So read on to understand how food and movement affect our body and what we can do about it.
What is weight made up of?
Our bodies are complex systems comprised of lean mass and fat mass. Lean mass makes up about 60-90% of our weight (muscle, organs, bone). Adipose or body fat makes up the other 10-40% of a typical human body.
Adipose / body fat is essential and non-negotiable for hormone production and nutrient utilization. The body has a minimum amount of body fat it must maintain for survival. When that level gets low, the body takes energy from our lean mass – muscle, organs, and bones. |
Weight isn’t as clear as it seems…
Fun fact #1 – We are over 65% water.
Depending on our hydration status, the number we see on the scale changes a lot. Sweat is not your fat crying – it’s how your body cools itself. Yes, you will see your weight go down after sweating. But once you rehydrate, your weight will go back to normal. Fun fact #3 – Our weight changes 3-10 lbs in ONE day.
Food and drinks have weight associated to them. That can change the number you see on the scale. Waste (urine and fecal matter) also has weight. Changing these variables does not mean your fat mass has changed. Weighing yourself multiple times a day will show you how what you put in vs out changes but it serves no evaluative purpose. |
Fun fact #2 – 1 gram of glycogen (the way our body stores glucose) stores 3 grams of water.
When you deplete your glycogen stores (by starving, not eating carbohydrate, or doing a crazy athletic event), your weight may change greatly. That’s not because you lost body fat but because you’re malnourished… Fun fact #4 – There is no such thing as an accurate weight.
Despite our best efforts, “weight” is not a precise science. Most people get a different reading on every scale they step on – this is because 1.) scales aren’t perfect 2.) clothes change weight 3.) hydration changes weight and 4.) food changes weight. |
Fun fact #5 – It’s very difficult to figure out how much fat you have on your body.
The most accurate ways to determine your body fat percentage are using a dxa scan, imaging such as CT / MRI, and water/air displacement. These are hard to find and costly. More readily available measures such as skin calipers / skinfold measures, bioelectrical impedance, and body circumference are inexpensive but are not 100% accurate. |
How does weight loss work?
So for example, if your body needs 2000 calories per day and you only eat 1500. The theory is that your body will use 500 calories of body fat each day. The theory goes on to state that there are 3500 calories in 1 lb of body fat. SO if you create a 500 calorie deficit per day by eating less and/or moving more, you’ll lose 1 lb per week.
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But isn’t there a weight that I am “supposed” to be?
In response to severe and / or prolonged starvation, a body will…
- increase appetite
- reduce available energy (so you feel exhausted and want to move less, hello depression)
- reduce the metabolic rate
- increase fat storage
- change food preferences (crave more sugar and fat)
- increase mental focus on food and weight (hello anxiety)
- reduce desire for reproduction (hello isolation and zero sex drive)
- reduce energy spent on other health services such as immunity
And here’s the thing. The first time we restrict food (aka, starve), the body cooperates. But the more we try to starve, the better the body becomes at fighting it and subsequently the more weight you gain.
Just because you achieved a specific weight in the past, does not mean you can (or should) return to this weight again.
Additionally, you cannot tell if someone’s body is being starved by looking at them. I have many clients in bigger bodies trying to eat fewer calories than a 30 lb toddler.
Instead, we have to consider the definition of a healthy weight from a behavioral perspective.
So what am I supposed to do?
- Fuel the body
- Move the body
- Manage mental and emotional health
Our bodies want balanced, consistent fuel (carbs, protein, and fat). They also want to move regularly (but not too much). #3 can make it hard to achieve #1 and #2 consistently. In order to find a healthy weight, your body and mind need to work together. One is not more important than the other. If you have significant emotional stress you need to cope with that stress and often food if how we cope. If you take that away in an effort to be “healthy” – what’s left?
What’s right for your body and mind may not work for someone else (and vice versa). We need to find a place with our behaviors that works for where we are, right now.
Am I balanced?
- Have you routinely eaten beyond your comfortable fullness level?
- Do you routinely overeat when you’re getting ready for your next diet?
- Do you overeat as a coping mechanism in difficult times or when you’re bored?
- Do you only exercise when you are dieting?
- Are you resistant to exercise?
- Do you skip meals?
- Do you wait to eat until you’re ravenous?
- Do you feel guilty either when you overeating or when you eat a “bad food” which results in more overeating?
Here are some additional questions I consider in counseling and helping clients find a healthy path:
- How often do you ignore your hunger?
- Can you recognize mild, moderate, and significant hunger and fullness?
- What percentage of your time do you spend thinking about food?
- How do your friends, family, and social circle live?
- Does eating an “unhealthy” food make you anxious?
- Do you try to “make up for” foods you’re “not supposed to have?” (eg, exercise more, eat less)
- Do you avoid social events that may cause you to deviate from your plan?
- Do you physically, emotionally, and socially enjoy the food that you eat?
- How do you feel physically (and emotionally) after you eat?
- Do you feel out of control around certain foods?
- Do you use social situations as an excuse to over or under eat?
- How often do you eat with distractions (tv, phone, computer, books)?
- Do you feel “full” but still want more / different food?
- How much sleep do you get each night? What is the quality of sleep?
- What is your level of stress and how do you manage it?
- How much physical and emotional energy do you have to invest in change?
The moral of the story. . .
We are all different. We have different bodies, lives, and purpose. Finding a healthy life is about balancing your physical, emotional, and social needs. The balance that works for one may not work for another. We have to look in before we look out.
Consider dogs – different sizes, shapes, and purpose. Each one with a value all its own. Would you starve a mastiff into a poodle?! So why are we trying to do that with humans? |
Stay nourished friends!
a small nugget of research. . .
- One of the first to document the mental and physical effects of starvation was Ancel Keys (http://www.apa.org/monitor/2013/10/hunger.aspx). Researchers went on to understand how food deprivation affected the children of those starved (in utero and otherwise). These children go on to exhibit the same traits and obsessions.
- More recently, some researchers followed up with “The Biggest Loser” contestants: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html
- Why behaviors (not weight) improve health: https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2891-10-9
How the BMI was developed:
- (easy read) http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106268439
- (Wiki’s take on BMI) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_mass_index
- (why we use the BMI and its limitations) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2065990/
- Pervasive myths about weight: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3606061/
- Excellent table https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3606061/table/T3/