WOW! Yet another confusing metric to keep people stuck. BMI (Body Mass Index) is calculated based solely on height and weight. It is NOT the same as Body Fat Percentage and is an unreliable predictor of health.
BMI falsely categories people in one of two ways. Someone like me, with a Body Fat Percentage of 15 (meaning only 15% of my total bodyweight is from fat) is well within the healthy range. However, based on a higher-than-average body weight (due to the fact that I perform intense strength training on a regular basis and therefore have more muscle than the sedentary public) I’m misclassified as having an unhealthy BMI.
The other shortcoming of BMI is that someone with very low muscle mass and lots of excess bodyfat might be classified as having a healthy BMI because of their lower bodyweight relative to their height. Muscle is more dense than fat, so a pound of fat takes up more space on the body than a pound of muscle. Not only is excess fat unsightly, it constantly secretes inflammatory markers into the bloodstream and promotes excess estrogen production while reducing insulin sensitivity, making it harder to burn fat as energy.
Body Fat Percentage, not BMI, is the best predictor of health and longevity. The healthy range for men is 10%-20% and for women it’s 20%-30%. The first step to improving your numbers is knowing your numbers, then implementing a process to change those numbers on a weekly basis (like my F.A.S.T Track to Fitness Program). If you haven’t had an Inbody scan recently (or ever) just email me using the form below and I’ll get you scheduled for one either with me personally or with a facility near you in the case of remote clients. It’s the next step to reaching your optimal level of health and fitness!
Many of you will be asking about this, so let me address it here first. The headline screams “Intermittent Fasting Increases Risk of Heart Disease” but if you read the article, you’ll find that this is not actually the case. This “study” was based on 24-hour dietary recall (in other words, what did you eat yesterday?) The “researchers” admit this is flimsy data, because people may not remember it correctly or not report accurately.
The researchers also state that nutrient levels were not considered and may be the real cause of elevated markers of poor health and risk of disease. They also explain that previous studies have found that time-restricted eating, or intermittent fasting, showed a favorable effect on several cardiometabolic health measures, such as blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol levels.
This quote from the researchers themselves sums it up nicely and should have been the real headline: “Although the study identified an association between an 8-hour eating window and cardiovascular death, this does not mean that time-restricted eating caused cardiovascular death.” The takeaway here is don’t believe everything you read. These people were followed over a period of years and only reported two day’s worth of eating. Read the article for yourself: 8-hour time-restricted eating linked to a 91% higher risk of cardiovascular death.
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Shifting back to the weekly “focused fat-burning phase” is critical to continue progressing on my approach. When the weekend is over, I utilize an Intermittent fast to accelerate the process of getting back into ketosis, while anticipating another week of virtually zero foods containing any considerable amount of carbohydrate.
My daily amount is 25g of carbohydrates or less during the week with a “rebuild and refuel phase” on the weekends where the intake may be 10x that amount per day.
While it is possible to lose weight on a more moderate carbohydrate intake, I have personally found this phase-shifting approach to be much more sustainable. Frequent carbohydrate intake keeps insulin chronically elevated, which completely stops all fat-burning while glucose is cleared from the bloodstream by being burned as energy or stored for future use.
This perfectly mimics our evolutionary eating pattern where high amounts of carbohydrates simply were not available most of the time.
During these times of temporary energy shortages, we would effortlessly slip into burning our true primary fuel, FAT (either as dietary fat or in the form bodyfat when dietary fat intake was also low).
When carbohydrate was available, for example in the form of honey or a wild tuber or possibly some occasional ripe fruit in season, we would consume a considerable amount in anticipation of another short-term shortage. This incoming glucose was stored as muscle glycogen and spared for emergency use only, such as an all-out sprint or another physically demanding activity.
Our ability to shift back and forth between energy substrates is known as “metabolic flexibility” and this survival technique has been lost in the modern world.
When carbohydrate is consumed chronically it basically overfills our reserves and the excess is stored as fat which seldom, if ever, is pulled out of storage for use when there is always more glucose coming in.
To top it all off, these fluctuations in blood sugar wreak havok on our hunger, mood and energy levels. (By the way, these conditions create a perfect environment for marketing prepackaged snack foods but I’m sure that’s just a coincidence).
How to become a fat-burner. 🔥
Step 1: Reduce or eliminate sugar, grains and/or starches from your menu for 5-6 days straight.
Step 2: Perform 30 minutes cardiovascular activity first thing in the morning on an empty stomach using a moderate intensity pace.
Step 3: Perform 30 minutes strength training at least 3 days per week. Ideally, this would be done daily as well.
Step 4: Prioritize lean protein and fiberous plant material like those found in my Food Guidelines handout. Aim for 1/5 of your daily protein target every 4 hours.
Step 5: After you nail your weekly weigh-in goal, allow a period of time to enjoy some of the “forbidden foods” that you have been avoiding. This will “refill the tank” and prepare you for the week ahead.
Repeat this pattern until you reach your goal. Anyone can safely and sustainably lose 1% of their current body weight per week without losing muscle. At that rate, losing 10% of your current bodyweight every few months is both achievable and maintainable.
If any of this doesn’t make sense or if you need help sorting it out or making it a lifestyle, I’m constantly working on creating new strategies to help make these understandings work for you. Message me using the form below. We can do a one-on-one conversation or group chat, or I can direct you to some of the resources I’ve created over the years including books and articles as well as audio and video content. You can also use this link to start my F.A.S.T. Track to Fitness program!
Until next time stay strong and enjoy the journey. – Jason
Reshape Your Life 