Throw Your Scale Away – Measure Your Body Composition!

Whether you are overweight or of normal weight you should be aware of the impact body composition has on your health! Even if your weight is within a normal range, you can still have an unhealthy body composition.

What is unhealthy body composition? Generally speaking, it refers to carrying too much fat in comparison to lean tissue (muscle)—often referred to as having a high fat-to-lean ratio. As your body’s fat-to-lean ratio increases, so does your risk of developing disease such as: heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, estrogen-related problems, certain types of cancer, hysterectomy, back pain, gallbladder disease and gallstones, kidney disorders, osteoarthritis, respiratory problems, sleep apnea, excess fatigue, urinary incontinence, and depression.

How do you measure body composition? Well, it can’t be measured by your bathroom scale. Body weight isn’t an accurate measure of body composition, and therefore, is not an accurate measure of overrall health.

The following methods can be used to measure your body composition:

Waist Circumference: Generally speaking, a waist circumference of 35 inches or more in women and 40 inches or more in men indicates increased health risk.

Skin Fold Thickness: This method uses calipers to measure the amount of subcutaneous fat (fat below the skin) at the back of the arm and/or at other specific sites on the body.

Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA): BIA determines fat-to-lean ratio by using a painless electrical frequency.

Once you have determined your body composition, it is critical to follow a body composition program that will target fat and preserve muscle. This program should include:

#1. A Healthy Diet – It is important to reduce the amount of calories in your diet without compromising your body’s nutritional needs. The low-calorie diets commonly used in weight-loss programs may not be beneficial to improving your body composition, and may cause fatigue, dizziness, and weakness. A diet consisting of a variety of fruits, vegetables, and fiber-enriched whole grains, as well as enough healthy protein and fat, will ensure adequate nutrition and a feeling of fullness.

#2. A Simple Exercise Program – A healthy body compostion program should include some kind of exercise. Numerous studies have shown that non-vigorous exercise, such as brisk walking, can provide health benefits similar to those of more vigorous activities like running. Resistance exercises (e.g. light weight lifting) may also be beneficial.

#3. Nutritional Support – Nutritional supplementation has been shown to help people achieve their desired weight and fat-to-lean ratio. Providing high quality, nutrition-based “medical food”, such as Metagenics UltraMeal (the only FDA approved medical food) may be particularly beneficial. A study showed that people on a medical food program lost most of their weight from fat. This is in contrast to patients on a popular, over-the-counter diet drink program who lost the majority of their weight from muscle—despite participating in the same exercise routine and consuming the same foods as those on the medical food program.

Don’t fall victim to fad “starvation” diets or potentially dangerous weight loss pills—in the long run your body will only end up retaining fat and losing lean tissue (muscle). Contact me at robin@robinbeeson.com if you need help. I am hear to help you!

<script type=”text/javascript”>

  var _gaq = _gaq || [];
  _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-23618122-1']);
  _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);

  (function() {
    var ga = document.createElement(’script’); ga.type = ‘text/javascript’; ga.async = true;
    ga.src = (’https:’ == document.location.protocol ? ‘https://ssl’ : ‘http://www’) + ‘.google-analytics.com/ga.js’;
    var s = document.getElementsByTagName(’script’)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
  })();

</script>