It's an interesting question-- and one that I rarely, if ever, hear. Don't confuse it with "Do I look fat in this?"-- a question that has no successful answer and always reminds me of "Taste this milk. I think it's spoiled." No one ever asks me if they are fat. But many people do ask themselves that question, and on a very regular basis.
I live in a city that is very image-, fitness- and weight-oriented. When people don't believe me, I tell them to go into any restaurant, sit down at a table and eavesdrop on the table next to you. Within 10 minutes, the folks at the table will discuss a) the new diet plan they are on, and/or b) the new workout they are doing that is "the best ever!"
But in the midst of all this focus, many people still ask themselves, "Am I fat?" Usually, their answer is discouraging: Yes, I should lose weight. How much weight? Well, that's where it gets tricky.
How do you know how much weight you should lose?
There is a formula called the Body Mass Index (BMI) that was developed to help you with that problem. The BMI is the ratio of your weight to height. If your BMI is over 25, then you are overweight and possibly obese. One catch: There is nothing in this formula that determines if the weight is muscle or fat. For example, I am 6'2" and 200 lb. My BMI is almost 26, so according to that measurement, I am overweight. With all due respect, that isn't the case. I happen to be muscular (it would be just silly if the Fitness Guru wasn't at least slightly muscular). I have had problems with insurance companies in the past who would give me a policy because of my BMI. Many professional athletes register as obese because of their high muscle-to-fat ratio.
So, is the answer body composition?
There are several ways to find out your body fat percentage:
- Fat calipers: These are the little pincher things that many personal trainers use on new clients. These can be effective, but it really depends on the precision of the person taking the reading. If they are a little off, it could result in a higher body fat percentage calculation.
Once again, I am the "dark cloud of doubt"...
What's left? Your jeans. We all have that pair of jeans that we fit into comfortably. Not the skinny ones that we pray we fit into -- the comfortable ones that feel good without being constricting. For me, it's Banana Republic, 33 waist. If those get tight, I know I have fallen off the wagon. If they are ridiculously loose, I'll take a look at how I am eating and training and make the appropriate adjustments.
Truth of the matter is that if you exercise and eat right, the weight will come off. I have one client, let's call him Ed, who exercised like a crazy man for months but just couldn't take off the weight. I finally convinced him to take a good long look at how he was eating and -- miracle of miracles -- the weight started coming off easily. It's really not rocket science and there is no silver bullet. Sometimes there are medical reasons for extra weight -- if that's the case, find a doctor that can help you -- but, for the most part, as New Yorkers, we eat poorly, on the go, and get very little rest -- all things that can add up to extra pounds. Take a healthy pause, focus your energies on your health and well-being, and your weight will balance out to a nice healthy place.
Have you found a way to balance out your health and well being in this go-go city? I want to know about it! Shoot me an email at michael@fitnessgurunyc.com. And join us on Facebook for daily tips, motivation, ideas and reminders.
Rock on!