What is Body Water?

Body water is the amount of water content found in your body. Up to 60% of the human body contains water.

Almost every cell in your body contains water: body water makes up 79% of your muscles, 73% of your brain, and even 31% of your bones. Overall your body weight can be 45-65% water.

What should your body water percentage be?

The amount of water within a person is influenced by your age, sex, and fitness level.

When we are born, we are almost 80% water. By the time we reach our first birthday that number drops to about 65%.

A major influence on our body is the amount of fatty tissue and lean body mass that we carry. Lean body mass carries much more body water than body fat.

An adult man will be about 60% water compared to an adult woman that will be about 55% water. If you are physically active, that number will increase depending on your lean body mass.

You might be wondering what is your ideal body water percentage. A better gauge of healthy body water levels is your ratio of extracellular water to your total body water. To understand what that means, we must first define your extracellular water and intracellular water.

What is extracellular water and intracellular water

Like discussed above, your body water can be found inside not only in your blood, but in your muscle tissue, your body fat, your organs, and inside every cell in your body.  To account for all this, your total body water (TBW) can be divided into two basic groups.

Extracellular Water (ECW)

Extracellular water is the water located outside your cells.  The water in your blood falls into this category. Roughly 1/3 of your fluid is attributed to ECW, and this water is found in your interstitial fluid, transcellular fluid, and blood plasma.

Extracellular water is important because it helps control the movement of electrolytes, allows oxygen delivery to the cells, and clears waste from metabolic processes.

Intracellular Water (ICW)

Intracellular water is the water located inside your cells.  It comprises 70% of the cytosol, which is a mix of water and other dissolved elements.  In healthy people, it makes up the other 2/3 of the water inside your body.

The intracellular water is the location of important cellular processes, and although it has many functions, a very important one is that it allows molecules to be transported to the different organelles inside the cell.  Essentially, the Intracellular water picks up where the Extracellular water left off by continuing the pathway for fuel to be transported to the cells.

What is a healthy water balance?

When it comes to your body water and you, the most important thing to strive for is balance. Your Intracellular fluid: Extracellular fluid must remain at the same levels with respect to each other.

A healthy fluid distribution has been estimated at a 3:2 ratio of ICW:ECW. If your body water falls out of balance, this can signal changes in your health and body composition. Whether these changes are positive or negative depend on which type of water becomes unbalanced.

What does increased intracellular water (ICW) mean?

Having slightly more ICW than normal isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it can signal positive changes in your body composition. 

Increased muscle mass is due to the enlargement of the number and size of muscle cells.  When the muscle cells become enlarged, they are able to take in (and require) more ICW in order to power their cellular functions.  Research has shown that resistance exercise can lead to increased intracellular water in humans. Increased ICW as a result of exercise is a sign of increased Lean Body Mass, which is a very good thing and has positive health benefits, including:

·  Increased Energy Use

·  Increased Strength

·  Increased Immune System

What does excess extracellular water mean (ECW)?

If your ECW increases in relation to your ICW, this is something you should take special note of.  Unlike ICW, you do not want to see your ECW increasing beyond normal levels. Excess ECW can indicate health risks, including:

·  Inflammation

·  Renal Disease (Kidney Failure)

·  Unhealthy Fat Mass Levels (Obesity)

How to find your total body water?

Since it’s so important to keep an eye on your fluid balance, you’ll need to know how you can determine yours. There are two major methods to measure and determine your fluid levels.  These are the dilution method and the BIA method.

The dilution method involves drinking a known dose of heavy water (deuterium oxide) and allowing it to distribute around the body.  

This test takes several hours to complete during which any fluid of any type going in or out of the body has to be carefully recorded. For these reasons, you’re unlikely to have this test performed. The second, more accessible method to determine body water content is bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA).  More commonly known as a body scan, for most people this method is a much more practical method.

A small electrical current is applied to the body, and the opposition that current experiences (impedance), is measured.  From that impedance result, a BIA device can report your total body water (fig 1). Advanced BIA devices are able to reflect the difference in Intracellular and Extracellular water as well, which can reveal the ICW: ECW balance. (Fig 2)

Bringing Yourself Back Into Balance

Maintaining a balanced ratio of approximately 3:2 is ideal for optimal health.  If you find that this ratio is beginning to fall out of balance, there are some things you can do.  Fortunately, these tips aren’t anything you already haven’t heard before: maintaining a healthy diet, staying hydrated by drinking enough water, and exercising regularly.

Avoiding excess ECW is ideal.  From a dietary standpoint, one simple change that can work to reduce excess ECW is reducing the amount of sodium (salt) in your diet. Sodium is located primarily in your ECW, and when excess sodium is introduced into the body, the body’s natural response is to draw water out of your cells at the expense of your ICW.  Reducing your sodium intake has a number of positive health benefits, so this tip can be considered simply a best practice for optimal health in addition to being a tactic for reducing high ECW.

