BMI Is Out And Body Fat Is In

A few years ago I had an appointment with a fertility specialist. I had such a challenge getting pregnant for years and I was so frustrated and defeated. After waiting my one year “keeping trying” time frame I was finally seen. I sat before this doctor and explained to her my history, what I do for work, my background, my health, etc. She took my height and weight and she told me that part of the reason I might be having a challenge getting pregnant is because I’m overweight.

There are a lot of things that irk me about that day, but the most relevant frustration is that I sat in that chair in THE BEST shape of my life. I had been training for a figure competition so I was leaner than ever. It was clear by a glance that I was not overweight and considering I was thorough on my occupation and health history it was probably not my reasoning for fertility issues.

It was after THAT day where I made it a mission to be sure everyone knows that BMI (body mass index) is a TERRIBLE representation of your health.

This is where my push on body fat comes into play…

Body Fat takes into account your lean weight versus your fat weight. Now I want you to imagine this…

A woman 5’6 140 pounds 22% body fat. With that percentage of body fat we are looking a lean woman who has 110 pounds of LEAN weight (muscles, organs, bones) and 30 pounds of fat weight (we will always have SOME fat weight or else we’d be dead!)

A woman 5’6 140 pounds 32% body fat. With that percentage of body fat we are looking at an overweight woman who has 96 pounds of LEAN weight and 44 pounds of fat weight.

But their BMI is the exact same.

Say what?

If you are curious about your body fat then I would encourage you to hop on the Fit3d and get that done. The system determines your body fat AND your lean weight vs fat weight. A great benefit of that measurement is also to see where your weight is shifting. So for example, you might be discouraged if after a month or so the scale doesn’t move, but you might be ENCOURAGED to see that while your weight has remained the same you lost some fat and transferred it into that lean section.

As we mature we want to be sure that as our scale weight changes or remains the same we are keeping the lean weight number the same (if not higher!) We want to keep our muscles ripped and our bones dense as the years go on 

Coach Meagan