New Recipe and My Thoughts on Body Fat Percentage

Happy Saturday! Is it nice weather where you are? Yesterday morning I woke up to SNOW and ICE on the ground. WHAT?? It was almost 65 degrees last weekend, and this weekend it snows? Crazy. Today is nice and sunny, but still pretty chilly.

Today I wanted to bring some attention to a comment I received from an anonymous reader yesterday, regarding my last post. In that post I reported my body fat percentage (21.6%) and claimed that I am very happy with this percentage because it puts me in the range of "healthy and fit". I then proceeded to disclose that when I was anorexic I had been 11% body fat, which was definitely not something that I was proud of ( I made reference to the fact that this is an unhealthy body fat percentage, and it's no wonder I felt like crap all the time). The comment is written in black writing, with my comments in red:

I love your blog (thanks!), but there were a few things here that frustrated me a bit. Since your are an RD I have tremendous respect & appreciation for your knowledge, but nutrition for sport & fitness varies from the standard healthy diet. (Yes, I agree, depending on what type of training you are doing). Clearly a marathon runner needs to eat differently than a football player, etc. (Well, yes, but maybe not the offensive line. They do a lot of endurance training, similar to marathon runners. The defensive line, however, would clearly have a different diet and training protocol). Maybe you didn't mean to come off this way, but how you discuss the not-so-preposterous idea of being at 40% protein suggests being closed minded. Many people operate better and have more energy with a lower carb, higher protein diet. And as you know, loosing weight would have to do with the amount of calories from protein, not just from eating more protein vs. carbs or fat. (This is correct. What I should have said was that if that trainer was to suggest that in order for me to gain more muscle, I need to consume 40% of my calories from protein, he should have also said that I need to consume more calories that I burn. You cannot build muscle simply by eating a lot of protein, you have to be eating so as to create a positive calorie balance). What bothered me the most though was your statement about your body fat %. The way you suggest that 11% is unhealthy, I believe, is sending the wrong, perhaps irresponsible, message. There is a big difference between being anorexic at 11% and being healthy at 11%, which is very possible. That is actually around what I am, and I am very healthy & energetic, and in no way excessively skinny. (If you read any respectable and reliable journal, magazine, book, or talk to any professional RD or personal trainer, they will tell you that 12% is the lowest percent of body weight for women that is considered "not risky". I have two references right here in front of me, Sports Nutrition, A Practice Manual for Professionals by Marie Dunfor, PhD, RD, and The Complete Food and Nutrition Guide by Roberta Larson Duyff, MS, RD, which clearly state that this is the case. I also took several sports nutritional classes both while in undergraduate and graduate school, where 12% was cited as the lowest possible percentage of body fat for women that is considered not risky. That being said, I do believe you can reach 11% body fat while having a healthy diet. I should not have implied that those who have an 11% body fat are obviously anorexic or have disordered eating. But I will stick to my opinion that 11% body fat is simply too low. At that percentage of body fat you are putting yourself at risk, and I would never recommend staying that low for long periods of time. Some people may remain at that low of a body fat percentage while they are competing in a body competition, but otherwise they are likely to gain some back once they are not competing. That is always suggested. Even the not so reliable magazines report that the range of healthy body fat percentage for women should not go as low as 11%. You are at risk for infertility, heart problems, and improper insulation and cushioning of your organs and bones) Thanks for your comment, I really do appreciate it. If you would like to e-mail me and talk with me more about this subject I would be glad to hear your thoughts.

Quick, Tasty, and Healthy Recipe #19
Chicken Quesadillas

Ingredients
(Serves 1)
1 whole wheat tortilla
1/4 cup black beans
3 ounces chicken
1/4 cup red and green bell pepper
1 ounce shredded American cheese

Possible Modifications

• Use any type of meat/poultry/tofu you wish
• Add extra veggies
• Add extra spices
• Use different cheese
  

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place the tortilla on a baking pan and cover the tortilla with the above ingredients (don't add too much or it won't fold properly). Fold the tortilla in half, then place in the oven for 10-15 minutes (depending on your oven and how you well done you prefer your quesadillas to be). If you want, you can add a bit more cheese on top!

Nutrition Facts

Rating: 10 out of 10 for both of us!
I used a wheat free tortilla, since I do not eat wheat.

I served this with a side of steamed veggies. You can never eat too many veggies! I also served it with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt and red hot (not shown in picture).

Coming Up

I've been so busy lately, I don't even have time to watch TV anymore! That being said, I may or may not have time to watch Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution today (we have it saved on Tivo). If I do, I will write a review, if I don't....well...you'll have to be surprised I guess!

Have a great weekend everyone, and thanks for reading :)

The Dietitian Vs. The Personal Trainer

Today I got my A*S kicked!! I had my physical assessment with a personal trainer from Urban Active.


Meet Vaughn, my personal trainer for the day. He's a great guy....even though he kicked my butt.


This is where all of the initial assessments are done (body measurements and questionnaire).


First he weighed me and took my body fat percentage. The instrument they used to measure body fat percentage was called a bioelectrical impedance analyzer (below).


I clocked in at 21.6%. I was happy with this number. It's in the range of "fitness and health". When I was anorexic my body fat percentage was 11%. Can you believe that??? No wonder I had zero energy and felt like crap.