On the flip side, increasing your ICW can be achieved by increasing your Lean Body Mass/increasing muscle mass through exercising.  As the muscle cells increase in size, they will require more water to maintain their function. Exercise has the additional benefit of combating obesity, and as fat mass is reduced, ECW increases due to obesity will decline over time.

As you can see, body water can be an important indicator of your overall health.  Without a healthy ICW:ECW ratio your body will begin to have problems. 

The best thing you can do for proper body water balance is to maintain a healthy lifestyle. If you can achieve a healthy lifestyle, your body water will fall into balance naturally.  The first step would be to find out where your body water levels are today, so you can start planning for a healthier life now.

Contact My Body Composition Solutions for an analysis of your composition and more information.

Disclaimer: This article should not substitute professional medical advice. When starting a new diet or exercise plan, always consult your physician and exercise professional first.

Information in this article has been extracted and edited from InBody USA ‘Body Water: Percentages and Ratios You Should Know.’

This post was updated on September 19, 2019, for accuracy and comprehensiveness. It was originally published on August 13, 2015.

 This article includes words and phrases that link to several other information resources.

You don’t need anyone to tell you that smoking is bad for your health.  Smoking impairs the immune system and is associated with a long list of cardiovascular, autoimmune, respiratory and neurological diseases. The list of common symptoms of tobacco-related diseases includes shortness of breath, persistent cough, and frequent colds or upper respiratory infections.

Specifically, the substances you ingest while smoking a cigarette have a direct effect on both the innate and adaptive immunity, suppressing the normal development and function of the cells that are responsible for driving immunity in the body. Nicotine, in particular, has been shown to be a potent immunosuppressive agent by affecting the immunosurveillance properties of dendritic cells, highly-specialized cells of the immune system.

Imagine this; your body fights for your survival every single day of your life, and in the meantime, you can be counteracting these efforts every time you decide to smoke. Is that cigarette worth your health?

2.  Drink Alcohol in Moderation

Alcohol is often associated with celebrations and anniversaries, but if you abuse it, your immune system suffers.  Alcohol consumption is a contributing factor to organ damage, specifically the liver, and is known to slow down recovery from tissue injuries. Try to stick within the standard drink guidelines, however it is important to remember that factors such as gender, age, mental health, drug use and existing medical conditions can change how alcohol affects you.

A standard drink provides 10g alcohol and is equal to:

• 100ml wine
• 285ml full strength beer
• 60ml port or sherry
• 30ml spirits. (2)

Alcohol intake exceeding the recommended intake disrupts essential immune pathways and, in turn, impairs the body’s ability to defend itself against infections. 

It is worth stating that alcohol-related immune system disturbances have been implicated in the development of certain types of cancer, including but not limited to head and neck cancers among alcohol users. Before you start thinking that this is a problem isolated to chronic alcohol users, keep in mind that acute binge drinking, also known as a Saturday night, has the ability to severely impair the body’s defence system.

3.  Try to Minimise Stress

Chronic stress is like poison for your body; it has a negative impact on every aspect of your health, and it’s even more dangerous due to its ability to creep up without you consciously acknowledging it.  One of the many systems responsible in the body for handling difficult situations is the immune system. Specifically, cells of the immune systems are equipped with receptors that recognize stress hormones, such as cortisol. 

Even acute stress can mess up your immune system by increasing the release of inflammatory-promoting cytokines in the blood, a special type of immune cell that signals other cells and affect their function. Stress, immunity, and disease can affect each other in reciprocal ways, but these relationships can be moderated by life stage, other environmental pressures and goals, stressor duration, and protective factors, such as good sleep. Make sure you have a healthy strategy to help you relieve the symptoms of stress like exercising or spending time with friends and family. 

4.  Get More Sleep

Speaking of sleep, it is a strong regulator of immunological processes and works to enhance the memory of the adaptive immune system. When you deprive your body of adequate sleep, you simultaneously make it more susceptible to many infectious agents. Sleep deprivation not only makes you more susceptible to infections like the common cold or the flu, but it also makes it so much harder to recover from the bacteria or virus infection that eventually manages to enter your system.  

While you are sleeping every night, your body uses this time to strengthen the immune system and move T cells to the lymph nodes, the vessels of the immune system responsible for filtering harmful substances. These T cells produce cytokines which are called to action when there is inflammation in your body or when you’re under stress. During periods of inadequate sleep, cytokine production is diminished, further hurting your immune system.  So, feel free to hit that snooze button, and in case you come down with the flu, feel free to hibernate for a few days.

5. Exercise Regularly – But Don’t Skip Rest Days

Most people have a love-hate relationship with exercise.  This particular argument will only add to your love towards exercise. Studies have proved that regular physical activity may enhance the immune system and provide protection against infection.

Furthermore, regular resistance exercise increases your muscle mass, which acts as a protein reserve when the immune system is working to stave off disease. Simply put, the more muscle mass you build through a healthy diet and regular exercise, the more equipped your body is to fight off infection and keep you strong and healthy. Conversely, getting rid of bacteria or virus infection will be a lot harder if you have been neglecting the gym.

