It’s not all about your weight and weight loss!

reda

It’s not all about your weight and weight loss!

This section of the book has focused on weight loss and the issues around being overweight and obese as that is generally where there are many more problems relating to health, and it is a growing and worsening issue. However, it isn’t always about your weight and there are many healthy people who would be classed as overweight and many unhealthy people who are underweight or indeed at what would be called a good weight. When it comes to health – physical, mental and emotional – there are a wide range of relevant factors and your weight, although important, is usually just one of these. So make sure you consider your overall health and wellbeing and how your weight may affect this.

You can be ‘overweight’ and healthy
Some people who would be classed as overweight and have a high BMI score are actually very healthy, so be careful not to base assessments of health on just weight. For example, nearly all professional rugby players would be deemed ‘overweight’ if they took the conventional BMI tests, yet they would score very highly on most aspects of their health. Muscle does weigh more than fat, so the actual make-up of your body tissues and the percentage of muscle versus fat is a factor.



Also, you may be someone who is overweight but you don’t smoke or drink alcohol and you do some level of exercise. In this case it is likely that you are generally ‘healthier’ than someone of a good weight who smokes, drinks alcohol and does very little physical activity. There are many measures of health, many aspects of health and many contributing factors, so be careful not to focus everything on your weight if you want to be healthier and happier.

Risks of being ‘underweight’
There are also health dangers with being underweight and this must not be ignored. Although the levels are much lower, there are still significant numbers of people who have ‘underweight’ issues, usually caused by not eating enough and not eating the right types of food. Often there is pressure from the media, peer groups and society in general to look a certain way and this can also be very damaging to your physical, mental and emotional health if as a result you become underweight.

Many eating disorders exist for both men and woman that can lead to being underweight, for example bulimia and anorexia. If your body is not getting the nutrients, minerals, proteins, fats, glucose and other ingredients it needs then this will damage your health. If you have issues in this respect then please consult your doctor and seek advice, and try to understand the causes and also the risks to your health of being underweight.

How to put on weight
Some people may be underweight and wish to put weight on and there are health risks in doing this. Similarly to losing weight the advice is to be as knowledgeable as possible, take a sensible, steady approach and do not try to gain weight too quickly. Rapid weight gain can be very unhealthy, especially as your body will not be used to the high calorie intake and it is likely that many of the foods will be high in sugar, fat and salt.

How to lose fat fast

As muscle weighs more than fat and is generally much healthier, then it would be advised that in order to gain weight more protein needs to be consumed, because this is the main fuel needed to grow and rebuild muscle tissue. Using free weights or gym equipment can be effective in building muscle mass combined with additional protein and calorie intake. However, if you feel the need to put on weight it is advisable to consult with your doctor, do more research and potentially discuss it with both a nutritionist and fitness advisor.