Mass and Health

First things first, I have something to admit… Many people probably won’t want to read what follows, but PLEASE do, because its REALLY important!

As coaches and lifters, the discussion of bodyweight and its management is a delicate topic. As such, it is not uncommon for the conversation to be avoided altogether, which is a problem. Over 60% of Australian adults are overweight or obese, and that figure is rising.

What follows here is an important insight into what we know about the consequences of carrying too much (or too little) bodyweight, how we can assess that, and what we can do about it.

What follows here is not a discussion about bodyweight in the context of aesthetics, body image or cultural attitudes towards the subject… We intend to look at the science behind the subject from the perspective of improving health - Nothing more, nothing less.

So with that disclaimer out of the way, what do we know about bodyweight and its impact on health outcomes…? Well for starters, carrying too little bodyweight is linked with the following health risks: Malnutrition, Vitamin deficiencies, Anemia, Osteoporosis, Sarcopenia, fertility issues, reduced immune function, and increased risks post trauma, surgery and/or hospitalisation.

Carrying too much bodyweight, also known as Obesity, is linked with the following health risks: Heart disease, Stroke, Hypertension (High blood pressure), Diabetes, Gallbladder disease, Gallstones, Osteoarthritis, Gout, breathing problems such as Sleep Apnea (when a person stops breathing during sleep) and Asthma, as well as elevated risk of Cancer.

Now that we’ve discussed the potential consequences of living at an unhealthy bodyweight, we now need to determine what a “healthy” bodyweight is… In order to do this we most broach the topic of BMI. Your Body Mass Index is calculated by dividing your weight by the square of your height:

Now in recent years BMI has become somewhat vilified for being an “inaccurate measure”… Now we acknowledge that in unique circumstances BMI can be somewhat misleading - In cases where the individual is particularly short or tall it may not be as useful for determining health risks. Similarly, in the case of elite athletes maintaining lower than normal body fat percentages at heavy body weights, it may also be less applicable - But here’s the thing, those are the anomalies - They are the rare exceptions, not the norm.

Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of people we hear claim “BMI is useless” are those who stand to benefit most by reading what follows… BMI is a very useful measure for determining health risks when used in combination with measuring waist circumference.

Now on that note, what do we need to know… Well the following for starters:

BMI < 18.5 = Underweight

18.5 < BMI < 24.9 = Healthy weight

25.0 < BMI < 29.9 = Overweight

30.0 < BMI = Obese

These are the waist circumference thresholds that indicate an increased risk of disease:

If you are a woman: Your risk is increased at 80 cm or more and your risk is greatly increased at 88 cm.

If you are a man: Your risk is increased at 94 cm or more and your risk is greatly increased at 102 cm.

There are also different recommended thresholds for certain ethnicities:

If you would like to read more about the specific disease risks deemed to be posed at differing thresholds for different demographics, we would highly recommend reading this. Additionally we highly recommend using the BMI and waist circumference calculator contained here to determine whether you should be having a deeper conversation with your coach, dietitian and/or doctor with regard to helping you achieve a healthy body weight.

Even if your result indicates that you are of a healthy weight and waist circumference, we would highly recommend measuring these values on a weekly basis and tracking them over time to ensure that you stay within the healthy ranges.

Now with that all said, we can set out our recommendations:

Step 1 (you guessed it!): Use the calculator contained here to determine any risks associated with your current bodyweight and waist circumference… Sorry to repeat ourselves, but we bet a few readers skimmed over that last paragraph without clicking the link, so please click here now. (3rd time’s a charm!)

Step 2: Speak with your coach, dietitian and/or doctor about this if it requires their input. We recommend ensuring that they’re all liaising with each other to look after your welfare - They should all be working together and not pulling you in different directions.

Step 3: Start tracking your nutritional intake via a 7 day food diary - Many people really seem to dislike this recommendation. However, if you’re aware of a means by which people can be more honest with themselves and their healthcare practitioners about what their nutritional intake looks like, I’m all ears.

I think the reality is that many people don’t like this process of being honest with themselves and thats why they really despise completing a food diary. At the end of the day though, its only your health that you are harming by not taking this step. We recommend either the MyFitnessPal or MacroFactor Apps (we get no remuneration for making these recommendations, we just think they are good tools for the job).

Step 4: Weigh yourself at the end of the 7 days in alike circumstances (ideally in the morning after you’ve been to the toilet both on Day 1 and Day 8). Assuming your eating habits throughout the week have been somewhat consistent with your normal patterns of eating, your bodyweight should be approximately the same. If that is the case, move on to Step 5…

Step 5: Calculate the average of your daily calories consumed over the 7 days prior (including alcohol!) This is your “maintenance calories” - In other words, the average number of calories you could currently consume on a daily basis and stay at the same bodyweight for the foreseeable future.

Step 6: Once you have established your maintenance calories, depending on your goal of weight loss or weight gain, we would recommend making a 5-10% adjustment to your caloric intake in favour of a “calorie surplus” if you intend to gain weight or a “calorie deficit” if you intend to lose weight. Monitor this, in conjunction with your body weight, and adjust accordingly depending on your rate of progress.

For more specific advise on how to go about this, and for guidance with goal setting as well as recommendations around the rate of weight gain / loss we should be aiming for, please reach out to us here. While we’d love to be able to give broad recommendations for everyone, we feel its better that they be tailored to the needs / expectations of the individual such that they be pointed in the right direction.

This process can be very challenging, but it is absolutely worth it for your long term health. Having the guidance of a suitably knowledgeable coach who has had experience in going through this process themselves, as well as successfully guiding others through it too could be invaluable in helping you achieve a healthy body weight sooner rather than later.