Ebook Healthy Evolution
Recent research shows that the average American loses muscle tissue and replaces it with fat after age 20. Even individuals who are able to maintain their same weight as they age, gain fat and lose muscle. This decline in body composition does not have to occur as we grow older. For individuals who exercise regularly and follow a well balanced healthy diet, muscle to fat ratio may remain constant throughout their lifetime. It is even possible with a change in lifestyle habits to regain lost muscle tissue and correct the balance between lean body mass, fat, and overall weight. As excess body fat has been associated with increased probabilities for heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, stroke, and some cancers it is important to measure lost body fat when following The Enzyme Diet.Your scale is not the best measure of whether or not you are medically overweight. This is because body composition or the percentage of lean body mass to fat is different for every individual. Lean body mass is defined as your bones, muscle, connective tissue, and organs.
Body fat percentage is the difference between your total weight and your lean body weight and can be calculated by directly measuring your body fat.Although more accurate than a scale, Body Mass Index (BMI) is also simply a correlation between height and weight. Just like a scale, BMI can not distinguish between people who are overweight because of excess fat and those who may be heavier because of bigger muscles and larger bones.Using a measuring tape and performing the recommended weekly measurements will give you a more precise assessment of your weight loss and as an indication of overall health, the waist to hip ratio remains important. However, losing inches is not always beneficial especially if you are not exercising and/or not eating enough protein.
Trimming inches in either of these situations can be very misleading because you may well be losing important muscle as well as unwanted fat.The most exact way to track your successful progress on The Enzyme Diet with respect to fat loss is to directly measure your body fat percentage. This can be accomplished several ways. The “gold” standard for this measurement is underwater weighing. However, this method is not conveniently available for most individuals and is usually found only in hospitals or university research centers.
A more available test is DEXA (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry) which uses a very low-dose x-ray to scan your body. This is the same test used for evaluating bone density. If you are having a bone density exam, ask your physician to have the radiologist also calculate your body fat percentage. Some physician’s offices use a device which sends a low-voltage current through the body. Instruments such as these measure how much body tissues impede the flow of electrical current. They do not measure actual body fat content. Although more readily available, many independent factors affect the accuracy of this test.
One of the most economical and easiest ways to measure your successful fat loss on The Enzyme Diet is with the use of skinfold calipers. A caliper is a device which measures the thickness of a fold of skin with its underlying layer of fat. Skinfold measurements assume there is a direct relationship between subcutaneous fat and overall body fat. Many physicians and gym trainers can perform this measurement for you. You can also buy an inexpensive caliper and take this measurement yourself.
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