But don’t forget to take your workouts outside. Exercising outside is a great way to both destress and reap the benefits of Vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency has also been linked to an increased susceptibility to infection, so when the weather permits try to go outside and enjoy the sun.

Unfortunately, no one can stay young forever, and as the body ages, its natural defences begin to waiver.  The good news is that regular physical activity in the elderly may counteract the actions of time and boost the immune system so that it can protect the body from infection and disease.

Nonetheless, like everything else in life, too much of a good thing can be bad.  Being a couch potato suppresses the immune system, but the opposite extreme can be equally detrimental. Repeated bouts of strenuous exercise, also known as overtraining syndrome, can lead to symptoms like immune dysfunction, so make sure to maintain a healthy balance between regular physical activity and exhaustion.

6.  Eat Enough Nutritious Foods

Every system in the body requires energy to function properly. This energy is provided by food sources in the form of calories. Indeed, insufficient intake of calories may lead to micronutrient deficiencies and suppress the immune system and its vital functions. In fact, malnutrition is the most prevalent cause of immunodeficiency around the world.  

Food is powerful; it has the potential to make or break every chemical pathway in the body that sustains you. Because of that, it makes sense that the healthier your food choices are the stronger your immune system & subsequently your health will be. 

Certain nutrient deficiencies have the potential to alter immune responses and damage the way your immune response to infections. Vitamins and nutrients with antioxidant properties can provide protection against free radicals. Adding an abundance of foods high in naturally occurring antioxidants like citrus fruits in your diet is the key to maintaining a healthy immune system. Exposure to environmental conditions such as UV light, cigarette smoke can ultimately take its toll on the immune system and drive the production of free radicals in the body. Antioxidants fight the free radicals and restore the structural integrity of cells and membranes in the body. Examples of such antioxidants include zinc, selenium, iron, copper, vitamin C, A, and E. Foods high in vitamin C, A, and E, in particular, may also increase the activation of cells involved in tumor immunity.

Plant-derived bioactive compounds, known as phytonutrients, also play an important role in strengthening the immune system.  Polyphenols, flavonoids, isoflavonoids, carotenoids, and phytoestrogens, are some of the few phytonutrients that have the ability to enhance the immune system with their immunity-boosting superpowers. Dietary intake of phytochemicals promotes health benefits and protects against chronic disorders, such as cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, and inflammation. Also, their natural origin poses lower side effects when compared to chemotherapy or radiotherapy and promises a brilliant future for their use in treating specific types of cancer.  

Finally, there is emerging research linking gut health to the immune system and there is promising research highlighting the benefits of probiotics supplementation in improving the body’s response to bacterial infections.

Balanced nutrition, especially in terms of adequate vitamin, mineral and protein intake (for those essential amino acids), enhances the resistance against infections. If you are not sure that you can provide everything your body needs through your diet alone, it might be worth investing in a quality multivitamin to help cover any inconsistencies from your diet. 

7.  Maintain a healthy body fat percentage

It has been observed that overnutrition can potentially increase the risk of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.  A healthy body fat percentage ranges between 10-20% of the total body weight for men and 18-28% for women. Therefore, a percent body fat higher than this may impair the immune response.

Studies have shown that the link between obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes could be explained through the subsequent activation of the innate immune system. The same system that is implicated in the pathophysiology of obesity-related liver damage.  A healthy immune system does an excellent job in protecting you from disease, but permanent activation causes the release of immune cells that promote inflammation in the body, making it a lot harder for the immune system to concentrate on its primary goal; to keep you healthy.  

The solution is simple in this case. You can reverse the negative effects of a high body percentage by improving your body composition. Less body fat, specifically visceral fat, equals less immune cells circulating in the bloodstream, promoting inflammation and wreaking havoc on the natural processes of the body.  

In addition to losing fat, gaining more muscle mass, as we spoke about before, can further improve body composition and reset a dysfunctioning immune system, laying the foundations towards long term health.

                        Regular Body Composition Analysis is the ideal way to monitor your fat percentage.

You may read this article and think that all these are just too much change for you. Small changes are still a step in the right direction. Change your habits one at a time to help support your immune system, and it will help you bounce back quickly next time you catch a common cold. After all, a strong, healthy body depends on your daily decisions.

Contact My Body Composition Solutions for an analysis of your composition and more information.

Disclaimer: This article should not substitute professional medical advice. When starting a new diet or exercise plan, always consult your physician and exercise professional first.

Information in this article has been extracted and edited from InBody USA blog ‘7 Ways to Boost Your Immune System’written by  Rafaela Michailidou is a Biomedical scientist, and a freelance health and wellness content writer. Aspiring to help people achieve their goals, she is currently studying to be a Health Coach. 

 This article includes words and phrases that link to several other information resources.

(1)  Source: According to a 2015 report by AIG.

(2)  Source: eatforhealth.gov.au

Like many topics in the realm of nutrition, a quick search on the Internet about snacks will give you pages of conflicting recommendations. Some sources recommend frequent snacking, and some demonize snacking altogether. Even the word “snack” seems to carry a negative connotation.

