Have you ever wondered why your weight doesn’t change even with calorie restriction and continuous exercise? If yes, then this article can help you understand the components that contribute to your overall weight and the different body composition that you must consider when trying to lose excess fat rather than just weight.

The image here shows the four main components of our body weight: water, fat, lean body mass and other components such as minerals from bone, carbohydrates and other substances that form the building blocks of our internal organs.

Water

Our bodies are composed of 60 - 70 % water and may fluctuate everyday based on our water intake, urine output and water loss from sweat or exercise. A daily variation of 0.5 kg may be due to water loss or intake of 500 mL or around a half glass of water. Thus, it is recommended to take your weight measurement early in the morning with no food or water intake and after you have urinated to reduce the measurement variations due to water weight. Moreover, taking your weight after an exercise session may falsely decrease your weight due to water lost from sweat.

Lean Body Mass or Muscle Mass

The second greatest contributor to our body weight is muscle mass. For beginners, it is good to have a measurement of your muscle mass baseline using Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) or In-Body Measurement available in gyms or estimated muscle mass percent using smart digital weighing scales. This will allow us to monitor whether your muscle mass is affected by a drastic calorie restriction or is increasing based on your physical activity. One of the factors that lead to a sudden drop in muscle weight is drastic calorie restriction from fad diets, fasting or medical conditions such as infection or cancer related muscle wasting. When you lose too much muscle, your metabolism slows down and may make it harder for you to burn excess fat - leading to a plateau phase. Thus, it is important for you to still eat adequately to preserve your muscle mass and combine physical activity such as strength training or weight training into your plan to maintain muscle even on a calorie-controlled diet.

Muscle mass is also a factor to consider for those who experience a plateau phase in around the 3 months of their weight loss program because this is the period when muscle gain equals fat loss especially for exercising individuals. Thus, monitoring your body composition during this phase may help guide and motivate you to stay consistent in your program.

Body Fat

Our body is also composed of fat that is either essential or excess fat. Essential fats are those found in the brain and components of the padding that protect our eyes, internal organs and hormones and those that serve as energy reserves for longer intense physical activity such as endurance exercises that last from 30 minutes - 12 hours. Excess fat that is usually found in the trunk or thighs may be harmful especially for those with high BMI because these excess fat may get oxidized and contribute to the development of non-communicable diseases such as Diabetes, Hypertension and some Cancers.

Excess fat loss is the main goal of a weight loss program for overweight or obese individuals. This can also be monitored through Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) or In-Body Measurement available in gyms or estimated muscle mass percent using smart digital weighing scales. Fat loss can be induced by many methods such as a controlled calorie diet, intermittent fasting, plant-based diets and a ketogenic diet (if the other first methods do not work) combined with physical activity that activate fat burning such as cardio, HIIT and endurance exercises that last for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

The main takeaway of this article is that you must consider having a baseline body composition analysis so you can have a specific and guided plan that fits your current body composition. It can also help you monitor and adjust your plan especially on plateau days or if your goal is to become leaner or stronger. Read our next article on interpreting common lab results that may also help you tailor fit the diet that works for you!

References:
Callahan, A., Leonard, H., Powell, T. (n.d.). Nutrition: Science and Everyday Application. Retrieved from https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/nutritionscience/chapter/7b-bmi-body-comp-metabolic-health/