Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Body Fat Percentages ~ How much is too much?


I have had several clients ask me if they are "skinny fat" after reading my article, (click here if you haven't read it) so I thought I would write about what is a normal body fat percentage and how much is too much either way?
A "healthy skinny" body fat percentage is between 14-22% for women. About 18% is low enough to be skinny, but high enough to be healthy.
Skinny Fat people typically have a normal BMI (body mass index), but lack Lean Body Mass (bone density and muscle mass). This is common in both men and women believe it or not.
Women tend to achieve this look by a low calorie diet and do lots of cardio, but do not implement weight/strength training. They eat processed foods high in sugars, fats & carbs, skip meals, and some may even consume large amounts of alcohol.
The issue of being skinny fat is not necessarily about the extra fat, but the lack of lean muscle on your frame.
People that are genetically thin are also at a higher risk due to the fact they don't watch their diets, so the tend to eat much more junk food because they don't gain weight. Huge mistake!
This problem leads to the dangers of what lies "inside" the body..... FAT!
Fat that is accumulating around your internal organs, and causing more damage than even those people that are considered slightly overweight, or that may have a higher BMI, but are active.
So what's the big deal with skinny fat? Although you may look great in your clothes, when the clothes come off, you may not look so hot! You want to be lean with muscle tone, there's nothing worse that being just skinny! That's just not healthy~here's why:
The fat that is building around your internal organs can lead to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, it can also contribute to issues including high blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides and blood sugar, and even heart disease.
If you’re thick around the middle, your chances increase for having high blood pressure and cholesterol or having excess fat deposits around your organs.
A body fat percentage above 25% indicates that you’re carrying an excess of body fat and need to lower your number, now!
How much is too low? Having a body fat percentage below 10-12% is considered dangerous for women and can cause long term harm to your hormonal function and ability to maintain bone density (which can lead to Osteoporosis later life).
However, if you are getting ready for a competition, your will be running a body fat around 8-12% depending on the competition; figure is less, bikini is a little more. Those competition numbers are not a number that you will be at normally. You have a competition/in-season percentage, and an off-season percentage.
I just had my body fat percentage professionally taken this weekend. I am at 18% and I want to be closer to 14-15%, to "see more" and just in case I decide to compete!...lol :-) This will entail tweaking of my carb intake to a lower number, and adding even more protein.
9/18/2012 Update:
4 months after writing this blog, my body fat is now at 16%, my weight has remained the same.

Whole/Sprouted Bread vs. White Bread


This one is for all of you white bread lovers! Do you ever wonder what is the big difference in white bread vs whole grain or sprouted bread? There is a big difference, and here it is:

White bread is made with highly refined grains, meaning much of the outer coating of the wheat kernel has been removed stripping it of its nutrients and fiber. After they have stripped everything good from the grain, they have to add something “good” for you back in, which is where the term “enriched” comes from that you will see on the majority of labels. This process started during World War II, an effort to make the bread healthy. What they add back in are- 4 B vitamins; Niacin, Riboflavin, Thiamine, Folic Acid and Iron. Funny, they have added back in the vitamins that they took out during the stripping process!
Now let’s talk about the bleaching process…What is it and what does it do? It's called Chlorine and it does two things; First, it bleaches, that is, it destroys the yellowish pigments in the flour that makes the pure white flour. This yellowish pigment that is destroyed is actually carotene, which your body converts into vitamin A. Second, it matures the flour by reacting with the gluten. The chlorinated flour makes a more elastic dough, better able to hold the carbon dioxide produced by the yeast.
White bread also lacks in fiber, and without fiber, your body digests the bread quickly, causing your blood sugar levels to spike even more so than the whole grains or sprouted grains. These too cause your levels to rise, but on a much slower scale. After eating white bread and having your sugar levels rise quickly, you become hungry sooner and may end up craving more carbohydrates, along with the fact that you are getting absolutely no nutritional value from white bread. Another interesting fact is that many white breads and even whole wheat breads contain added sugars, including high fructose corn syrup, and extra added ingredient used to make it taste great, but is absolutely not needed in your diet!
Bread made with 100 percent whole wheat flour has more naturally occurring B vitamins and fiber than highly refined white bread. Sprouted grain varieties, contain greater amounts of muscle-supporting protein, something our "white" counterpart does not provide.
Sprouted grains have active enzymes that are beneficial for helping the digestion of the seeds and nuts in the digestive tract, this is why many people that have an intolerance to wheat bread can eat spouted grain breads without a problem. Sprouted breads are found in the frozen/refrigerator section for a reason. The reason is they are referred to as a "live" food because the seed is first sprouted, making it “alive” and active in its growth process. They have live active enzymes and the fats in this whole grain bread make it more likely to become moldy if kept at room temperature.
Remember too, that packaging labels can be misleading! Just because it says whole wheat, doesn’t mean its whole wheat. You need to read the label to make sure it does not read “enriched”, this is the process referred to earlier. This type of labeling is very misleading, and should not be allowed. If you do not know what you are looking for, you can be fooled by their whole wheat labeling scams. Your labels should be simple with whole grains, sprouted grains, nuts & seeds. Molasses, honey and cane sugars are great alternatives to sugar and high fructose corn syrup. You can find spouted tortillas, english muffins and bagels too!
Another note, if you feel you are Gluten intolerant, get checked! This is a blood test that checks you for Celiac disease. As I mentioned earlier some people think they are intolerant to all wheats, and go to a gluten free diet when they could easily implement sprouted grains into their diet.
I just did an essay on gluten intolerance, again the labels say "gluten free" so people assume these products are good for you, and some of them are not! That is another blog!