Perhaps this is because of the common association between snacking and mindless eating, or the assumption that “snack” often refers to candy or salty processed foods. The idea that snacking can’t be part of a healthy diet is a common misconception. Although it’s true that snacking can cause weight gain, it all comes down to doing it the right way. 

Benefits of Snacks

• Fullness and Satiety

Snacking may help you stay full between meals. Feeling satisfied between meals helps avoid excessive hunger at mealtime, which therefore prevents overeating. 

Specific types of snacks are more likely to help you feel less hungry between meals. In fact, one study found that almonds had more influence on satiety when eaten as snacks, rather than with a meal. Another study found that eating high-protein yogurt promoted satiety more than chocolate or crackers as snacks. 

• Metabolism

Eating a high-protein diet has been shown to increase your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). This is due to the process of gluconeogenesis, which forms glucose from non-carbohydrate substrates such as glycerol from fat and amino acids from protein. This process uses a lot of energy, meaning your body may burn more calories when you eat a high-protein snack.

• Body Composition

If you’re working to build muscle, you have likely heard that a high-protein diet is a way to go. This is because when you exercise, muscle is broken down. Protein from your diet contains amino acids that repair and rebuild Skeletal Muscle Mass. 

It may be difficult for some to meet the high protein needs needed to build muscle. Eating high-protein snacks can help contribute to meet protein recommendations to build Skeletal Muscle Mass.

• Post-Workout

A snack is a perfect way to replenish your body’s energy after a tough workout. Carbohydrates are your body’s preferred source of energy, and protein helps repair muscle fibres that were broken down during the workout.

For optimal results, choose a post-workout snack that offers a balance of carbohydrates and protein.

Components of a Healthy Snack

• Protein

Depending on your activity levels and goals, your protein needs may range from 0.8 – 2.0 grams per kilogram body weight. If you’re highly active and looking to build muscle, your needs will be on the higher end of the spectrum. Some people struggle to meet a high protein need with meals alone, which is why snacks are important.

Not all protein is equal. Animal protein (meat, dairy, etc.) and plant-based protein (from beans, tofu, etc.) look a little different when they’re broken down in the body.

Basically, protein is broken down into smaller parts called amino acids. There are nine “essential” amino acids that must be present to make a complete protein. Most animal protein provides all essential amino acids and therefore a convenient source for protein. 

However, it’s easy to create complete proteins by eating a variety of plant-based proteins which complement each other. Complementary proteins do not need to be eaten together, so long as the day's meals supply them all.

By way of example, here are some common meal items that naturally complement each others’ proteins:

o  Beans and rice or tortillas

o  Peanut butter rice cracker

o  Tofu with rice (or any grain)

o  Hummus with pita bread

o  Noodle stir-fry with peanut or sesame seed sauce

o  Lentil soup with bread

o  Whole grain cereal with soymilk

o  Quinoa salad with black beans

o  Tacos filled with beans or lentils

• Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates serve as the preferred source of energy in the body. Eating enough carbohydrates is especially important if your activity level is high.

Like protein, not all carbohydrates are equal. Choose complex carbohydrates such as whole grains, beans, and vegetables as often as possible. These foods are high in fibre and other nutrients, and they are broken down more slowly by the body. Due to this, complex carbohydrates can serve as great snacks to help subside hunger until your next meal.

However, for both pre and post-workout snacks, simple carbohydrates (which the body can break down quicker) can prove to be very beneficial as they can help to provide you quick easy energy for your workout, as well as help you to recover faster post-workout. 

• Fat

First and foremost, it is not necessary to avoid fat if your goal is fat loss. Researchers now know that eating fat doesn’t necessarily make you fat. In fact, fat may actually benefit the body in many ways. Fat may play a role in preventing chronic disease. One meta-analysis found that increased intake of omega-3 fatty acids from fish significantly increased HDL cholesterol and decreased triglycerides. A separate meta-analysis found that increased polyunsaturated fat intake reduced common markers of inflammation in the body. 

Choose snacks that contain healthy fats – specifically, polyunsaturated fats. These fats are essential, meaning the only way to get them is through your diet. 

The Fine Line Between A Snack and A Meal

Without proper planning, the calories you consume from snacks can really add up.  In fact, it has been discovered that snacking contributes an average of 35% of calories consumed per day by people in Australia. (1)

Remember, weight loss, gain, and maintenance essentially comes down to calories in vs. calories out. In other words, eating snacks that are too high in calories, or snacking too often can easily derail your health goals. 

Therefore, it’s important to know what a snack really consists of, as well as what to look for on a label and how to plan ahead.

• Snacks may range in calories, depending on your overall goals. For many, 100-200 calories is a good target for snacks. People with higher calorie needs may prefer a higher calorie snack.
• Likewise, the number of snacks you eat per day depends on your personal needs and goals.
• It’s best to plan ahead, and factor snacks into your overall meal plan to avoid overeating. 
• Remember to check labels and measure out snack portions.

