, something that cannot be determined based solely on only height and weight (a body mass index). The ratio of fat to muscle is also important to know because the fat that you can see in the mirror is not all the fat there is in the body. There is also the fat that you can’t see in the mirror, the fat that wraps around your internal organs. This fat is called visceral fat or organ fat. Even people who appear to be lean can have an excess of visceral fat.

One such test is a Bio Impedance Analysis (BIA). BIA testing is painless and non-invasive. Pads similar to those used for an EKG are attached to your hand and your foot. An impulse is transmitted between the pads and measurements are recorded. BIA testing shows how much total fat there is in the body, not just the fat you can see in the mirror. BIA testing also measures metabolic rate (the number of calories burned at rest without exercise), hydration level and also the overall health of the cells.

BIA testing eliminates weight loss as the goal and focuses on fat loss and muscle gain as the goal, an important distinction in achieving a healthy fat to muscle ratio.

A Weight Loss Program That is Right for You

An appropriate custom-made plan for fat loss could include:  

• Tests before, during, and after your fat loss program loss to determine your fat/muscle ratio, your metabolic rate, your hydration levels, and the overall health of your cells.
• A custom nutrition plan designed based on the testing done, a nutrition plan that you can actually keep to, a nutrition plan that targets excess fat, that addresses your personal nutritional needs, and that takes into account your lifestyle. 
• An exercise plan that you can do (and might actually enjoy), one that includes the exercises that are right for you to not only support losing excess fat but also improve your overall health.

If you want to change your body composition, gaining muscle and losing fat may be right for you.  But make sure that it’s the FAT that you’re losing. Be sure that you’re on a plan that targets fat loss and improves your health.  

Green Apple Health Care practices Cause Based Medicine™ which is the systematic process of finding and treating the core cause of health concerns by using a classic naturopathic approach combined with scientific research to optimize patient outcomes.

Our focus is cause-based.  We are relentless in identifying the root cause, the “why” behind the symptoms, and we address our treatment programs to the cause of the health condition, not the symptoms.

Call us at (780) 485-9468 to book a consultation.  If you prefer, online booking is available for both new patients and repeat patients.