According to nutrition experts, there are many cases of weight loss mainly due to dehydration or reduced muscle mass, while the amount of fat in the body is still almost unchanged.
Eating too little causes the body to lose muscle instead of fat
One of the common mistakes is cutting calories too much. When the body lacks energy for a long time, it tends to break down muscle mass to use as fuel instead of burning fat.
According to nutritionist Dr. Donald Hensrud at Mayo Clinic (USA), eating too little can slow down metabolism and cause the body to retain more fat. Healthy weight loss needs to maintain a reasonable energy deficit, while ensuring enough protein to protect muscle mass.
Just doing cardio and ignoring strength training
Many people choose to jog or cycle every day but do not do muscle-building exercises. This helps burn calories, but if you lack strength training, muscles may gradually decrease over time.
According to the American Council on Exercise, combining cardio with resistance training helps the body maintain muscle mass and promote more effective fat burning.
The weight loss is mainly due to dehydration
In the early days of dieting, weight usually decreases rapidly due to dehydration, especially when reducing carbohydrates. However, this change does not reflect the actual amount of fat that has decreased.
Nutrition expert Dr. Katherine Zeratsky (Mayo Clinic) said that many people mistakenly believe they lose fat quickly, but in fact it is mostly water and glycogen in the body.
Experts recommend that to reduce fat effectively, it is necessary to maintain a balanced diet, exercise regularly and monitor body composition instead of just looking at the number on the weight.
