Over the course of our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge our Daily Recap videos will be where I post the notes I have written for the talks I do in the FaceBook Group each night. Hopefully this will make what we are talking about easier to follow for everyone that wants to join us in the challenge. You can see each of the 28 Day Challenge recap posts here. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel to never miss an video.
When you step on the scale, you are measuring your body weight. (Obviously) You are measuring 4 different things
- Bone – The greater your bone density, the longer you live. When old ladies bones get so fragile that they break a hip, they are usually near the end.
- Muscle – The more muscle you have, the better off you are. Muscle burns glucose so the more muscle you have, the faster you can burn off that blood sugar.
- Subcutaneous fat – Makes up about 80% of your fat. It’s what gives women their shapely curves and hourglass figure. Subcutaneous fat is correlated with longer life.
- Visceral Fat – This is what can harm you. It is the fat around your midsection and it crowds into places it doesn’t belong
So with all the talk about your weight, you want bone, muscle and subcutaneous fat. It’s that visceral fat around your midsection that is the crux of your health. In fact BMIs of between 25 and 30 have been associated with long lifespans, so long as none of that fat is hanging out around your gut. Your visceral fat is the difference between dying of a heart attack or cancer in your fifties and living until your eighties. Visceral fat drives insulin resistance, which in turn increases your chances of cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, dementia, cardiovascular disease and aging. This is why, in addition to weighing yourself, you should also track your waist circumference to see what’s happening with that belly fat.
Another warning sign is darkening, thickening or ridging of the skin called acanthosis nigricans, commonly called ring around the collar when it shows up on the neck. You may also see a proliferation of skin tags which are another sign of out of control insulin.
So when you are losing weight, look for more than just your total weight. Look for your pants to loosen, look for skin tags to go away, look for your skin to clear, look for mental clarity, look for more energy and stamina. Look in the mirror as well as on the scales.
All notes taken from information found in Fat Chance by Dr Lustig, Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes, The Angriest Trainer Podcast and Jimmy Moore’s Podcasts.