If I were someone who worried about his weight, I'd be worried. Allow me to explain: despite having a large, broad-shouldered frame, I stride this world carrying more weight than any medical doctor would say I should for a man my height. That said, my relationship with gravity doesn't appear to be having any detrimental effects on my health.
I've studied more about health, fitness and nutrition than most people over the years and I put effort into eating in a way I consider to be right and getting exercise. One thing I've learned about myself over the years is not to use my weight as an indicator of my state of health. There have been rare windows of time in the distant past where my personal statistics could be viewed in the framework of the doctor's height-weight chart. For most of my life, though, it hasn't really been an applicable measure.
I've seen a recent example of this in that my height and weight have remained fairly static (normal conditions for both) over the past few years and continued to do so even with a significant change in my diet and exercise patterns for the past couple of months. While I didn't expect any change in my height, I noticed a change in my body composition that demonstrated the problem one could have with relying on weight as an indicator of health status. While my weight hadn't changed, my notes showed that I had lost 12 pounds of fat over the past several weeks. Why didn't my weight change? Because I simultaneously gained 12 pounds of muscle. If you only care about total weight, it sounds like a wash and that all the effort is for naught. To me, though, it's unquestionable progress. Trade fat for muscle? I'll make that transaction day after day at any weight.
No comments:
Post a Comment