The first thing that comes to mind when we decide we want to lose fat is the term “diet.” This term was coined by the Greeks, diaitia, and they used it to refer to a lifestyle, not to weight loss. They believed in “a healthy mind in a healthy body,” so they based their eating habits on small, simple portions, complemented by physical exercise.
After learning this, we come to the conclusion that the widely used term “diet” is incorrect, since diet means nutrition and refers to an eating pattern. Therefore, it should be replaced by the term “weight-loss plan.”
An appropriate weight-loss plan for fat loss involves modifying and improving our eating habits, meaning changing everything that led to an increase in body fat. This plan must be fully personalized because each person has different needs, it must be properly structured to avoid deficiencies in nutrients, vitamins, and minerals, and most importantly, it must create a calorie deficit. A calorie deficit basically means consuming fewer calories than we burn each day. If we place the calories we consume and the calories we burn over the course of a day on a scale, the scale must tip toward the calories we burn. Only in this way can a calorie deficit be achieved.
As a result, if we burn more calories than we consume, this will lead to weight loss, but what is really interesting is losing fat. Here, physical exercise plays a fundamental role.
We know that doing physical exercise has multiple benefits for our body as a whole. In fact, lately the concept of exercise as medicine has been widely used. According to the Mayo Clinic, exercising regularly:
- Helps prevent or manage many health problems and concerns, including stroke, metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, depression, anxiety, many types of cancer, arthritis, and falls, among others.
- Improves mood and increases energy.
- Promotes sleep and stimulates your sex life.
- Helps control weight by increasing daily calorie burn, preserves muscle mass, and helps control and maintain fat loss over time.
Once we broadly understand the benefits of physical exercise, it’s time to answer the question:
…and if I want to lose fat, what type of exercise should I do?
There is intense debate about which type of exercise or sport is best if our goal is fat loss: cardio or strength training? The most accurate answer would be “it depends.” The type of physical exercise will depend on each person’s preferences, habits, genetics, available time, body fat percentage, sex, previous injuries… but in general, what the scientific literature indicates is that strength training should be the main focus and should be complemented with cardio.
Strength training as the main physical practice will help with fat loss in the following ways:
- It increases muscle mass. Skeletal muscle is the main energy-burning machine in our body, meaning fat burning. Therefore, training that increases muscle mass will make us burn more calories per day, making it easier to achieve the calorie deficit mentioned above.
- It preserves muscle mass. In weight-loss plans that do not include training, weight loss is often accompanied by muscle loss, which reduces fat burning and would require a much greater reduction in calorie intake to achieve the deficit.
- It delays the plateau often experienced in weight-loss plans.
However, depending on many factors, it is advisable to complement strength training with short cardio sessions, especially in cases where lifestyle and work promote sedentary behavior, that is, people who do not reach the 10,000 daily steps recommended by the WHO.
It should be taken into account that any weight-loss process must be accompanied by a professional trained in nutrition and physical conditioning. Many factors must be considered when starting this process, both at a nutritional level—to ensure adherence and long-term maintenance of new lifestyle habits—and at a physical level, to determine which exercise routine suits you best.
Personalization is essential to achieve the desired goals and, above all, to maintain them over time. The professional will need to understand your current eating habits, lifestyle, body composition, personal and family history, and even your genetics, which will help achieve maximum personalization of your plan.
There is a strong genetic influence on the type of physical exercise that should be performed, since genetically we may be predisposed to have a higher proportion of fast-twitch muscle fibers, useful for strength training, versus endurance fibers, useful for cardio training, or vice versa. Knowing this information can give you the insight needed to design a training routine aligned with your genetics, allowing you to obtain the greatest benefit and sustain it over time.
Never forget that each person is unique and should be treated as such. What is good or appropriate for others may not be for you. Seek personalization, because it is the key to success and long-term adherence.
References
- Westcott WL. Resistance training is medicine: effects of strength training on health. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2012;11(4):209-216. doi:10.1249/JSR.0b013e31825dabb8
- Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Strength and Hypertrophy Adaptations Between Low- vs. High-Load Resistance Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Strength Cond Res. 2017;31(12):3508-3523. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000002200
- Scotto di Palumbo A, Guerra E, Orlandi C, Bazzucchi I, Sacchetti M. Effect of combined resistance and endurance exercise training on regional fat loss. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2017;57(6):794-801. doi:10.23736/S0022-4707.16.06358-1
- De Feo P. Is high-intensity exercise better than moderate-intensity exercise for weight loss?. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2013;23(11):1037-1042. doi:10.1016/j.numecd.2013.06.002
