Читать книгу The 3 Apple a Day GI Diet: The Amazing Superfood for Fast-track Weight Loss - Tammi Flynn - Страница 10

What’s the difference?

Researchers have learned that body fat, instead of weight, is a better predictor of health. High body fat, or “overfat”, is associated with conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, and cancer.

Being overfat is more dangerous to your health than being overweight. Traditionally, being overweight has been defined as weighing more than the healthy weight listed for your age and height in a weight table. But that doesn’t account for differences in body composition. For example, athletes are often overweight according to the weight-table standards because of muscle development or large body frame, but they are probably not overfat.

The 3-Apple-a-Day GI Diet was specifically designed and developed for permanent fat loss and muscle retention (keeping lean muscle tissue). This plan was not necessarily designed for weight loss—at least using the traditional method of measure, the scales. Other measuring techniques to determine progress have been highly effective and motivational. These include girth measurements (waist, hip, and thigh), body composition testing, and body mass index, which we’ll get into later.

The scales tells you only the partial truth

Weighing yourself on bathroom scales tells you next to nothing about how healthy you really are. Gaining or losing a pound doesn’t always mean it’s a pound of fat. In fact, small, frequent shifts in weight typically reflect fluid changes in your body. Your body’s fluid levels vary depending on the amount of salt you eat, your activity level, and hormonal changes. It seems that many people, mainly women, are controlled by the numbers on the scales. If the number goes up, they’re discouraged. If the number goes down, they are motivated and happy. The numbers on the scales do not measure the progress you have made, and they can even be detrimental to your program. Why not break those barriers and get permanent results without the frustration of the scales? The following photos show how people with different body types and levels of body fat, and different degrees of lean muscle can weigh the same.

Males 40–49 years old

All these men weigh 195 pounds!

Females 30–39 years old

All these women weigh 135 pounds!

Get the picture?

Other methods for measuring

Methods of body-fat measuring that should be done by a trained professional include skinfold measurements, infrared interactance, bioelectrical impedance, and underwater weighing. Other methods, such as girth measurements and body mass index (BMI), can be done at home. A BMI reading is based on your height and weight and is just a gauge for determining health risk. This measurement may not be appropriate for athletes or very active people. The 3-Apple-a-Day GI Diet asks you to chart your girth measurements.

For girth measurements, use a tape measure. Measure the waist at the navel, the hips around the buttocks, and the thighs at their upper part. Every one inch lost from the waist is equal to 4 pounds of body fat (Muscle and Fitness magazine, March 2003). Use the chart in Charting Girth Measurements to keep track of your girth measurements in inches as you work the 3-Apple-a-Day GI Diet.

Charting Girth Measurements

	Date	Waist	Hips	Thigh
Start	_____	_____	_____	_____
Week 2	_____	_____	_____	_____
Week 4	_____	_____	_____	_____
Week 6	_____	_____	_____	_____
Week 8	_____	_____	_____	_____
Week 10	_____	_____	_____	_____
Week 12	_____	_____	_____	_____
Total change		-_____	-_____	-_____

Calculating Body Mass Index (BMI)

To determine BMI, use the following formula (or use the free calculator at nhlbisupport.com/bmi):

Weight (pounds) ÷ Height (inches)² × 703 = BMI

Example:	Female, 140 pounds, 5 foot 4 inches
	140 ÷ (64" × 64") × 703 = 24
Example:	Male, 185 pounds, 5 foot 11 inches
	185 ÷ (71" × 71") × 703 = 25.79

If your BMI ranges from 18.5 to 24.9, your weight is not likely to have a major effect on your health. If your BMI is 25 or more, talk to your GP about the 3-Apple-a-Day GI Diet.

Is it time to act?

The health questionnaire in Is your health at risk? is a screening tool to help you assess your physical activity and nutrition habits. Whether you find that you’re at high risk of becoming overfat or not, answering the questions may increase your awareness about your current habits. If you have decided that you could stand some improvement, try simply changing one of your undesirable food or activity habits instead of focusing on the scales. Use The 3-Apple-a-Day GI Diet for guidance. You will be amazed at how easily the fat will come off when you make even small changes, such as eating an apple before every meal.

Is your health at risk?

• Do you eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day?

• Are you physically active at least 30 minutes per day, seven days per week?

• Do you eat fewer than three deep-fried foods per week?

• Is your waist measurement under 35 inches for a female? Under 40 inches for a male?

• Is your BMI under 25?

• Do you consider yourself at a healthy body fat level?

• Does your family history show healthy body weights without obesity?

If you can answer yes to most of these questions, you’re probably not at high risk of developing overfat-related diseases. If you answered no to at least three of the questions, your chances are greater for developing overfat-related diseases.

This is not a medically proven questionnaire to determine the risk of becoming overfat. It is used exclusively as a screening technique for increasing health awareness.

In the next chapter, we’ll look at other factors that determine if you’ll become overfat, and we’ll see how the 3-Apple-a-Day GI Diet can make a big difference.