HEALTHY WEIGHT LOSS AND IMPROVING BODY COMPOSITION (PART I)
What does Body Composition Mean? Most times when patients go to a doctor, the doctor measures their height and weight. But height and weight alone provide limited information about a person’s health and what they’re made of. For example, a pound of cheese is not the same as a pound of fish. The fats in fish, the Omega 3s we all know and love, are very healthy fats. They’re anti-inflammatory in nature and help support brain function, nerve function, cardiovascular health AND weight loss! The fat in cheese, however, as with other animal fats, is primarily saturated fat. Here’s the breakdown of cheese vs. fish:
4 oz. of cheddar cheese has 457 calories, of which 58% is fat, 23.91% saturated fat. It also has 28.24 grams of protein, and 704 mgs. of sodium. That’s a LOT of sodium.
4 oz. of salmon, on the other hand, has only 133 calories, of which 6% is fat, and only 0.64% saturated fat. It has 22.93 grams of protein, and only 6 mgs. of sodium.
Although a certain amount of saturated fats are necessary, the wrong kinds - like those found in fatty meats and fried foods - can clog arteries and contribute to cardiovascular disease. Still, they are NOT the main culprits! In fact, low fat diets can be detrimental to your health, as well as your weight loss goals. There are several health benefits with certain saturated fats: bone health, brain health, immune support, for example. And because saturated fats are more slowly absorbed, they increase satiety. One feels more satisfied, therefore, and consequently will eat less. Regarding diet, the biggest obstacle to weight loss is excessive carbohydrate consumption. This will be discussed in Parts 2 and 3 of this series.
So how do I know if a person’s weight is healthy or unhealthy? I measure his or her body composition with a device called a bioimpedance analysis machine (BIA). When hooked up to the BIA, a small electrical current is sent through the body. Different tissues - muscle, bone, fat - and water have varying resistance to the current; the resistance can be measured, and that is how we can know one’s body composition more precisely. The BIA measures Percent Fat, Percent Muscle, Intracellular Water and Extracellular Water. One should have more water inside the cells than outside the cells. Too much extracellular water puts pressure on one’s blood vessels, and is an indicator of inflammation.
The BIA also measures Body Mass Index (BMI), but BMI only takes into account weight and height. This doesn’t provide enough information because, as you may already know, muscle weighs more than fat. Consequently, a high BMI can be the result of high muscle percentage, which is healthy metabolic tissue that enhances cell function - vs. excess fat, which is unhealthy. Among other things, fat cells store toxins and are inflammatory.
Another measurement we get from the BIA is the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). The BMR is particularly useful because it lets me know how efficiently one’s body is burning energy, i.e. calories daily, and thus helps me personalize healthy weight loss programs. That means making the right food choices and serving sizes. These measurements are also instrumental in helping me track one’s weight loss, making sure it is indeed healthy weight loss, i.e. losing more fat than muscle, rather than the other way around. It also allows me to make sure one is not sacrificing one’s health in other ways, such as bone loss and dehydration.
So you see, there really is a lot more to a body beyond simple height and weight. Regarding overall health, as well as weight loss, it’s very important and useful to know the composition of the body.
Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3, where we cover: What Causes us to Gain Weight; What Happens When We Eat the Wrong Kinds of Foods; How Hormone Imbalance Contributes to Weight Gain; Food Addiction; What Gets in the Way; What to Do.