WHEN MOST OF US think of health we think of weight, so the focus tends toward how much weight we need to lose to be healthy. The usual method to do this is: diet and exercise. Right? Sort of. While these are obviously key factors in being healthy, there are many others you need to consider to have a well-balanced and healthy lifestyle.
Weight vs. body composition
Following a week at Mountain Trek, after exercising intensely for 5-6 hours per day (hiking, cardio, strength training) and eating healthy, my partner — who came in pretty fit — left weighing exactly the same. Some would see that as a failure, but the bigger picture is she lost 3lbs of fat and an inch off her waist. She gained the difference in muscle (and a bit of water). This is body composition. The true metric of health is body fat % (not BMI, which is just a ratio of height and weight). The healthy range for a woman, at any age, is 25%-30% body fat. For a man it’s 20%-25% (below these you would be considered athletic).