Two Out of Three

Two Out of Three

Firstly, if you don't own Meatloaf's Bat out of Hell album, what is wrong with you?

Secondly, how do you know that you’re healthy? What's the right thing to measure yourself by, your Body Mass Index (BMI), body fat percentage, or waist to hip ratio?


Thirdly, why would anyone want to put their health down to a number? Unless it's the number 42, but surely people know whether they feel healthy or not?
 

Body Mass Index (BMI)
 

Body Mass Index (BMI) is way of seeing whether your weight is appropriate for your height. It's quite favoured by the medical professionals GP's and the like, to let you know whether your fat or not. According to my BMI, even though I've lost 5 stone I'm still now overweight rather than being borderline morbidly obese. It recommends that I lose another 20Kg or 2 stone to be healthy. Which when I look at myself I'm not too sure where this would come off from, there's a bit of fat left on my stomach & arms which I'd like to get rid of but I don't think there's 20Kgs of it...maybe there is who knows.

Personally, I don't like the BMI as we all know muscle is leaner & more dense than fat, therefore all of our favourite sports starts would epically fail on this measuring scale & like the rest of us told to lose some weight.

To check your BMI if you want to click here: http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Healthyweightcalculator.aspx

 

Body Fat Percentage

Is a little trickier to calculate, unless you have a pair of callipers, which I wish I had.

I sometimes used the weight machines in Boots or at the Gym where is does measure your BMI but also your body fat but sending an extremely small electrical current though your body to measure the fat, whether this works or not I have no idea. Last time I used one of these machines was 2 months ago, where my body fat percentage was 30%.

Also there are measurement systems online where you just need a tape measure here's a link to one: http://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/bodyfat from using this link my body fat percentage now is 27%. It is possible that I've lost 3% in the last two months, with the weight resistance training I'm doing. So with my body fat being at 27% this means for a woman, my age, my body fat percentage is average, however I am working on getting this to the ideal section.

Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR)

 
The waist to hip ratio is an indicator to see whether you’re an apple or pear/hourglass body shape. As people who are more apple shape & carry more fat around their abdomen are more likely to develop heart disease. To calculate your waist to hip ratio you measure you waist & hips in inches & divide. It's simple maths that even I can do it, but here's a link to make it easier: http://www.virginactive.co.uk/active-matters/tools/waist-hip-ratio

Men with a WHR of 0.95 and women who have a WHR of 0.85 or less are in good health and are more likely to be hourglass or pear shaped, however, if your WHR is above this it means you should probably lose some weight due to the risk to your heart.

My WHR is 0.76 which is good; if I did this 3 years ago I think it would have told a different story.

Basically, above is a load of numbers, charts & calculations that are used to figure out whether a person is healthy or not. Now, I personally don't think you should go by just one measuring system, which is why I have demonstrated the 3 above. From these I'm good, average & overweight; which is why I say two out of three ain't bad.

 

A lot of slimming groups will only use one measuring scale usually the BMI, I personally don't like this as I'm currently trying to build muscle & reduce my body fat this scale works against me as muscle weigh's more than fat anyway. Plus by only using one scale I don't think you can get a clear picture of your body. You may find that you have a good WHR but would like to lose more body fat so then you can look into exercise & food changes that could help you achieve this goal. But also don't forget that it also matters what you feel on the inside as a person, as only you will know in yourself whether something is wrong physically or whether new foods/exercise or whatever it is in your life doesn't agree with you. This will be an indication of whether you’re healthy or not...not a load of numbers.

 

 

P.S Sorry for not posting anything sooner, I've been super busy with one thing & another, but will to continue to post regularly as possible. Peace & Love x

 

 

 

Fat Fighters

"Half-The-Calorie Diet' so you can have twice as much"


                                        
"Hello Fatties" 

When you think of joining a slimming club, you think of Majorie Dawes ("I just love a bit of cake, yeah") but honestly it's not that bad, you're with people who want the same goal as you, to lose weight.
I had completed my first step and joined Slimming World. When I joined I was 17 stone and half a pound (238lbs - 108Kgs) & I'm 5ft 6in (167cm) tall, so according to my body mass index (BMI) was obese, if I was 6.5lbs heavier I would have been classed as morbidly obese, I look back now & I'm glad I started when I did, who knows what would of happened too me?
Dust? Anyone? No?

I used Slimming World for about 18 months I was using their extra easy plan, which was extra easy to follow; you have super free & free foods which you can eat in abundance and healthy options A & B you pick one of each a day & you had 15 syns a day to be naughty if you wanted to use them. The recipes online & in the magazine are really tasty & get people back in the kitchen & cooking using fresh ingredients, that makes loads of dinners & I took the leftovers for lunch at work the next day. It also encourages you to keep a food diary so you know what you've eaten. I never stayed for the actual group as I got back home from work late, if I had stayed at the group it wouldn't have been 9pm before I had any dinner, so I'm not sure what they do at group (it could be a cult, for all I know!?)

I've never tried Weight Watchers or Rosemary Connolly so I'm not sure how they compare. For me Slimming World felt like the right platform for weight loss, it was simple & easy to follow, and it helped me gain control of what I was eating & the portion size of what I was eating & re-educated me about what I was putting in my body & I was enjoying all these fresh fruit & vegetables. I've never been so full in my life, that first week I was on slimming world I thought I would burst, before I started the plan I had cut my meals down in size in an attempt to lose weight, I now know that this is considered an extremely bad move, as it slows your metabolism down & mine is slow enough as it is! I would definitely recommend Slimming World to anyone who wants to loose weight as a starting platform. 

Towards the end of my time on Slimming World, I had lost about 3 stone (19Kgs) my weight loss had started to plateau & I wasn't seeing the results I wanted when I had been good with food all week, and been to the gym 3-4 times a week, so it was time for a change, I saw that by this point that Slimming World would no longer help me to achieve my goals & that it was just making me loose pounds in my bank account. It was time for something more dynamic...