Editors Corner

By Sonya Gill

There are three types of people within the fitness world:

1)      Those who complain about not being in shape

2)      Those who exercise and get in shape

3)      And, finally, those who exercise yet still complain about not being in shape

Do you know how many people fall into category three? There are far too many of them and if you happen to be that person, don’t worry, Trimm is here to help!

If you are the woman that spends endless hours on the treadmill or stairmaster, only to end up eating like haven’t seen food in years afterwards, or the guy who’s been hitting the gym and weights regularly, yet doesn’t seem to be seeing his muscles grow and get stronger anymore, than have no fear, we are here to help. How you approach exercise and your eating habits is as important as how you teach your child to walk and talk, and as important as how you make every day decisions. Thus, in other words, in order to see results, you have to be smarter and wiser about what it is that you are doing if you want to continue to see progress.

So ladies and gentlemen, strap on your workout gear and raise your protein shakes, lets make a toast to the up and coming New Year, and say “Sianara” to the old you and welcome the new and improved you with and open mind and toned arms! Trimm is here to help you reach your goals and help answer your every question with an answer!

More Than Just Your Weight! The Effects of Body Composition

By Karam Bains

Alright, is it just me, or is our nation fatter than ever before?  In recent studies, statistics have shown that over 60% of the adult population is overweight and over 25% are considered obese. And if this is not bad enough, one in four children, and adolescents, are considered to be overweight and run the risk of life threatening chronic diseases. But wait, here’s the scariest thing, the numbers only continue to rise! Without the necessary awareness amongst many individuals in today’s day and age, numerous people believe that they are within their normal weight range because they “appear” to be.  However, despite looking thin and being within a normal weight range, it is very common that these individuals have an altered or unhealthy body composition. Hence, this is a good example that goes to show why the numbers on the chronic disease scale only continue to rise! Thus folks, this brings me to the topic at hand, “What is body composition”?

Body composition is the measure of body fat and lean tissue (i.e. muscles).  An unhealthy body composition refers to having too much fat compared to lean tissue.  It is important to our health that we achieve a healthy body composition, and the only way to achieve this is to first look into what constitutes an unhealthy body composition.

Consequences of Unhealthy body Composition

Unhealthy body composition and excess body weight leads to obesity, which is associated with the following conditions:

• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Metabolic syndrome
• Back pain
• Certain types of cancer
• Estrogen related problems (PMS, Fertility)
• Excess fatigue
• Sleep apnea
• Stroke
• High cholesterol
• Diabetes
• Respiratory problems
• Kidney disorders
• Gallbladder disorders
• Osteoarthritis

Your Weight

So lets break the news together: what the scale says is not the correct way to assess your body composition. This is because a scale fails to recognize it. Even after losing weight you might still be considered over-fat. Over-fat you ask? This usually occurs when you follow a diet that is too low in calories and results in a loss of lean tissue (muscle mass) and not fat mass.  This results in unhealthy body composition.  Having an excess of fat inside the body and appearing thin can have the same consequences of someone who appears overweight.

Where fat accumulates also has a factor in your health. Fat that accumulates near the waist; a condition referred to as central adiposity or an “apple” shape greatly increases the risk of disease. Remember, just because you look thin doesn’t mean you are healthy.

Lets look at assessing your body composition. There are several non-invasive methods that can be used to assess your body composition. 

• Waist-to-hip ratio
• Skin fold thickness
• Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA)

What is BIA and why you need one?

Bioelectrical impedance analysis or bioimpedance analysis is one of the best and accurate ways of assessing your body composition.  BIA is more sophisticated than your bathroom scale but just as painless.  It is a simple procedure that takes only a minute.  An electrical current passes through pads placed on one hand and one foot and before you know it your results are ready.

Factors that affect your body composition 

There is no one single factor that can change or affect your body composition.  Excess accumulation of fat can result from an imbalance of caloric intake, excess of calories taken in and not enough calories burned; lack of physical activity; lifestyle influences such as a high-fat, high sugar diet; overeating; excess alcohol intake; chronic use of corticosteroids; hormone imbalance; and other metabolic factors.

How to achieve a healthy body composition

A healthy body composition program helps a person lose fat while maintaining their muscle mass.  This is in contrast to most programs that are designed to help a person lose weight, but results in a significant amount of muscle loss.

You may have family or friends that have been on a program, lost weight in a short period of time, gained the weight back and eventually gained even more weight.  This is a result of a lower muscle-to-fat-ratio.  Fat or adipose tissue is metabolically inactive tissue (it does not burn or require calories) while muscle tissue is highly metabolically active (requires calories to function).  By preserving lean muscle mass, a healthy body composition program reduces the risk of disease and may decrease the likelihood that fat mass will return after the program is complete.  This is because a higher muscle-to-fat ratio may increase your body’s metabolic rate.  Having a higher metabolic rate enables the body to effectively burn calories each day.  You are more likely to keep the weight off with this approach. To improve body composition:

• Exercise
• Reduce caloric intake
• Eat frequent small meals
• Include protein in your diet
• Nutritional supplementation

You have the power to shape your body for better health.  Take the first step to achieving health.  Alter your body composition!