"What's the best body weight to be?" was a question a client asked recently.
Best body weight? The best on-the-spot example I give my clients about body weight and how that it is not relevant to body size are these 2 kettle bells.
Clearly these two kettlebells are different in size but when you turn them around you find out what their weight is.
They are both 8kg! So using this handy visual example I then ask them why they think body weight is important. Instead of an answer, there is another question "But what about the BMI? Isn't body weight relevant and related to that?"
That is easily dealt with... I'm only 4.5kg away from being classified, according to the BMI, as overweight. The look of disbelief on my client's face was typical. "But you look so skinny. How can that be?" Lean tissue is more dense (takes up less space) than adipose tissue (fat). The more lean tissue one has the slimmer they will look (due to a change in body composition) but the scales may not show much change in actual body weight.
So what is more important to you? To see your clothing size decreasing or the numbers on the scales dropping. I totally get the mind-set that has been ingrained into our psyche because of the messages we've received over the years from family, friends and the media about scale weight being all-important. Been there, done that, got the scars to prove it.
Early in September, as part of a Dexa Scan, I had to step on the scales....I'll be truthful, I nearly cried. 69.5kg appeared on the digital readout....my immediate response was "I don't want to be that heavy! That's too close to 70kg and I don't want to be that!" This knee jerk reaction was in stark contrast to my joy upon noticing how much looser my pant waists had become. Big deep breaths, big deep breaths. As I lay still while the scan was done my brain went over my reaction and I reconciled myself with the scale weight....my clothes fit fine, (even a little looser), my wobbly bits are less so, and I'm being told I am looking smaller!!! Scale weight, ffffttttt, it's like so yesterday.
The scan revealed that 13.8kg of the weight was fat, 52kg was muscle and the rest was bone, organs etc. I will admit that it did take me about week to be ok with the scale weight...I had to keep telling myself that my bone density was above average (awesome!) and I am in the athletic body fat range (15-25% for females) with 20.1% body fat, pretty happy with that!
Kg? Body fat%? But I was running 3 x week: training for 10km races. Eating 5-6 Metabolically Precise Meals a day.
KG? Fat%? No structure to training. Had given up running. Goalless. Was still eating 5-6 Metabolically Precise meals a day....my waistline stayed under control, thanks Dr Paul Cribb!!!
69.5kg 20.5% body fat. F.I.R.E three times a week. Walking the dog daily. Eating 6 Metabolically Precise meals a day.
Can you spot the differences??? I don't think I look any bigger, or perhaps I should say Bulkier, in the last picture but according to the myth about women lifting weights I should look MASSIVE!!
How many times have you checked yourself out in the mirror and thought "Hot!! Damn!!!" and then stepped on the scales expected the number to be less but the scales "say" to you "na na na, get real, you've put ON weight...you are such a failure"?? Boom there goes that feeling of success and awesomeness. Rely on your clothes, or the mirror, or measurements and or a Dexa scan to tell you the truth! (Note: I spent the weekend writing this blog, come Monday the client who'd asked me about the best body weight came in and said that she'd met up with friends on the weekend who said that she looked great and looked liked she'd lost weight. Client felt GREAT, so chuffed and then she stood on the scales and they told her she was heavier than she thought and then she felt CRAP!! Oh the irony of it all!!)
Nutrition is the foundation upon which great results from training are built.
The Nexus Online Nutrition Program teaches you the skills you need to lay that foundation.
