Have you ever lost weight and been told by a friend, family member or co-worker “You’re too skinny.” Believe it or not, this sort of comment is made a lot to the client base I work with and I can’t tell you how frustrating that is for me and the client! With 2/3 of the adults in America and now 1/3 of children being overweight or obese, have we forgotten what fit looks like?!
Why is it that when we gain the 20 pounds in the first place no one ever says anything but the minute we address the weight we’ve put on for whatever reason we’ve now become too skinny even though we’ve been at that weight before?
I don’t use scale weight in my practice very often, mostly body fat percentage. Different body types (which is genetic by the way) will look different and weigh different at different body fat percentages. For example I might have a 35 year old female ectomorph (this is a body type) at 18% body fat and she will look completely different than the same 35 year old female mesomorph (another body type) at 18% body fat. It’s very important 1) that you realize what you’re capable of achieving from a genetic standpoint and 2) that you don’t let anyone tell you you’re too skinny once you reach the right goal body composition for you.
One other thing to note: as we age the “healthy” and “athletic” body fat percentages increase. This goes for women and men. For example, when you’re in your 20’s, women can healthfully achieve between 10-23% body fat and men 4-19% body fat. However, in your 50’s these percentage ranges increase to 15-30% for women and 11-25% for men.
The short of it is, if you’re active, get to know your numbers. I’m not talking about the ideal body weight charts you all strive to reach. I’m talking about body fat. And, once you get to your healthy body fat range don’t listen to anyone when they say “You’re too skinny.”
Example of Mesomorph (Misty) and Ectomorph (Kerri)