Types of Healthy Snacks

There are countless snack products that are marketed as healthy. However, reading the label proves these snacks are anything but. Product labels are often misleading, so it’s important to learn the basics of building a healthy snack. Here are some examples.

• Eggs

Eggs are a classic choice for breakfast. However, they also make a great snack that will keep you full and help you eat less. Eggs are a great source of protein and fat, as well as a healthy array of vitamins and minerals. 

Hard-boiled eggs are easy to prepare ahead of time and portable. 

• Cheese

Like eggs, cheese is a great go-to snack for protein and fat. However, it’s important to watch the serving size if you’re limiting calories. Cottage cheese is highest in protein (around 10 grams per ½ cup), but cream cheese and cheese sticks may also be good options. Pair cheese with a serving of fruit or a vegetable such as grape tomatoes, bell peppers, celery, apples or pears.

• Jerky

It’s no secret that meat is an excellent source of protein. Jerky is convenient and portable, making it a great way to pack in extra protein throughout the day. If eating beef jerky, the best option is grass-fed. Keep in mind that some jerky is high in sodium if you are trying to limit your intake. 

• Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt is a great option if you’re looking for a high-protein, grab-and-go snack. Keep in mind that many yogurts are high in sugar. Choose yogurt with less than 10 grams of sugar per serving or go for plain yogurt to avoid sugar altogether. Sweeten yogurt with Stevia if needed or serve with fresh berries or in a smoothie. 

• Veggies with Hummus or Guacamole

Hummus is a great source of plant-based protein, balanced with carbohydrates, fat, and fibre. Specifically, the olive oil in hummus provides a healthy dose of heart-healthy polyunsaturated fats. Guacamole is a delicious source of healthy fats.

Both dips are fairly calorie-dense, so be mindful of portion sizes. Pair them with carrot sticks, bell peppers or celery.

• Edamame

Edamame is an excellent source of plant-based protein. It’s also high in fibre and antioxidants while being low in carbohydrates. Frozen, shelled edamame is easy to keep on hand and prepare. Eat this snack plain or tossed in chili sauce for some spice.

• Nuts

Nuts are filling due to their fat content. However, nuts are also balanced in protein, carbohydrate, and fibre. A little will go a long way, and calories will add up quickly. It’s important to measure out portions of this calorie-dense snack. Pair almonds, walnuts or mixed nuts with a little dark chocolate if you’re craving something sweet.

• Fruit

Fruit sometimes gets a bad rep because of its low protein and high carbohydrate content. However, fruit is a natural nutrition powerhouse that provides fibre, antioxidants, and other vitamins and minerals while being low in calories. Pair fruit with nut butter, cottage cheese or yogurt to incorporate protein for a low-calorie snack.

• Tuna

It doesn’t get much easier than tuna when it comes to snacking. Packets of tuna are easy, portable and fairly inexpensive. They are also low in calories, high in protein and a great source of polyunsaturated fat. Snack on tuna on its own, or with a few whole-grain crackers. 

• Protein Shake 

Drinking a protein shake is one of the easiest ways to get the most protein for the least amount of calories. Many protein powders can be mixed with water, making this a very portable snack option as well.

There are several types of protein powder in the health and fitness market. Keep in mind that whey protein has been shown to help with muscle gain and fat loss. However, plant-based protein powders are a good alternative for those with other dietary requirements. 

The bottom line: Snack Smart and Reap the Benefits.

Snacking can be part of a healthy lifestyle if done correctly. Choose nutrient-dense snacks that provide carbohydrate, fat, and protein for the most benefit, and paying attention to portion sizes is the key to smart snacking.

Contact My Body Composition Solutions for an analysis of your composition and more information.

Disclaimer: This article should not substitute professional medical advice. When starting a new diet or exercise plan, always consult your physician and exercise professional first.

Information in this article has been extracted and edited from InBody USA ‘Your Guide To Smart Snacking’. It was written by Breanna Woods is a Registered Dietitian with over 5 years of clinical experience. She is passionate about giving her clients the tools they need to build a healthy lifestyle.

 This article includes words and phrases that link to several other information resources.

  (1) Source: MDPI Journal

Why this is better: It’s safe to assume that in most circumstances, when people want to get “bigger”, they want their muscles to get bigger, not their waistlines.  By defining your goal as being Lean Body Mass gain (muscle is the biggest component of Lean Body Mass) and putting a number to it, you have a numerical goal to work towards.

“I want to lose 10kg of fat”

Why this is better: Similar to getting bigger, when people say they want to lose “weight”, it’s safe to assume that they really want to lose fat.  You don’t want to lose muscle – muscle is metabolically active tissue that serves many important roles: from maintaining your metabolism to supporting healthy bone density to keeping a healthy immune system.

It’s likely that some muscle loss will occur when you try to lose fat, so by monitoring the changes in your body composition, you’ll be able to keep an eye on this and minimize any losses that may occur by making the necessary corrections in your diet and exercise program.

