Lose weight, feel great?

Being healthy and looking great has got to be one of the biggest desires out there. In fact it’s always in the top 5 requests of what my clients want help with.

But why is it so elusive?

One of the problems is “weight” is misunderstood.

Which woman do you think is healthier: Woman A who is 5’4” and 127 pounds or Woman B who is 5’1” and 137 pounds?

If you answered, “I need more information,” you’re right!

This widely-believed notion that weight alone is a good and reliable indicator of health has got to be banished for good!

Why? Because it doesn’t show you where the weight is.

Woman B is in fact healthier than Woman A (both are real clients).

How do I know?

By measuring their Body Composition … aka body comp.

The numbers revealed

Body comp tells you the general state of your body by showing you the percent of fat, water, muscle and bone. [Ref. 1]

From this, other calculations can be made like Basal Metabolic Rate, Daily Caloric Intake and Metabolic Age.

Knowing these numbers can help you figure out your: health and fitness goals, risk factors for serious disease and nutrition needs.

“If you can measure it, you can manage it!”

Woman A is sedentary, and her body comp revealed she was over-fat. Woman B is athletic, and her body comp showed a “just right” amount of fat.

Your Fat Percentage Matters

A few years ago, medical scientists added body fat as an organ, just like your liver, lungs and heart.

They wanted to emphasize that the percent body fat is important to know.

Too high a body fat percentage increases overall body inflammation. This increases your risk for diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer. [Ref. 2]

Too little body fat can be a problem too! It’s associated with irregular periods, infertility and osteoporosis to name a few. [Ref. 3]

The ideal percentage for women is around 21–34%, while for men it’s 8-22%. [Ref. 4]

Your Muscle Mass Matters More

Muscles are your body’s main metabolic engine. They burn glucose and fat for energy. The more muscles you have, the more energy you burn.

If you need to reduce excess body fat, then grow more muscles!

But since they are denser, this will increase your weight. This is why looking at weight alone is very misleading.

To find out what your healthy muscle mass should be for your age and sex, check this out. [Ref. 5]

Muscles and Aging

Maintaining muscle mass as you age is very essential for quality of life and mobility.

Muscle mass equals muscle strength.

But it’s not that easy to maintain. It takes active monitoring and a healthy lifestyle for the long haul.

I see muscle wasting in most of my clients. Even the ones that look healthy.

Did you know by the time you’re in your 40’s, you’ve lost about 50% of your muscle strength that you had in your 20’s? [Ref. 6]

By 60, it can decrease by as much as 70%! [Ref. 7] Yikes.

Your body comp matters more than your weight. Measure it to know the truth about your health.

Drop me an email if you want to know my favorite body comp scale.