Step Off The Scale, Sis. Body Fat Percentage Is The Metric You Need To Be Looking At.
One of the best lessons from my own transformation journey has been to focus on my body composition, NOT my scale weight.
Why?
Our culture can be hyper-obsessive about the number on the scale when reality all that does is measure total mass. Yes, it is important to track that over time and to make sure that number is maintaining (if you are where you want to be) or tracking in the right direction week over week (if you are wanting to make changes).
The scale does not share the breakdown of where the body fat is located, which can have different health implications. For example, excess body fat around the midsection has been linked to heart disease. And the scale does not calculate body composition, allowing for an assessment of factors like water weight, muscle mass and skeletal mass.
Body composition, in contrast, is an extremely beneficial and insightful to track. Because two people can be the same height and same weight but have different body composition, this is an insight into why it is important to know and track yours.
By Measuring Your Body Fat Percentage You Can Correlate Your Numbers To Your Health Goals.
If you are focused on “losing weight”, what you really want to focus on is losing fat. Many people who “diet” to lose weight end up losing more muscle and not as much fat, which is not ideal.
As opposed to looking at total body weight, knowing whether you are losing muscle or fat or both will help you determine the best approach for you. Conversely, if you want to build more muscle, focusing on your percent muscle mass over time will help you understand if your method is taking you closer to that goal.
Increasing lean muscle mass and decreasing fat mass will keep you in line for best health outcomes. Lower body fat is important for healthy aging and reduced risk of disease. Assessing body composition will help you determine the best approach for you.
Body Composition Analysis: How Do You Measure Body Fat Percentage?
There are different ways to measure your body composition, including but not limited to skinfold measurements, bioelectrical impedance (sounds scary but it’s not), hydrostatic weighing and the DEXA scan.
Each method has pros and cons so accessibility, affordability and comfort level can be your determining factors. I have tried all four of these methods personally and regularly track my body composition according to my goals.
A word of caution: even if your home scale says it tracks body fat percentage, get yours professionally tested. I trusted my home scale for over a year until someone told me that it could be off by 5% or more. When I got it professionally tested, it was actually off by 17%!
Ultimately a health journey is tracked by body composition, not scale weight. Body composition will help you better understand the makeup of your body, allowing you to make adjustments and take actions that will help you become the healthiest version of you!
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