Tracking Changes In Your Body Composition Lets You Set Reachable Time-Based Goals

Sometimes, you start a fitness journey because you have a special event coming up. Maybe you’re going on a vacation and you want to have a rockin’ body when you hit the beach.  Maybe there’s a wedding coming up, and you want to make sure you fit into a new/favourite dress.

Point is: there’s a deadline you want results by, and you want a solution that will help you get there. This is a really common situation, so common that nearly every fad diet or gimmicky product makes time deadlines a critical part of their marketing. These diets and products all claim to solve an immediate problem, which makes people feel better, and which is why popular magazines just love promoting them (looking at you, Cosmopolitan).

There are no shortcuts to losing weight, gaining muscle in a very short amount of time. But instead, by tracking your progress by tracking your changes in body composition, you can actually set real goals with real results that you can actually achieve.

Let’s build on the goals we made before, this time adding a reasonable time frame.

“I want to build some muscle in the next 5-6 months”

When you try to build develop muscle and Lean Body Mass, there are a lot of factors that go into whether or not you achieve that goal.  What type of exercises you do, the degree to which you properly perform your exercises, whether you lift heavy with few reps or light with many, how often you strength train, how often you rest…the list goes on, and that doesn’t even include proper nutrition.

However, assuming that you do everything perfect and you’re a beginner, experts posit that you can gain roughly 1 kg of muscle a month with consistent, proper training. If you’re not a beginner, your rate of lean mass growth will be slower as you get closer to your genetic limit for natural muscle development.

Knowing this, if you’re just getting started, you can track your progress every month and expect to see up to a 1 kg increase every month until you reach your goal of 3-5 kg of muscle by following a challenging lifting program.

Here’s how your composition history can look with muscle gain:

When you use your body composition to track your progress, it suddenly doesn’t matter as much how much you can lift, or how many reps you can do. Instead, what matters is that you’re working towards a physical goal – getting bigger and more muscular – and you’re doing it in a way that you can reliably track towards a realistic goal.

“I want to lose 10kg of fat in 5-60 months”

In some ways, losing Fat Mass is easier than building Lean Body Mass and muscle.  There are many types of exercise that encourage Lean Body Mass development, many workout plans to organize them in, and it requires significant amounts of rest and recovery. Fat loss, on the other hand, requires less arguably less planning and actually occurs faster than muscle gain. 

To lose Fat Mass, you need to be in a caloric deficit (taking in less calories than you use) and maintain it carefully over an extended period of time.  This isn’t rocket science, and virtually every peer-reviewed study that includes groups that undergo a caloric deficit experience fat loss. Here are three published in 2015 alone. Hypocaloric diets work.

How quickly can you lost fat? Many studies and health groups, including the Centres for Disease Control, report that by reducing your caloric intake by 3,500 calories a week typically results in ½ kg of fat loss.

Here’s how your composition history can look with fat loss:

Note: ½ kg of fat loss, not weight loss.  If you’re just a scale to measure your rate of change, you may experience even more “weight loss,” but if you’re on a hypocaloric diet, especially one that focuses on cutting out carbohydrates, you might experience additional water weight loss.

That’s because water bonds to glycogen at rate of about 4 grams of water: 1 gram of carbs. If you’re much lower on carbs than you usually are, you’ll be retaining less water and weigh less accordingly.

When you use your body composition to track your progress with fat loss, you can account for what’s actually being lost when you see your weight decrease on the scale. This helps you avoid mistaking your weight loss for water weight loss or (hopefully not) muscle loss.

Why is this important to know? If you’re tracking your body composition changes instead of simple scale weight changes, you won’t be confused when you gain a few pounds back after reintroducing carbs into your diet.  You’ll know that this weight is water, not fat.

Also, by being patient and tracking a pound or two of fat loss each month, you can stay motivated by knowing you’re making real changes that will last in your body. Gaining water weight is as easy as refueling on carbs, but gaining actual fat? That requires you to be in a caloric surplus over a period of time.  Eat within your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, and you can expect your fat mass to remain stable.

Tracking Changes In Your Body Composition Helps You Reduce Negative Changes In Your Body

Unfortunately, the truth is that “positive” results– increases in muscle and decreases in fat – usually come paired with negative consequences.

·  Gaining Fat with Muscle

If the results you’re working for are muscle gain, you may end up experiencing some unwanted fat gain as a side effect.  This is due to the nature of the diet you should go on to encourage muscle tissue growth: namely, a caloric surplus.

Getting sufficient nutrients/calories – particularly carbohydrates and protein – is essential for encouraging increased muscle and strength. However, just as eating fewer calories than you use causes a decrease in fat, eating more than your body “needs” will cause a gain in fat over time.

For some people, gaining a little extra fat is not a big concern, but for others it is – especially if clothes start to not fit properly.  By tracking your body composition changes, you’ll be able to track both muscle and fat gain, allowing you to change your diet or exercise routine if you feel that you’re gaining too much fat.

