Every time I have climbed in the BodPod to have my body composition measured, I have been disappointed. It has not always been because I was fatter. More often, it is because there has been no appreciable gain in lean (i.e., muscle) weight to reflect my efforts in the weight room. Sure, I might have lost fat, but I want to do more than maintain muscle.
I have pretty much given up on restrictive dieting. I have determined, instead, to grow into my fat. It may sound at first that I am making a joke, but I mean it. Body composition is the measurement of fat weight relative to total body weight (i.e., “percent body fat”). There are two ways to improve body composition. Obviously, one can “diet” (i.e., consume a hypocaloric diet) and lose fat (often muscle, as well as fat). Alternatively, one can gain muscle (maintaining current pounds of fat). In other words, one can train for muscle hypertrophy, consume a reasonable intake of healthy calories (moderately hypercaloric), and gain muscle. This is along the lines of “recomping” (recomposition—losing fat and gaining muscle). Muscle is not easily gained while losing fat (quite possibly, not possible) so maintain fat and lifting to gain muscle may be the best approach for some of us hard-gainers.
I like food. I like an occasional beer. These don’t always support my desire for a leaner body composition. So, gaining the right kind of weight suits me. I don’t particularly desire a coveted set of “six-pack abs”. I want to look fit, though. I want a healthy body composition. So, I try to eat smart and train smarter.
Those of us over 50 tend to consider exercise for our health. We do cardio religiously and watch what we eat. Over time, this leads to a progressive loss of muscle mass. This loss in muscle mass (nearly fifty percent of our muscle mass from 25 to 80 years) is compounded by a lack of resistance/weight training.
We should be doing some heavy lifting. It doesn’t take a lot of time to maintain heart function. Thus, a bit more time should be dedicated to lifting weights.
The result of lifting weights may more pounds on the scale. So, what? It is just a number. The results in the mirror, and in overall physical performance will mean more than a reported “weight loss”.
For many, the scale doesn’t change much as we age. It may feel good to say we weigh what we did in high school, but “skinny fat” is still “fat”. Body weight is just a number without the understanding of its composition. Take someone who weighs 200 lb and is 20% body fat. If he loses 20 lb (all fat), he now weighs 180 lb and is now 11% fat—but “starved” to get there. If he gains 20 lb of muscle (not change in body fat), he will weigh 220 lb and be 18% body fat. The change doesn’t appear to be so significant, but 20 lb of muscle will look much better and he got to eat! Realistically, one might see more of balance between fat loss and muscle gain resulting in little change on the scale. (For example, remaining 200 lb at 11% body requires a loss of 18 lb fat and a gain of 18 lb of muscle. Conversely, gaining 18 lb of fat and losing 18 lb of muscle bumps the body composition up to a whopping 29%!) Minimally, we want to me maintaining more muscle and gaining minimal fat.
Ignore the scale (to some extent) and focus home how you look. Be less concerned about fat and focus more on lean muscle. The scale will be what it will be.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!