DO YOU PUT YOUR SELF VALUE IN POUNDS?
)
}
Does what the scale says in the
morning decide what kind of day
you are going to have? Is the reading
on the scale how you decide if you
are FAT or THIN? Do you worry
about being some predetermined
weight9 My answer to these ques
tions involve the why and the how of
this preoccupation with weight
Society has come up with a notion
that if you aren't extremely thin or a
certain weight for your height you
are fat There are a few problems
with this idea. First, there is a happy
medium in the middle. For men this
is a body fat percentage of 15-22%
and for women this is a body fat per
centage of 22-30 0 o according to the
book Fit or Fat. If you are under
these limits that is great as long as
there is no health threat, but if you
are within these limits that is also
great You are also not any less of a
person than those who are at a low
er level than you Also, there are
people out there that appear to be
thin that are as high as 40% body
fat. So things may not always be as
they appear
The next question is how do you
know how much you should weigh
for your height9 There are factors
that determine if you are a “good'
weight or if you are a "bad” weight
These are called Lean Body Mass
(LBM) and fat mass LBM is the
weight of your bones, water content,
and muscle mass If you are big
boned, muscular from athletic active
ty or retaining water, this has a di
reef affect by increasing your
weight, but none of these factors
make you any fatter Fat mass in
eludes both the body's storage fat
and essential fat Lean Body Mass
(LBM) and fat mass combined are
known as BODY COMPOSITION
Body Composition is what we
should be concerned with, instead
of what your weight should be for
your height
This brings us to the great mis use
of scales in our society People have
a tendency to let a scale be a mood
setter for their day If the scale says
that either we have lost weight or
that we are at a weight that we feel
we should be (possibly based on un
realistic ideals) then it will be a good
day If we gained weight, which
could be muscle gained from oxer
case or being weighed at a different
time of the day. or we are not at the
perfect weight, it will be a bad day
The problem with a scale is that it
can only tell us our weight and not
what our body composition levels of
fat are at the time.
I
The main problem with a precon
ceived weight is that it runs contrary
to a new scientific theory called the
SET POINT THEORY The idea be
hind this theory is that each person
has a weight range that they are ge
netically determined to stay in The
weight that you seem to stay at no
matter what you eat, or what you go
back to after a diet is probably your
set point This is probably why over
90% of all dieters gain back their
weight lost on diets over a 2 year pe
nod of time
The problem with a scale
is that it can only tell us
our weight and not what
body composition levels
of fat are...
Since there seems to tx? a prede
termined range of weight for all of
us. we will need to learn to work
within this area instead of trying to
fight it This is where body compose
tion comes into play for us If we are
going to weight X" amount of
pounds and we are not happy with
how we are built, we will need to
learn to be leaner and not worry
about being lighter If you increase
your IBM through exercise and a
low fat diet you could weigh the
same even though you may need to
buy some new clothes in a smaller
si/e So don't worry if the scale says
the same thing every morning (if you
must still use it) Also, the big advarv
tage you get by increasing your LBM
is that you then increase the number
of calories that are burned every day
So maybe we are going to have to
relearn a few things:
1) My scale can't tell me all I
need to know
2) Not to let society decide how
much I should weight
3) Not all weight is bad weight,
especially if it is muscle that
burns calories.
4) To accept my genetics and if I
need to change my body that
the Leaner not Lighter con
cept is better (I don't neces
sarily have to lose weiaht)
By Jell Gerber
INSIDE
FROM ROOTS
AND BERRIES
TO ICE CREAM
H2O
ANOREXIA
NERVOSA
IN GOOD
HEALTH
^ROM THE HIP
Do you feel zapped?
Do you wonder
whatever happened
to that youthful zing
of energy you once
had7 The Health Ed
ucation library has a
number of books on
health topics such
as exercise, nutri
tion, meditation and
much more available
for U of 0 students
to check out Stop
by and check out a
few books on the
first floor of the Stu
dent Health Center
Has dieting become
a way of life for
you? Have you
heard about the
New Science of
Weight Control7 We
don't control it —we
manage it1 Talk to a
Peer Health Nutri
tion counselor to
learn about healthy
food choices, life
style habits and
more for a lifetime
of healthy living
Call 346-4456 for an
appointment —it
FREE!
Has Cholesterol be
come a nuisance lor
your arteries999 A
healthy lifestyle to
day can help you
prevent heart dis
ease in the future
For FREE come find
out your cholesterol
count, blood pres
sure and ask for die
tary counseling at
Health Education in
the Student Health
Center on Tuesdays
from 9:00 to 11 30
a m Yep. that's
right, it's FREE for U
of 0 students
Spring is here and
so are the allergies1
If you are sniffing
and snee4ing the
Student Health Cen
ter offers allergy in
jections to help alle
viate the allergy
symptoms Allergy
injections are given
by registered nurses
between 8:00 and
11 30 a m and 1 00
and 4 00 p m Mon
day through Friday
There is a charge of
$3 00 Call 346 4441
for more mforma
lion