Healthy Weight Loss: Why Body Mass Analysis Is so Important

Healthy weight loss means reaching your goal weight in a gradual and sustainable way through appropriate caloric intake, wholesome dietary changes, increased physical activity, and as-needed medical support. Right? 

Well, yes — but that’s not the entire picture. 

Healthy weight loss also means preserving or increasing lean body mass as you lose fat. To put it another way, not losing muscle tissue as you shed pounds. 

This is where our experts at Physicians WEIGHT LOSS Centers Pompano Beach come in. We use body mass analysis to help you reach your weight goals in the healthiest, most efficient way.  

When weight loss is unhealthy 

You’re restricting your calories and eating less junk — and the pounds are melting off quickly. You’re well on your way to your goal weight and excited about fitting into smaller pants. 

Speedy weight loss is common with fad dieting strategies like liquid-only diets, extreme calorie restriction, frequent fasting, and nutrient group elimination (i.e., no-carb diet). 

But could your rapid weight loss actually be unhealthy? It can if you’re mostly losing water weight, muscle mass, and bone density instead of fat.

When you quickly lose five or more pounds a week on a fad diet, most of what you lose is a combination of “water weight” and lean tissue — or muscle and bone. This is partly because fad diets aren’t nutritionally balanced and partly because they don’t emphasize exercise as a key driver of weight control. 

The trouble with muscle mass loss

When your body sheds water weight, muscle mass, and bone density instead of excess fat, your health takes a hit. While the scale may reflect the lower number you want to see, your body composition is changing for the worse. 

Declining muscle mass can lead to:

• A sluggish metabolism
• Fatigue and low energy
• Weak muscles and bones
• Joint instability and pain
• Reduced aerobic fitness
• Poor blood sugar control
• Impaired immune function
• Prolonged injury healing

Pounds lost through fad dieting are also very quickly regained. It’s impossible to sustain the extreme methods to facilitate such weight loss. As soon as you resume normal dietary patterns, your body responds by storing as much fat as it can to prepare itself for future restrictions. 

In fact, many people who lose a substantial amount of water weight, muscle mass, bone density, and some body fat wind up regaining more fat than they initially had — and weighing even more than before.

What body mass analysis reveals 

Healthy weight loss unfolds at a more gradual and sustainable rate of 1-2 pounds a week. It emphasizes reduced calories, wholesome eating patterns, and a balanced exercise program geared to your fitness level. 

This reliable and evidence-based weight control strategy promotes the exact thing you’re after — fat loss — while preserving or improving muscle mass and bone density. Regular body mass analysis “progress reports” can help you stay on track.  

Body mass analysis uses quick, noninvasive body scans to measure and track key physical attributes, including body fat percentage and location, muscle mass, and water weight. By monitoring your fat-to-muscle ratio as you work toward your goal weight, we can:

Establish your baseline

Your initial body mass scan shows your body composition starting point. This helps us establish your personalized baseline of healthy water weight and muscle mass while providing a healthy body fat percentage for you to work toward.

Tailor your weight loss plan

Understanding your body composition allows us to tailor your exercise routines and dietary plans to target specific goals, such as more efficient fat loss or increased muscle building.

Evaluate your progress

Periodic body mass analysis scans provide snapshots of your progress as you lose weight, giving us an accurate picture of how your body is changing. We may adjust our approach to ensure continued muscle mass preservation and improvement as you lose excess fat. 

Identify fat-related risks

Body mass analysis can reveal an unhealthy fat-to-muscle ratio, even in individuals at their target weight. It can also reveal details about deep visceral (belly) fat that help us identify related health risks — allowing us to further tailor your weight loss plan to help you avoid those problems.

Increase your motivation 

Seeing positive body composition changes on a body mass analysis scan can provide powerful motivation to continue your healthy habits and reach your ultimate fitness goals. 

Need a weight loss progress report?

Weight loss isn’t just about the number on the scale. To learn how body mass analysis can help you achieve your goals in a healthy, sustainable way, schedule a visit at Physicians WEIGHT LOSS Centers Pompano Beach in Pompano Beach, Florida, today.