One of the most popular questions in health and fitness that never goes away is, “How do I lose weight?” Why is weight loss so glorified in society and the focus in health? Even when you go to the doctor, he/she sometimes says you should lose weight, or you tell the doctor you want to lose weight. The fact is that many people do not necessarily need to lose weight rather than change their body composition. Sometimes part of changing body composition is losing weight but not always.
What is body composition? Body composition consists of different types of muscle in your body, different types of fat in your body, bone density, water retention and body balance, and more. In some cases, gaining weight with a better body composition is what some people need. In other instances, losing water retention and balancing hormone levels, while hydrating and nourishing lean muscle tissue with total body balance, is all other people need. Often, you can totally change your body composition and not lose a pound.
We need to focus and dissect every understanding and consideration of weight loss and what it really is. In public health, we have started a trend to show that body composition is more important than body weight. When we go to a doctor’s office, they measure our height and weight and tell us what range we are supposed to be in based on a pre-calculated chart. Some of these other methods of body measurement can be BMI, hip to waist ratios, and various types of body fat testing analysis. But are these methods still good enough? The short answer to that is NO. General BMI charts are based on old populational research and does not always factor in athletes and lean muscle mass as well as change in populations. In public health, if we could teach people that weight loss in and of itself is not that important, we could change so many lives for the good.
Some health professionals use anthropometric measurements, which is measuring your body with loose measurement tape. These calculations have such a wide range of implementations, including measurements of various parts of your body such as your abdomen, chest, legs, butt, sides, back, and more. These tests need a professional to be overly accurate each time they It is conducted. Furthermore, each person carries bodyweight at different parts of their body, which include different skin thicknesses and hydrations that often fluctuate daily. Considering all these factors, these measurements are not a very accurate means of telling us our body fat.
Other health professionals use a bioimpedance tester, which are either handheld gadgets where we input our height and weight information, or the scales we step on that tells us our body fat. The idea behind these scales is that they send an electric impulse in the body. Since fat is not a good conductor of electricity, they only guestimate how much body fat you have. Tape measurements, BMI, and bioimpedance are the most accessible body fat tests, but they often give us consistently false results that ultimately places stress on our emotions instead.
Instead, let’s look at our body type and consider a variety of factors. Primarily, biometrics will tell us more about our health than a scale ever will. Some of these levels to consider for health analysis are blood pressure, all cholesterol measurements (HDL, LDL, VLDL, ratios, triglycerides, ratios, etc.), blood sugar, and A1C. Even studying more in-depth analysis of blood such as white blood cell counts, vitamin and mineral levels, renal analysis (Blood urea nitrogen, Creatine Kinase), hormone and thyroid, and more should be also considered when looking at healthy functional ranges. Why are these levels not considered and glorified to the average person? Let’s face it, these measurements are boring, and it’s not as noble to lower your blood pressure 20 millimeters of mercury than to lose 10 pounds. It is exciting for any health professional to see biometrics change but not a common person just trying to better their health.
If we want to truly measure body composition the correct way, then why don’t we? The reason is that some of the best means of measurements are not always obtainable or practical. First, Dexa-Scans, which is the best means of true imagery, are usually done to check bone density in people for osteopenia and osteoporosis. Dexa-Scans also are a great way to image the entire body, showing detailed body composition measurements including fat and muscle weight. Hydrodensitometry is another way to measure body fat analysis, which is obtained by underwater weighing. Air displacement plethysmography, studies mass and volume, therefore, an estimation of body density. From this calculation, body density derived from mass divided by volume can provide estimation of fat and muscle. The common problem all these tests have are that they are usually only ever found at universities and hospitals and are incredibility expensive. Regardless of how good some of these tests are, they are still based upon educates guesses
Incidentally, what should we do if we shouldn’t care about body weight and don’t have access to good body fat analysis devices? First, nothing will ever tell you more than the way your clothing fits. If you gained 5 pounds and you went down 2 pants sizes, why would you ever be upset about that? If you went from wearing an XX-large shirt to a large shirt, you have significantly changed your body. The scale can be a good source of measurement assuming you have a non-emotional relationship with it.
Second, if someone has not seen you for a while and they say, “Wow, you have lost a lot of weight”, there is another great sign of progression. It is ok to accept a compliment, and it should make you feel good. Have you ever met a person who says they lost 15 pounds, and you really can’t tell a difference? Or, have you ever met someone who lost weight that you can tell was not the right weight to lose? For example, their face looks sunken in, and they have lost body muscle. They may have lost 20 pounds, but they can’t even lift a laundry basket. Sometimes, a person may have only lost 5 pounds, but in the public eye, it seems like they lost 20 pounds from a visible standpoint. Often people’s perceptions of weight do not match up with the standards we measure them to. Consequently, a very fit woman who weighs 135 pounds is often thought to be 110 pounds to most people. In summary, muscle density in various body types can be way heavier than most people presume.
Does this mean anything if you don’t feel good? There is something to be said about having no pain and lots of energy. A good functioning metabolism is a body that is not overly stressed and operates efficiently. If you do not feel good in your body composition plan, you are doing something wrong. Nothing is more important than well-rounded health that addresses energy, biometrics, and functional everyday health.
