At the risk of always being the bearer of news you didn’t really want to hear, I am sure that it will come as no surprise for you to hear me say - exercise is the key to weight loss. In fact, a quote that has become a favourite of mine (after hearing Dr Sue Kenneally tell our F4LF group members each week, on a recently run course) is “He who says he has no time to exercise, will one day have to make time to be ill!” Many people think that being thin = being fit – but nothing could be further from the truth. It is reasonable to say that most fit people are thin but it is possible to be thin and unfit and there are a fair few overweight people who are reasonably fit. Confused? You soon won’t be… stay with me now!Our society is obsessed with thin and female celebrities are under incredible pressure from the media to present an hour glass shape to the cameras; leaving them, likely exhausted from the effort and us demoralised that we will never achieve what they seem to, airbrushing aside!! As a Christian, our image should not be the primary reason that we desire to be slim, but it is true, nevertheless, that our self esteem is lifted if we feel good about the way that we look. Aside from the fact that our body is a temple, wherein the Holy Spirit dwells, even a person with the least gifting in hospitality would want to ensure a nice place to stay for such a special guest – yes?
How Fat is Too Fat?The word ‘sarcopenia’ comes from the Greek word “poverty of flesh” – generally it relates to the gradual loss of muscle mass that occurs naturally as we age, however it also applies to people on the low fat/calorie diet/exercise, relentless cycle. Body fat is measured in % and the table below gives an idea of guideline levels (note this is an American model - but as they are usually 3 steps ahead of the rest of the world I am happy to go with this). So, two women that are the same body weight – could have a totally different health status - one could have a healthy body composition and another can be ‘sarcopenically obese’ that is a high percentage of body fat (stored around the internal organs) and thus carry all the health risks associated with high body fat - the higher your percentage of fat above average levels, the higher your health risk for weight-related illness, like heart disease, high blood pressure, gallstones, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, and certain cancers. Also, the higher your percentage of fat (and the smaller your percentage of muscle) the less calories you need to maintain your weight and therefore the easier it is to gain weight. This is because muscle is more metabolically active than fat tissue (that is it burns more calories to maintain it).
Body Fat Guidelines from American Council on Exercise
| Classification |
Women (% Fat) |
Men (% Fat) |
| Essential Fat |
10-12 percent |
2-4 percent |
| Athletes |
14-20 percent |
6-13 percent |
| Fitness |
21-24 percent |
14-17 percent |
| Acceptable |
25-31 percent |
18-25 percent |
Why Body Fat Measurement is ImportantBody fat is an important element in successful weight control. Body fat requires fewer calories than muscle. So the less fat/more muscle we have, the more calories we can eat before gaining weight. Obesity and sarcopenia are very often interlinked and feedback on themselves. Obesity leads to greater obesity because of a series of ‘vicious cycles’ like sore joints and back which make exercising painful. Sarcopenia leads to an increase in insulin resistance which causes increased fatness and further muscle wastage.
What Can Be Done To Break The Cycle?So, given that one is a natural function of ageing, and the other a process of modern living, how can they be avoided – if at all? The answer seems to lie in the perennial lifestyle favourites; diet and exercise. But while both are important for reducing obesity, exercise is likely to be the best way of holding off sarcopenia. The reality is that heading for the gym on the treadmill or cross trainer for an hour a day and eating low calorie, low fat food is generally pretty ineffective in the long term for FAT loss. Body weight may drop initially but it is likely to plateau or stabilise after a while and then not budge. Of course, there are those outwardly overweight people who have high body fat composition and depleted muscle mass (for the reasons explained above) but strength based sports people such as rugby players or weight lifters will often be heavy but yet are extremely lean because they are carrying a high degree of muscle mass. This is why body composition is more important than body weight and that thin does not necessarily mean fit!
