Body weight vs body fat

Makapakka

Hi guys. I'm a 5 ft 4 woman and started personal training a year ago. I was about 104 kg when I started, and a size 16-18. I am now a size 14 in most clothes shops, but I'm still weighing the same. My diet isn't the best, it's an issue that has me in therapy, but I do worry about my health. I am a lot fitter and stronger than i was a year ago, and I do mainly eat Ok, but I just wonder whether beibg that weight is still ok for me.. like I went to the doc about it and my bp and all that were normal..

2xj3hplqgsbkym

Well done for toning up so much, you have probably built a lot of muscle which is why your weight is still the same.

However, being overweight increases your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, some cancers, can affect fertility, cause more problems during pregnancy, increase risk of varicose veins, joint pain, affects self esteem, the list goes on and on and on...

pinkypinky

Even taking it as a very loose guide, your BMI is high at 39 (healthy range is 18-25). Now that you're used to exercise, it's time to turn your attention to your diet.

Transform

Makapakka wrote: »

Hi guys. I'm a 5 ft 4 woman and started personal training a year ago. I was about 104 kg when I started, and a size 16-18. I am now a size 14 in most clothes shops, but I'm still weighing the same. My diet isn't the best, it's an issue that has me in therapy, but I do worry about my health. I am a lot fitter and stronger than i was a year ago, and I do mainly eat Ok, but I just wonder whether beibg that weight is still ok for me.. like I went to the doc about it and my bp and all that were normal..

yes the weight needs to be addressed and do you really eat ok?

If you ate in even a very mild calorie deficit and did some tracking on My fitness pal youd notice a few things around your nutrition that are holding you back.

plus just make sure that in your training you need to bias it more towards body weight movements instead of loading up on heavy deadlifts, squats etc, at your current body weight you have enough resistance to work with and there's a point where strong is strong enough and it might be smarter to work on conditioning with lower resistance

Donnielighto

pinkypinky wrote: »

Even taking it as a very loose guide, your BMI is high at 39 (healthy range is 18-25). Now that you're used to exercise, it's time to turn your attention to your diet.

Isn't bmi a very rough guide. Body and muscle and body fat are all ignored yeah?

newirishman

Donnielighto wrote: »

Isn't bmi a very rough guide. Body and muscle and body fat are all ignored yeah?

It (maybe) makes a difference if you look like a young Schwarzenegger.
If you are an average Joe (or Mary), BMI is pretty useful. keeping it under 25 is pretty much in all but very edge cases (Schwarzenegger) better for your health - in particular long term effects.

All that going on about fat vs muscle is a red herring.

pinkypinky

Yes, that's why I said as a loose guide.

You need to create a calorie deficit to lose weight. Perhaps post up some sample meals and we can give more targeted advice. In general, you want to eat all the food groups (unless there's an allergy) with lots of veg. Weigh your portions of carbs. Track what you're eating. It doesn't have to be an app but lots of people like My Fitness Pal. I just use a notebook. Drink lots of water. Limit junk food and alcohol.

Alf Veedersane

pinkypinky wrote: »

Weigh your portions of carbs.

Portions of anything.

1g carbs = 4 calories
1g protein = 4 calories
1g fat = 9 calories

Carbs are no worse than anything else. They contain calories like anything else.

I don't disagree with much of what you said but carbs are not bad. People don't put on weight because they eat carbs. They put on weight because they consume too many calories.

Transform

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Portions of anything.

1g carbs = 4 calories
1g protein = 4 calories
1g fat = 9 calories

Carbs are no worse than anything else. They contain calories like anything else.

I don't disagree with much of what you said but carbs are not bad. People don't put on weight because they eat carbs. They put on weight because they consume too many calories.

This so much ^^^

The reverse of this are the people that go low carb and still overeat.

What makes a food healthy or unhealthy is how much you eat of it and the food quality

Cake Man

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

People don't put on weight because they eat carbs. They put on weight because they consume too many calories.

This needs to be pinned up everywhere and framed. I know too many people who demonise carbs and automatically believe carbs=weight gain.

pinkypinky

To clarify, I was only saying "weigh carbs" because in my experience that's the thing that people massively underestimate. I'm not advocating a low carb diet.

bladespin

pinkypinky wrote: »

To clarify, I was only saying "weigh carbs" because in my experience that's the thing that people massively underestimate. I'm not advocating a low carb diet.

That's so true though, is is so easy to make a massive underestimate as well, typical examples are healthy carbs like granola, muesli etc, the serving size listed on the packet is often little more than a tablespoon, the serving in the bowl could easily be multiples of that.

Transform

pinkypinky wrote: »

To clarify, I was only saying "weigh carbs" because in my experience that's the thing that people massively underestimate. I'm not advocating a low carb diet.

True and not true.

5 foods that are NOT carb laden that ive noticed clients massively underestimate the calories -

1. Cheese
2. Crisps
3. Avocado (a fave ingredient for the vegan treat food brigade and then combined with chocolate from the gods and of course bind it with coconut oil etc)
4. Burgers and red meat in general
5. Nuts - see number 3

Id have included granola and muesli on that list also bladespin - very claorie dense

ThinkProgress

newirishman wrote: »

It (maybe) makes a difference if you look like a young Schwarzenegger.
If you are an average Joe (or Mary), BMI is pretty useful. keeping it under 25 is pretty much in all but very edge cases (Schwarzenegger) better for your health - in particular long term effects.

All that going on about fat vs muscle is a red herring.

BMI is useful for everyone. Even those with low BF and large muscle mass.

Schwarzenegger was not healthy when he was carrying all that large mass. People thought he was, just because he looked ripped and had low fat levels... but internally that large mass was wreaking havoc on his body.

We can see this now by his very poor health later in life. Drugs also no doubt played their part, but they were not the sole reason for his current state. Our bodies do not want to be large... it puts too much strain on our organs, particularly the heart.

bladespin

ThinkProgress wrote: »

BMI is useful for everyone. Even those with low BF and large muscle mass.

Our bodies do not want to be large... it puts too much strain on our organs, particularly the heart.

Our bodies don't really want to be fit either, we're predisposed to want to spend out life eating and having sex, not training or watching our diet. :P

BMI is ok as far as statistics go IMO, an average of averages etc, I won't disagree but there are plenty of other 'healthy' examples where it falls down, admittedly these would be at the more elite end of sports.

doherlisa

If you gained muscle and lost fat the scales weight my remain the same but you will see a clear difference in the mirror. Well done on your progress so far