·  Losing Muscle with Fat

The opposite is true when you try to lose fat. With large reductions in fat due to a hypocaloric diet, you can lose Lean Body Mass and Skeletal Muscle Mass.  Muscle is healthy tissue that you should work hard to preserve.

Fortunately, you can minimize the loss of muscle while reducing fat mass by increasing your protein intake and by performing resistance training. In a study of overweight police officers, the group that ingested casein protein supplements and performed regular resistance training experienced less loss of muscle tissue and increased strength vs. the group that simply dieted.

By tracking your body composition changes, you’ll be able to keep an eye on any losses in muscle development.  Just like for people who want to build muscle, if you see that your negative change – loss in muscle – is becoming too great when you track your body composition changes, you can made the necessary adjustments to your diet and workout plan to help mitigate that loss.

Tracking Progress and Setting Reachable Goals Leads to Success

Tracking your progress over time is one of the most important things you can do to ensure your reach your health and fitness goals.  Whether that’s gaining muscle, losing fat, or both, by accurately tracking your progress with something measurable instead of something visual – like a mirror – or unreliable – like scale weight – you will be able to reach your goals faster.

That’s why tracking progress with your body composition delivers results: it offers objective, measurable values in your body that translate into physical results.

With more muscle and less fat, you’ll be stronger, look fitter, and will be healthier. You’ll be able to gauge this progress objectively instead of guessing, and you’ll be able to make smart adjustments in your training as needs be.

Contact My Body Composition Solutions for an analysis of your composition and more information.

Disclaimer: This article should not substitute professional medical advice. When starting a new diet or exercise plan, always consult your physician and exercise professional first.

Information in this article has been extracted and edited from InBody USA ‘Why Tracking Changes in Body Composition Leads to Results’

originally published on March 24, 2016..

 This article includes words and phrases that link to several other information resources.

First, let’s examine how the stress hormone affects your Fat Free Mass (your muscles and muscular development). As far back as 1964, researchers have suggested this hormone hampers protein synthesis. Protein synthesis = development of new muscle.

Researchers mimicked a stressed state in healthy test subjects by adding cortisol to their systems via IV and oral tablets. They found that cortisol and inactivity were linked with loss of Lean Body Mass, muscle loss, and negatively affected body composition overall. While inactivity can have this effect alone, the catabolic effect of cortisol seemed to play a significant role in muscle loss.

While we may not understand everything about the stress hormone yet, researchers are beginning to understand the effect that chronic stress can have on muscle recovery.

A study published in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research in 2014 was conducted to determine the relationship between stress and muscular recovery. Over the course of a 4-day period, the subjects’ perceived energy, fatigue, and soreness levels were measured after a bout of strenuous resistance exercise.

Over time, perceived stress can end up wearing away at both your mental and physical health. What’s worse, it doesn’t take weeks or months to start seeing the effects. It only took 4 days for researchers to notice a statistically significant impact on perceived energy, fatigue and soreness levels.

And it’s not just in our heads either. The results from the study also showed that over time, stress (whether it originates from an external event or perception) negatively influenced the recovery of muscular function after exercise.

Fat Mass *

Of course, that’s what we found just from looking at Fat Free Mass. Next, let’s look at how cortisol affects Fat Mass.

In 2000, University of California’s Health Psychology Program conducted a study designed to assess whether women with central fat distribution displayed consistently heightened cortisol reactivity when presented with nerve-racking situations.

What the study concluded was that stress-induced cortisol secretion could contribute to an increase in Fat Mass. Interestingly, when comparing subjects with greater fat content vs. leaner subjects, they found that the leaner subjects were more at risk than the subjects with greater body fat percentages.

The implication of this study suggests a fat gain positive feedback loop could occur if left unchecked: more stress -> more cortisol ->more body fat -> more stress

This is where the danger starts to become apparent. It’s not that it hinders one specific aspect of your overall fitness development– it impacts every aspect of it. Building muscle and losing fat becomes harder while under stress while gaining fat becomes easier than ever before. It’s clear that feeling stressed out can have a serious effect on your body and fitness level.

And that’s not the worst of it. Sure, there’s plenty of data that shows how stress makes it harder to reduce body fat and limit the benefits of exercise. But there’s just as much concern in the fitness community that elevated levels can derail one of the most important factors to achieving a healthier body: your diet and sleep.

How Stress Can Derail Your Diet and Sleep

Keep in mind that achieving a healthy body composition is more than just building muscle and losing fat.

Maintaining a proper diet and getting enough sleep every night are necessities if you expect to make meaningful progress but that it can be difficult if you suffer from chronic stress.

A study conducted in 2016 by the Health Care Department or the Metropolitan Autonomous University was designed to observe whether there is a relationship between obesity, depression and emotional eating. Depressive symptoms have often been associated with obesity, and the study ventured to see how anxiety and depression can trigger emotional eating and subsequent weight gain.

