Weight is Just a Number

As I mentioned yesterday, your weight is not the be all end all of how healthy you are, but it is a good guideline to consider. Body Fat Percentage is a much more accurate depiction of your fitness, but is harder to obtain. There are websites like this one or this one where you can "calculate" your body fat percentage, but they aren't as reliable as a water displacement test. These calculations can vary between sites (mine varies even between these two) and can be skewed depending on where you carry your extra weight. If you're a pear shape, like me, these sites will calculate your percentage as better than it actually is. However, if you're an apple shape and carry all your weight around your middle, they may reflect your percentage as worse than it really is. But assuming that most of us are not equipped to perform a water displacement test in our home, this number is another good guideline to consider. Aiming for a middle of the "healthy" road BMI by weight and body fat percentage are good goals. (This chart shows healthy body fat ranges by gender.)  Trying to lose inches off your measurements (bust, waist, hips, thighs, and arms) is another great goal.

But there's more to fitness than these numbers, right? Absolutely! Your weight might not drop as quickly as you'd hope if you're truly getting fit as muscle weighs more than fat. This picture shows the difference quite well:



It is clear to see that even though they weigh the same, fat takes up much more space than muscle! This is one reason why tracking your measurements, or how well your clothes fit, is a much better picture of how well you're doing. This picture alone should be pretty motivating! I know I would certainly rather have the 5 pounds of muscle than the 5 pounds of fat!! How about you?