Total Weight v Size

I was speaking to a client at one of my classes this week and she told me she was rather upset.  I asked her what was wrong and she told me that she'd just come from her weekly weigh in at her local slimming club and she had gained weight! 

She explained that she's been really good, eating healthily and going to the gym and classes regularly.  I asked her if her clothes were fitting better and she said that they were.  I explained to her that this meant that she was changing her body composition for the better and some of her body fat had been converted into muscle.



Because muscle is denser and therefore takes up less room compared to fat you can get two people who weigh exactly the same but one can look bigger due to more body fat and less muscle compared to the other who is carrying less fat and more muscle.

Of course because she was exercising more she gained more muscle and lost fat and therefore gained weight but was smaller.

Despite this explanation she was still upset as in a lot of these slimming clubs and in society in general I think we put too much emphasise on total body weight and not enough on body composition.

I've invited her to a 'Wellness Assessment' where I can let her know what her body composition is made up of, such as her body fat % and total muscle mass.

If there's a shift in moving from looking at total weight and moving over to body composition than I think there will be a lot more happier and healthier people out there.

Working Hours can Cause Weight gain in Middle-aged Women

According to a study published in the International Journal of Obesity, middle-aged women who worked for 35-49+ hours per week were more inclined to gain a greater amount of weight compared with those that were employed part time.

Researchers studied 9,276 women aged between 45-50 (6,108 of these were employed).  The researchers suggested that this age group were more prone to weight gain as they were less likely to spend time on healthy meal preparation and shopping and eat more convenience meals.  The report also claimed that they spent fewer hours exercising and sleeping, both of these are obesity risk factors.

The researchers concluded that as women work longer hours they are more likely to make unhealthy lifestyle choices that can lead to increased weight gain, such as bad eating habits, not exercising regularly and not sleeping enough. Government policies should be put in place to help inform the population of this health concern and support women who work long hours to make healthier lifestyle choices, which will help lead to more positive results.

Enjoy your Journey to Fitness not just the Destination

We live in an increasingly demanding world where everything seems to be instant and everything and anything can be achieved in next to no time.

It's human nature to want to find the shortcuts in anything to make our lives easier or reduce the amount of labour or time it takes to do a task.

However as our activity levels seems to reduce thanks to labour saving devices and our food intake increases thanks to bigger portion sizes and higher energy dense foods, the balance of energy in and energy out is becoming disrupted so much so that the country's body size is getting bigger every year!

I see a lot of people choosing 'diets' to help lose weight quickly, only to discover that once finishing their 'diet' they start to increase size again. In the end they find themselves heavier than when they first started and then they go on yet another 'diet' to try and fix the damage and the cycle repeats itself once again.

However it hit me the other day that why can't we enjoy the journey of getting fitter rather than focusing on the final destination?  If we break the journey down into 'bite size' pieces and begin by getting more active such as joining the gym or a running club, start enjoying the social side of this and enjoy how our body starts to feel stronger, fitter with more energy.

These new behaviours are for the rest of our lives and not just for short term.  The only 'diet' anyone should be on unless you have some serious medical condition is eating a wide range of food from all of the major food groups regularly and in the right portion sizes.

It may sound boring but just eating healthier and cutting down on the high sugary/fat foods and moving more so there's less energy going in and more going out, then your body composition will start to change for the better.

This will take longer but the chances are you will lose body fat and have a better chance of keeping it off for good.

Think of The Hare and The Tortoise and remember who won the race in the end.

If you start to enjoy the journey to fitness then you will eventually arrive at your destination rather then it always being just out of reach.