How Can I Find Out What My Body Fat Percentage Is?The methods for testing are either difficult to use correctly yourself (skin fold callipers) or virtually impossible (at the time of writing) to access (hydrostatic (underwater) weighing. The better most easily accessible method is using body fat scales which claim to measure body fat quickly and conveniently. These body fat scales use the Bioelectrical Impedance method to measure your body fat percentage. A low-level electrical current is passed through your body and the "impedance", or opposition to the flow of current, is measured. The result is used in conjunction with your weight and other factors to determine your body fat percentage. Unfortunately, your body's "impedance level" can be altered by many factors besides body fat. For instance, the amount of water in your body, your skin temperature and recent physical activity can all adversely affect the results. So only by following strict rules can you hope to get an accurate measurement of your body fat using these scales. The most important rules to observe in order to make a more accurate calculation of your body fat are:
- Don't eat or drink for 4 hours before the body fat measurement test.
- Don't exercise for 12 hours before the test.
Your GP or local health and fitness centre may be able to do this for you. Alternatively you could contact a Nutritional Therapist who offers the facility.
So what is the best type of exercise? The truth is a combination of all types! Essentially though, you need to build muscle mass if you want to burn fat – which is resistance training. Resistance Training – free weights, machine weights, weight training exercises, Pilates or core stability training (the Wii fitness has a good one) is an extremely effective way of improving body composition – although not necessarily weight (remember that muscle is heavier than fat). The basic requirement is to use large groups of muscles repetitively until some fatigue is felt. By preventing the natural breakdown of muscle tissue with age, resistance exercise can help maintain muscle mass in older people. The right type of diet will do the rest - but older people should be aware that a reduced energy diet needs to be significantly less calories (at least 10%) than 2-3 decades earlier in life, to reduce fat gain – (smaller plateful!)Cardiovascular (CV) Training – steady running (either free or on a machine), cycling, power walking, dancing, swimming, exercise classes, climbing stairs or active housework, generally used at the base of a weight loss programme and 3 – 5 hours per week (gradually build up to this) is necessary for serious weight loss. On its own, however cardiovascular exercise can put excessive strain on our hormonal glands including the adrenal glands and this can lead to metabolic suppression, which would make the exercise ineffective for achieving the result of weight loss. Moderate intensity CV exercise means that you should still be able to talk intermittently whilst carrying out the exercise and this type should be mixed with low intensity/relaxing exercise such as gentle walking, or easy cycling.
How Much Exercise?Whatever your situation I advise you to seek the help of a trained fitness professional before embarking on any exercise programme, especially weight training if you have not done this before.Severely overweight individuals should begin with 1 hour low intensity exercise daily. Use tools such as a charted weekly programme (see example below), pedometer, and an exercise buddy which will all help boost adherence.
Example Weekly Exercise ProgrammeMon – Pilates class (yoga or tai chi are not suitable for Christians to be involved with due to the spiritual nature of the activity)Tues – 45 minutes CV exercise (low intensity)Wed – 45 minutes Resistance exerciseThurs – Day offFri - 45 minutes CV exercise (moderate intensity)Sat – 45 minutes – Resistance exerciseSun – 1 – 2 hour country walk, easy run or cycle
Long term adherence to an exercise programme is the most important thing and you must enjoy what you do or you will not stick at it – so be realistic when you draw up your weekly timetable!It might mean that you have to give up a sedentary activity in order to fit this in such as soap operas or other television etc but you need to be clear, without it you are very unlikely to lose weight and keep it off, or go beyond your plateau. Additionally, we need to be prepared to discipline our flesh in order to achieve this, because looking at the spiritual parallel this will shape our character and allow God to shape us spiritually too. Everything worth having is going to cost us something, the big question is how badly do we want it….?
Julie Brooks Dip NT, mBANTSeptember 2010
Please note this is an article primarily aimed at the subject of exercise. Diet is very important in conjunction with this but will vary from person to person, the type and amount of exercise being undertaken, age, gender and many other factors. Ditching the junk food and drink, cutting portion sizes and eating lean protein (fish, meat and eggs) and vegetable and fruit are a good foundation to work on but if you have specific health issues or want a tailored nutrition programme, I suggest you consult a me or another Nutritional Therapist for advice.
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