Most people start a fitness journey by stepping on the scale. While body weight can provide some insight, it does not tell the full story of what’s actually changing inside your body.
There is an important distinction between weight loss and fat loss, and understanding it can help you make better decisions about your training, nutrition, and long-term progress.
● Weight loss is a reduction in total body weight, which includes body fat, muscle mass, water, and even glycogen (stored carbs)
● Fat loss is the reduction of body fat specifically, while maintaining lean tissue and hydration
This difference matters because not all weight loss is beneficial. If you are losing muscle or water instead of fat, you may be compromising your metabolism, strength, and overall health - despite the number on the scale going down.
When the focus is on fat loss, the aim is to improve body composition, reducing fat mass while maintaining or even increasing lean muscle. This leads to:
● A leaner, more athletic appearance
● Better performance and energy levels
● A higher resting metabolic rate
● Long-term sustainability
Rapid weight loss methods often produce fast results on the scale but at the cost of muscle loss, fatigue, and rebound weight gain. Fat loss, on the other hand, is slower and more intentional—but far more effective over time.
Yes, especially for beginners or those returning to training after time off. This process is called body recomposition, and it often means your scale weight stays the same or even increases slightly, even as you get visibly leaner and stronger.
At HALM, most members experience some form of recomposition. Their body fat percentage drops, muscle mass increases, and progress becomes visible in the mirror, in how clothes fit, and in how they feel—not just on the scale.
To ensure we’re tracking meaningful change, every personal training membership at HALM includes SECA body composition scans. These high-precision scans measure:
● Fat mass
● Lean muscle
● Hydration levels
● Segmental changes across your body
By using this data, we personalise your training and nutrition plans and track fat loss in a much more accurate way than weight alone can show.
If your goal is fat loss, not just weight loss, here are the key principles we coach at HALM:
Aim for at least 2-3 resistance training sessions per week to maintain or build muscle during a fat loss phase.
A high-protein diet supports muscle retention. We typically recommend 1.6-2.2g of protein per kg of body weight.
Avoid crash diets. A deficit of 15-25% below your maintenance calories is enough to encourage fat loss without compromising strength or energy.
While beneficial for heart health and general activity, excessive cardio can contribute to muscle breakdown. Balance it with strength work.
Hydration supports digestion, energy levels, training performance, and can even influence scale fluctuations.
Used correctly, the scale can be one useful data point among many. Here’s how we advise using it to track trends, not emotions.
● First thing in the morning
● Before eating or drinking
● Without clothes
● Always on the same scale, on a flat, hard surface
● Weigh yourself 3-4 times per week
● Record a weekly average rather than focusing on a single number
● Body weight can fluctuate 1-2kg daily due to water, stress, sleep, training, or hormones
● What matters is the trend over time
● Aim for 0.5-1% of your body weight lost per week (e.g. 0.35-0.7kg/week for someone weighing 70kg)
● Losing more than 1.5% per week may indicate too aggressive a deficit and potential muscle loss
At HALM, we combine smart scale use with SECA scans to give you the full picture, so you can see where the change is really happening.
Weight loss and fat loss are not interchangeable. At HALM, we prioritise sustainable fat loss, lean muscle retention, and real transformation. That’s why we combine intelligent coaching, precise tracking, and personalised plans to help you achieve results that go beyond the scale.
