The Skinny On Fat & How The Scales Can Deceive You

​Taja Watkins-Scott, BS

Physical Health & Wellness Associate 

The vast majority of people trying to lose weight for whatever reason tend to look to the scales as an indicator of progress.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but many other factors have to be taken into consideration because body weight is just one factor.

​"What about BMI?" (aka body mass index) I hear you say.  Yes, another factor that can be considered, but again can have misleading results.

Let's have a look at the definition of these areas:

Body weight - The mass or quantity of heaviness of an individual. It is expressed by units of pounds or kilograms. - OpenMD.com

BMI (body mass index) - The body mass index is a measure that uses your height and weight to work out if your weight is healthy.

The BMI calculation divides an adult's weight in kilograms by their height in metres squared.  For example, A BMI of 25 means 25kg/m2.

For most adults, an ideal BMI is in the 18.5 to 24.9 range.

For children and young people aged 2 to 18, the BMI calculation takes into account age and gender as well as height and weight. - nhs.uk

This is all good and well, but neither of these take body composition into consideration. This is defined as:

Your body composition determines what percentage of your total body weight comes from fat, muscle, and bone. - verywellfit.com

So, from that definition alone, we can see that this takes a lot more into consideration.  To break this down into an example there could be two women who are the same age, height and weight and so they would have the same BMI, but one could have a higher bone density than the other and their distribution of body fat to lean muscle could differ.

When we look at this we can see that what we see on the surface can appear to be healthy, but when you explore the layers, this could be a very different case when body composition considered.

Now let's get to the part we really want to focus on:

MUSCLE WEIGHS MORE THAN FAT!!!
 
If someone was to lay out 2kg of fat next to 2kg of muscle, the piece of muscle would be much smaller than the piece of fat. I am now very much aware of this in my own body now.

I've never been one to obsess about my weight and try not to. Instead, I tend to go by how I feel on a whole and how I fit in my clothes.

From about the age of 15 to now at the age of 34, I have been the same clothes size but my weight has fluctuated up and down. At my lightest I was probably around 58kg and at my heaviest I've been 75kg. I did feel uncomfortable at my heaviest and that was going by how I felt in my clothing.

I now sit between about 65kg and 69kg and although I will never be at my lightest weight I am now in a place where I am feeling more confident about my body due to the hard work that I have put in over the last 4 or so years. Instead of losing weight I have gained muscle and lost some of my body fat.

There is still a lot of progress that I would like to make but the moral of the story is, everyone has their own personal body journey and achievements and no one should take that away from them, even if they don't match up to your own ideology of the “perfect” body.

I just wanted to remind those who in particular, are trying to lose weight and may be becoming disheartened or discouraged because they have reached a place where they feel stagnant, and no matter what they do, the weight just does not seem to be dropping off anymore. Just remember:

MUSCLE WEIGHS MORE THAN FAT!

​​Taja Watkins-Scott, BS

​My name is Taja Watkins-Scott and professionally, I am a holistic bodywork therapist specializing in Swedish massage, sports massage and rehabilitation and acupuncture. Personally, I would describe myself as a nurturer and spiritual being navigating the human experience of life and while on this journey I am using my gifts to bring love, light and healing to as many people as I possibly can to raise the vibration of the world around us. I am a firm believer that our health should be considered holistically as every aspect of our lives;  physically, spiritually and emotionally are all interconnected. I take this approach with my own life and treat my clients accordingly. Although I am a bodywork therapist, many of my clients have found a safe space in me to be vulnerable and let go of anxieties they may be holding on to. As someone who also lives with anxiety it warms my heart that others can find a safe haven in me to let go of theirs.