Weight is not everything to be healthy
The objective of this post is to break with many beliefs and emphasize that the importance does not fall exclusively on weight, nor will it be the only indicator to assess a process of change in eating habits and a healthy lifestyle.
By LEFNY DÍAZ
When it comes to losing weight, on many occasions we only look at kilograms or the Body Mass Index, without taking into account any other factor or our own health. Weight loss has to be done in a balanced and progressive way and it is very important to pay attention to how the percentage of body fat evolves, since being “thin” does not imply having a healthy fat percentage. The word diet comes from the Greek “diaita”, which means lifestyle. Therefore, the word diet is not associated with or synonymous with losing weight or losing weight, although it is something that many of us always think. It is simply a healthy and balanced lifestyle.
In the event that your goal of changing your habits is to lose weight, I remind you of the following: weight is not a 100% reliable indicator. Our body weight is the sum of all the tissues of the body and is considered a traditional anthropometric measure along with height.
What is it made of?
- Fat mass (%)Lean mass or fat-free mass (kg).
- Visceral proteins (kg).
- Intracellular water and extracellular water (%).
- Bone tissue (kg).
Note: The percentages in the composition of each element may vary according to sex, age, level of physical activity, type of diet and in certain diseases (for example: lipedema).
What is body mass index (BMI)?
It is a widely accepted criterion but it is not exact. It classifies people as underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obesity, based exclusively on the individual’s mass and height. This criterion would not take into account age, sex, percentage of body fat or muscle mass. Therefore, the weight is a guide measure.
Difference between muscle mass and fat mass.
1- Volume:
The space that fat occupies is much greater than that occupied by a muscle. This is because the density of fat is lower (it weighs less than muscle), so two people with the same height can weigh the same, however, two totally different volumes can be seen.
2- Energy required:
Muscle mass is metabolically more active than fat. That is, while the body is at rest, the muscles can burn more calories per day than body fat.
3- Gain or increase in the body:
The muscle reacts when performing physical activities that generate a daily tension greater than usual. Instead, fat increases when more calories are consumed than the body can process.
“If body weight is still a very important indicator for you and is one of the main reasons to carry out a change in your eating habits, I want to help you understand the following: a weight does not determine your achievements or change process in addition to body composition, there are other factors that can influence weight making it have even less prominence.”
What factors can weight depend on?
- Presence of inflammation due to digestive problems or food intolerances among others.
- Phase of the menstrual cycle (luteal, pre-menstrual, menstruation, ovulation).
- Practice or not of physical activity.
- Stress management
Many times it happens that poor stress management or the lack of resources to manage and tolerate high levels of stress, lead to the inappropriate use of food as a tool to mitigate this stress, causing compulsive or very disorderly eating and consequently, a unwanted weight gain. - Taking or presence of drugs.
Aspects that really do determine a process of change:
- Average of fat
Although the bioimpedance scale can give us an estimate of the fat percentage, the results may also be altered (alcohol consumption, menstrual cycle, pathologies such as lipedema…). To make a more accurate estimate, skinfold anthropometry can be done. - Anthropometric measurements and contours.
Although they are much more reliable measures than weight, in some cases they may not be very representative (food intolerances, heavy digestions, menstrual cycle). - It has reduced your food cravings and you have better stress management.
- You are less sedentary and you practice sports as a way to disconnect and improve your health and not with the sole objective of losing weight.
It is not about a diet, but about a nutritional re-education.
KNOWING HOW TO EAT IS KNOWING HOW TO LIVE!