Growing Old-Move it or Lose it!

 
Growing Old-Move it or Lose it!
I'm writing this blog because of a recent trip to a retirement community. I walked down hallways filled with elderly people, and I wondered about their lives. What was their life like? If they could, would they change the way the had lived? I was amazed, and realized no matter what their past was like, they were all here, and they all had a story.
As we age, our bodies degenerate. It typically starts around our mid 30's when our muscle mass starts to deteriorate, making us look, well, flabby. Not to mention the loss of strength that happens during this process. Can we stop the aging process? No, but we can slow it down. We must "move it or lose it." We must use the muscles, or they will become weak. This is called muscle atrophy. Between our 50th and 70th birthdays, we will lose nearly 30% of our body strength. By the time we reach our 80's we will have lost a total of nearly 60% body strength.
What can we do to slow this aging process? The answer is simple: walk. Walking is a weight bearing exercise and is a great start for muscle retention. Other weight bearing exercises can be incorporated such as: jogging, tennis, climbing stairs, dancing and weight lifting. It is vital that the earlier you start these exercises the better armed you will be going into the "golden years" with less risk of bone density problems. Because endorphins are released when we exercise, you will have more energy and will feel euphoric, a great added bonus! You will also have more energy and sleep better.
It is also imperative that we do not smoke. We need to eat healthy, whole foods. We need to drink alcohol in moderation, or not at all. Drinking alcohol and smoking will only speed up the aging process by damaging cells and tissues. Unfortunately, the damaged cells are not reproduced. Smoking, unhealthy eating, and drinking alcohol results in wrinkles, yellow hair, and yellow teeth. It also damages the inside of your body. It causes emphysema, cancers and tumors.
It irritates me when people come into they gym and say, "I'm too old to join." You are never too old to exercise, maybe just too lazy! If you still think your too old read on.
No matter your age, your muscles and skeletal system will respond to exercise. Your skeletal system needs the calcium to increase density and strength that is produced by osteoblasts during exercise. Calcium increases bone density, and when you are not active, this process slows down. When you do not exercise, calcium is not delivered to the bones and therefore your bones become weak and brittle. Exercise also strengthens your tissues and your muscles. Strong tissues protect your muscles; strong muscles protect you from falling.
20-30% of falls are moderate to severe. Falls can cause debilitating fractures; and, in some cases, early death.
My most active client is 65. Everyday he walks at a brisk pace for no less than 30 minutes, and then will do free weights for another 30-40 minutes. I have clients well into their 70's. If that's not motivation, I don't know what is!
How we treat our bodies today will have a tremendous affect on how we age. We may not see those results now, but I guarantee that some of the people at the retirement community would change the way they treated their bodies.
Your body is a temple. You are given one chance, treat it with respect.
 

Let's Do This!

I have been watching (and learning) while Karrina has transformed her body for her competition that is coming up in two weeks, on September 08. We were fortunate to find Scott Keppel for this journey. Scott is known for his competition hard- bodies. He has truly worked his magic with Karrina's diet and workout plan. Since starting with Scott in June, Karrina has gone from 116 lbs, 19% body fat to 116 lbs, 14.5% body fat. He is hoping to have her at 13% by show time. This just proves that you can't judge your results by a scale.
In June I wrote that I wanted to begin my transition from 18% body fat to a percentage that would be more in the competition range, and promised to keep you posted.
I have been eating clean whole foods 98% of the time, working out 5 days per week and have lost some body fat since then. I haven't had Scott measure me to get the true number, but I can tell by the way my clothes fit that I have lost some. Still not seeing the results I want, so as of today, it's official, I too have hired Scott to work his magic on me. Starting today I have a new workout and meal plan that Scott has made for my fitness goals. Our goal is; lift and firm the glutes, a slight increase in bi and glutes, as well as filling out my upper back. I will also see a reduction in my abs which will be body fat. The goal is to have me come in between 13-15% body fat, with my weight staying close to the same.
Let's do this!