I was watching a film on Netflix, Brené Brown – The call to courage, where she talks a about courage, shame and the weight of societal expectations. She made some really interesting observations about how men are judged on how successful they are, expected to always be strong and to defend their family at all costs. While women are judged by their appearance and in particular their body image and weight. We’re shamed for being too fat, too thin, too tall, too short and so on.
A friend posted an image on Facebook, all these women weigh 11 stone / 154lbs / 69.85kg which is the average weight of a British woman. It made me think about weight and I’ve decided it’s just a number.
The image will take you directly to the article if you click on it.
The ladies range from 5ft 2in tall up to 6ft 1in tall, have different body shapes and lifestyles. Some exercise, some walk, some don’t. It’s important to remember that a pound of muscle takes up a lot less room than a pound of fat so weight isn’t always the most accurate measure of health, neither is BMI or body mass index.
My Ex husband is 6ft 4 1/2 in tall, his BMI has often been pointed out as high but the ratio based on height isn’t the most accurate and doesn’t take into account the muscle mass or skeletal mass of the person. He was never overweight, never had any belly fat, so his BMI and weight weren’t an accurate measure of his health.
You could be skinny-fat, slim but with more visceral belly fat hidden in your system than someone who weighs more but is more active and eats a healthier diet.
Building up muscle as we get older can make a positive impact on your metabolism, your inch loss, your energy and your long term health. That muscle will help increase your metabolism and help you look leaner, stronger and feel better.
So next time you weigh in, remember, it’s just a number. It’s not the measure that changes who you are, it’s doing something about it.
I’m 51 now and 5ft 4in tall, like Angela in the article, lady on the left of the photo. I weigh more than she does but I’m following a Rosemary Conley plan from her Hip & Thigh diet, it’s easy for me to remember and works for me. I’m a way off 11st but it’s my goal to get there by March of 2020. To keep myself on track I’ve set up non-food mini rewards along the way for each 7lbs lost.
Body shape makes a difference, I’m a pear shape or triangle with my weight in the lower body, but in recent years due to hormones and menopause I’ve been carrying some belly fat. Belly fat is more dangerous than leg, hip or bottom fat and it’s something I need to deal with to avoid health complications. See this article on the BBC website for more information.
I have added in some bodyweight training, 3 times a week for just 15 minutes per session. It’s easy to fit into my working day and hard to find an excuse not to do it 🙂 I can feel more muscle after just a few weeks and there is definitely some inch loss even on weeks when the scales say otherwise. See, weight is just a number 🙂
I’m working my way through the Couch to 5k programme from the NHS in addition to my daily dog walks. I’m on week one and I can already feel a difference to my energy levels. I’ll let you know what changes that makes to my weight and measurements as I go along.
What’s my point? I guess to say that weight is just a number, it means different things depending on your lifestyle, how active you are, how you eat and isn’t the only measure of health or success in life.
If you’re overweight now, don’t put off changing your life. If you want to have your colour analysis session or have a style consult, do it now. You have the right to feel gorgeous every day and your weight doesn’t define that. Learn to love yourself the way you are and your whole world will change.
Next month I’m adding in a five minute, no weights workout each day to tackle those jiggly upper arms, check in end of July for more info, maybe you’d like to join me?
Loraine
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