After the weight and body fat measurement they asked me multiple questions about my medical background. Then they asked me questions about my dietary habits. They also asked me if I had any goals, and I had to think about this question for a while. I finally told them my goal was to get a bit more toned for bathing suit season (that's a reasonable goal, right?). He responded by saying I need to up my protein intake from 30% (about where I am at currently) to 40%. I laughed. Sorry, that's not going to happen. In my professional opinion a diet of 40% protein will mean I would loose weight. I don't want that. Plus, I wouldn't necessarily gain muscle by eating 40% protein, unless I am also eating more calories than I burn. I believe I can become more toned by eating exactly what I eat now, I just need to up the resistance training a bit. I didn't argue with him though, I kept my thoughts (mainly) to myself. It was good for me to hear this though, as I will be doing dietary consults with many of the personal trainer's clients. I needed to get an idea of what type of dietary advice they are providing to their clients prior to them meeting with me.

So after the questions were answered, I was asked to warm up either on the treadmill or the elliptical. I chose my favorite, the elliptical. I did a slow warm up for about 20 minutes.


Then it was time for me to go to hell. I was humbled by the next 20 minutes of the fitness assessment......

Even after this first exercise, I was ready to be finished. I sort of felt like I was on the Biggest Loser! I'm not sure what this exercise was called, but it was HARD!

I jumped up on the stepper (stacked three steps high), then squatted when I jumped to the ground. I did this for one minute (although it felt like five).


After ten minutes of some other stuff, Vaughn had me do push-ups on a stability ball (BOSU ball, turned upside down). I also had to touch my knee to my chest (this worked the abs).

I always thought this exercise (below) looked fun. HA! It was not fun. It was hard. I had to grab the rope as high as I could, then pull it down, for 2 minutes.


I found out I actually have some cleavage......

We worked with this 15 pound ball for quite some time. We did exercises for my arms and my abs.


After my last exercise, I thanked Vaughn for proving to me that I need to do more resitance training. Then I ran to my car and scarfed down a sweet potato and a string cheese. My body thanked me.

Question: Have you ever been to a personal trainer? Were you humbled like I was??

Coming Up

Tonight Nick and I finally get to spend some time together. Little does he know most of the time will be spent on him giving me massive body massages. Oh, did I mention that we had our house inspected today??? Yeah, the results were ok. There are definitely some issues, but nothing too serious.

On Saturday I will post a new recipe and a review of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution! Have a great night everyone, and thanks for reading :)

What Does the Scale Really Reflect?

Back in October I did a post about weighing yourself, and why I choose not to weigh myself often. In my opinion it's not good to focus on a number as a way to gauge your fitness and health (well, at least not the pounds number, other numbers may be helpful, such as blood pressure and cholesterol). Many people tell me that they weigh themselves everyday, and that it can have a major effect on their mood. But does the number on the scale really reflect what you think?


What does your weight (the number on the scale) reflect? Fat, muscle, fluid, skeletal tissue, and other tissues/organs

What changes when your weight changes? Fat, muscle, and fluid. The others do not change with weight, but they may change with age.

Body Fluid

• Changes regularly, throughout the day.

• Is effected by hormones, diet, heat, medications, and exercise.

• If you weigh yourself in the morning, you may easily weigh 3-4 pounds less than you do later at night! Fluid can fluctuate tremendously throughout the day.

• Women who are pre-menstrual can experience a 3-8 lb fluctuation in fluid weight.

Muscle

• When you are losing weight, you will loose muscle. Help combat this loss by including a workout regimen, with weights, that lasts 60-90 minutes, 5 days a week.

• People who are overweight actually have more muscle than people of normal weight. Why? They need to be able to support their extra weight.

• When you exercise to loose weight, you may not see the weight loss right away because your energy from fat will be used to power your workouts. Working out will help your muscles grow larger in size (no increase in the number muscle cells, only muscle cell size). Muscle weighs more than fat, therefore the scale may not show that you have lost weight.

Fat

• Fat loss is seen when you consume less calories than you burn.

• Fat loss can be measured multiple ways, but the most common is via bioelectrical impedance. Your local gym's personal trainers should have a machine to do this, or you can buy a special scale.

Bottom Line: If you want to weigh yourself everyday, that's fine, but keep in mind the number may not accurately represent your efforts to maintain, loose, or even gain weight. If your mood or your diet for the day tends to change depending on the number you see on the scale each day, you may want to consider weighing yourself once every other week, in my opinion.

Healthy Body Fat Percentages

For Health

<55 yrs women: 20-35%
>55 yrs women: 25-38%
<55 yrs men: 8-22%
>55 yrs men: 10-25%

For Fitness

<55 yrs women: 16-28%
>55 yrs women: 20-33%
<55 yrs men: 5-15%
>55 yrs men: 7-18%

Source: ADA Sports Nutrition; A Practice Manual for Dietitians

Bottom Line: These body fat recommendations may not be as low as you thought, am I right? Fat is important for brain function, insulation, and nerve impulse transmission (to name a few). Don't ignore the value of fat!

Coming Up
Tomorrow I will share with you some new products that you will start to see in stores soon! Have a great day everyone, and thanks for reading.