Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Body fat is an indication of our overall health

These are just some of the posts I've found on nytimes that are very interesting.

Over the years I have struggled with my weight. As a child I never had a problem with my weight and even into my teen years. My mom’s side of the family was a bit on the large size. I thought I had this weight thing beat. Even after I had my daughter I lost all of my baby weight. I felt like I was doing well. About seven years ago my weight started to change. It started to increase, but I still had that mindset that I had this under control. I was wrong. In 2011 I became obsessed with working out. I was doing combat fitness at least two times a day with private training lessons on my lunch breaks. I had lost 35 pounds in less than four months. I have used body fat calculator and it worked.

My doctor told me that was too much and to slow down. My weight continues to fluctuate and there are days that it does get me down. I know there is no magic pill or magic remedy that will make me lose. It comes down to eating right and exercising. But why is this so difficult to do?

Doesn’t everyone want to be healthy? In the discussion of Human Natures Perspectives, Ethics in Human Communication (2008), the philosopher Kai Nielson states “We often ‘yearn’ for what not is good. (p.35)” Is this why it is so difficult to lose weight? I know what I need to do to lose weight and feel better, but why is it so hard?

Coming from someone who has never had a major weight problem, I can say I would have never looked twice at your weight numbers on paper. I would not have been the slightest interested. Although, I agree that was an invasion of your privacy. I am now 64 and have to eat half what I used to to be able to button my jeans. I do weigh every day. That is the only way I can tell over time if I am off course. Far better to track a few pounds each way than wake up 6 months from now 5 - 10 pounds over what I should be. I weigh around 110 so that is a lot for me. Weighing everyday is good because you become desensitized to numbers. For me, it's only a general guide.

I understand the need to want to abandon the obsession with the scale but as a nutrition and health professional, regular weigh-ins are useful in the prevention of a large weight gain. Isn't it better to know when you are up a few pounds and try to get that regulated vs 10 lbs or more? Yes, weight is just one tool that is used to evaluate body composition. Using BMI, percent body fat, waist circumference in combination are important tools used to assess and predict risk of chronic disease. It's not just about what you look like in the mirror.

Someone who is logging and journaling food and beverages on a regular basis is most likely weighing themselves on a regular basis, as well. True, the research says that in addition to regular weighing, keeping a regular food journal will increase your success at reaching and maintaining a healthy weight. There are ways to do both without making ourselves crazy, nothing is easy but it is possible!

Our society's obsession with being ultra thin and having model looks is another discussion altogether.

I recently lost 35 pounds due to a change in a medication i was taking. i'd been taking the medication for 17 years and was 40 pounds overweight throughout. i tried and tried, but i simply could not lose more than 3 or 4 pounds while on the medication. when i switched doctors, and my new doctor told me that i shouldn't be on this medication, saying that it wasn't good for long-term use, presto, the weight dropped as if by magic. now i am a healthy weight for my height. i cringe at the thought of all of the people who may have been thinking that i was "in denial" or "sad" or a "pig" or worse.

No comments: