What You Need To Know About Body Fat For Health
The role played by body fat in health is critical. Understand more about it and get fit for life!
After a long pause, I’m very excited about being back to activity. It’s time to start burning this body fat and get fit again.
On the days that I stayed home last week, I kept with my 10 minutes of light cardio before breakfast. Believe it or not, the fact that I was able to stay consistent about it is already a victory for me. I’m now trying some workout videos too, and it has awesome. I’ll surely share more about it soon.
The positive side of coming back with such a distance to cover is that things go faster in the beginning. The first kilos (or pounds) go away after just a couple changes. I know from experience that things will go harder afterward. But for now, I’m enjoying the quick wins.
On September 19th, 2015, my boyfriend and I celebrated 14 years together. Isn’t it awesome?!? It wasn’t 14 days, 14 weeks or 14 months, but 14 YEARS. We learned so much from each other throughout this time. And I am blessed for being with someone who has the same (fitness) goals and lifestyle as I do.
The role played by body fat in health is critical. #Fitness #HolisticHealth Click To TweetJohan knows I’m working my way back to fitness and to help me out; he gave me a great scale from Withings. We had another one for years, but we knew that it was good only for the weight itself. All the other stats were quite off.
With the new one, the difference is quite visible. Instead of the 33% body fat estimated last week, it shot me a 25.5% this morning. If you look at my pictures, you will notice that it makes much more sense.
Read also these posts about weight loss:
- How To Lose Weight In A Healthy Way With A Holistic Approach
- How To Gain Muscle Mass And Lose Weight With Practical Tips
- Take Your Intake Seriously To Boost Your Health
Why is the body fat so important?
While we see people only focused on their weight, its quality is by far more important. There are so many factors that can contribute to body fat, water retention for example. And looking thin and weighing little doesn’t necessary mean being healthy.
If you go from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one that includes strength training, you may even experience some increase in body weight. Why is that? It’s because muscle ‘weights’ more than fat. As you will be getting rid of fat and building qualitative muscle mass, take it as a positive side effect.
It’s true that if you weight little, chances are your body fat is within an acceptable level. But let’s not forget those frequently called “skinny fat.” I spent most of my life in this group, and I can tell you, healthy was surely not an appropriate way to describe me.
The risks of having too much body fat are:
- increases the risk of many diseases, including type 2 diabetes
- high blood pressure
- stroke
- heart disease
- certain cancers.
How do you measure body fat?
I hope I got your curious about your body fat percentage now.
Waist Circumference
When I started measuring my body fat percentage back in the day, I used this online form. It’s based on standards that may or not be applied to you. But it’s very easy and if your measure is always done by the same person, the same way, you can get quite close results.
Some years ago, this simple test was also introduced in Japan as part of their standard medical evaluation.
Bioelectrical Impedance
Through the resistance of body tissues to the flow of small electrical signals, it’s possible to predict the body fat percentage of a person.
This method is very accessible and with a little margin of error. The most significant disadvantage is for athletes since it over-predicts body fat in lean bodies. This error is minimized when the “athlete mode” is available.
Calipers
You need another pair of hands to help you get measurements with a caliper.
While it’s more precise than only measuring the waist and bioelectrical impedance, it also has constraints.
For more information on body fat, make sure you check the site Shape Up America!. It contains lots of useful information.
Clothes
That’s is surely the most rewarding method to evaluate your body fat percentage. Remember that pair of jeans you don’t fit anymore? Or that dress that doesn’t feel comfortable since some months ago?
Well, from the moment you start losing body fat (even if the scale is going up), you will notice a significant change in the way your clothes fit you.
To spice up my changes, I even got some slightly tight clothes last week. I want to fit perfect in them before winter. What better motivation can I get?
What do you have to do to decrease body fat?
I am sure that you already know the drill very well, but it’s never too much to recommend you consult a health care provider before starting any physical activity or dietary regimen.
Training
Once cleared, a fantastic way is to substitute the traditional cardio for an HIIT (high-intensity interval training). They are shorter and intense. Your heart rate will be higher than if you were doing a long (and boring) walk on the treadmill. Besides, you will put your muscles to work as well.
If you have never done one these, do an Internet search, and I’m sure you’ll find tons of inspiration.
Decrease your body fat percentage with exercising and nutrition. #HolisticHealth #fitness Click To TweetNutrition
Without freaking out about intake, make note of what you have been eating lately. Switch ingredients to healthier alternatives.
Remember that your food doesn’t have to be dull to be delicious. With a little creativity, you can make incredible dishes that your body will love.
Have you ever measured your body fat for health?
For more Fitness tips read also:
- What You Need To Know About Workout Plans
- Alternative Workouts
- 10 Fabulous Running Tips for Beginners (guest blogging at Run With No Regrets)
Please check the list of link parties I join here.
Be Healthy and Live Fully.