Emotional eating occurs when people eat to deal with stressors – often overeating high-calorie sweet or fatty food. After examining the results of over 1,000 subjects and their emotional eating habits, the data suggested that depression-related emotional overeating can have a statistically significant impact on obesity and that emotion management may prove effective in obesity prevention.

Stress is hard enough to handle in small doses, but chronic stress can have complex, detrimental effects on your emotional health (which in turn, ends up impacting your overall health). While the benefits of maintaining good nutrition and managing your calories are well established, it is becoming clear that how you address the triggers of stress is just as important when you are constructing your diet plan.

But stress can impact not only your diet but your sleep. The average adult barely gets enough sleep as it is, with about a third of adults reporting less than 6 hours of sleep every night. Chronic stress can make it harder to fall asleep, resulting in an endless cycle.

Consider the findings of a study conducted in 1997 by the University of Chicago’s Department of Medicine. The expressed purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between sleep loss and cortisol levels.

Long story short, the study concluded that when your body doesn’t get enough sleep, your cortisol levels can rise anywhere from 37-45%, which according to researchers can “accelerate the development of metabolic and cognitive consequences of glucocorticoid excess.”

Translation? The increased cortisol levels can seriously threaten your muscle development (never mind the reduced GH and testosterone levels caused by your lack of sleep) and make it that much harder to reach your fitness goals. Even partial sleep loss is enough to raise your cortisol levels and bring on the entire host of problems that come along with it.

Understanding and Managing Stress

When you embark on your fitness journey to improve your health, there are so many different factors that come into play you might start to feel overwhelmed, especially when it seems like you aren’t making any progress.

Ironically, worrying that you aren’t making any progress may reduce/limit any positive benefits that you get from exercise.

Fortunately, there are plenty of tools you can utilize. Making sure you get enough sleep is crucial to managing for both your stress levels and mental health. Research has shown that mindfulness practices like meditation, pilates and yoga can help lower stress, along with other positive benefits.

The key to stress management is to make sure you have something positive that you can turn to in your time of need. Because if you don’t have a plan, stress can cause health problems and end up as one of the biggest barriers between you and your fitness goals.

The fact that chronically elevated stress levels have a negative effect on the humans is hardly a revelation these days – symptoms ranging from a depressed emotional state to compromised immune system has been well-established. The more we study stress and try to understand how it specifically affects the human body, the more we realize that it might be one of the underlying issues holding us back in the pursuit of a healthier, happier life.

Don’t let stress hold you back!

Contact My Body Composition Solutions for an analysis of your composition and more information.

Disclaimer: This article should not substitute professional medical advice. When starting a new diet or exercise plan, always consult your physician and exercise professional first.

Information in this article has been extracted and edited from InBody USA ‘Can Stress Hurt Your Fitness?” originally published on October 12, 2016 and updated on November 21, 2018, for accuracy and comprehensiveness. It was written by Brian Leguizamon, a content marketing specialist. Brian has worked with Shopify, Gigster and a bunch of start-ups you’ve never heard of. 

 This article includes words and phrases that link to several other information resources.

Many tend to assume that body fat is either good or bad for you. But it’s more complex than that.

While research supports the idea that people with high body fat levels are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome, body fat levels that are too low are not necessarily good for you either.  The reality is that there’s more to body fat than meets the eye.

Essential vs. Storage Fat: What’s the Difference?

To start, there are two main types of body fat: essential fat and storage fat.

As its name implies, essential fat plays a critical role in your overall health and cellular processes.  In Exercise Physiology: Nutrition, Energy, and Human Performance, essential fat is described as,“…the fat in heart, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys, intestines, muscles, and lipid-rich tissue of the central nervous system and bone marrow.”

As metabolic fuel, essential fat makes sure that you have sufficient energy reserves and it helps conserve body heat when needed. It also protects your internal organs and joints from injury, acting as a soft, fluffy cushion.

As chemical messengers, they help ensure that bodily processes like metabolism, growth, and immune functions are going as smoothly as planned. Finally, essential fat plays an important role in a woman’s reproductive abilities.

Normal bodily functions will go haywire if essential fat falls below the recommended minimum level of 5% in men and below 15% in women. Women have high essential body fat ranges as a result of childbearing and reproductive needs.

Meanwhile, nonessential or storage fat is accumulated body fat for energy reserves. This is the fat that you notice in your body.

What is Body Fat Percentage?

Put simply, body fat % is the amount of fat you have in your body, excluding your fat-free mass (or lean body mass). Your fat-free mass is made up of your bones, organs, muscles, and body water.

Your body fat percentage (also known as percent body fat) reflects how much of your weight is made up of body fat. It is calculated by dividing the weight of your body fat mass by your total weight. Currently, there is no official standard for acceptable body fat percentage values.

At InBody USA, we recommend a body fat percentage range of 10-20 percent for males and 18-28 percent for women.

How Certain Body Fat Percentages Look in Men and Women

Before we go through the pitfalls of dangerously low body fat, let’s take a look at the following five body fat percentage ranges in both men and women.

Excessive: >25% (Men); >32% (Women)

Excess fat will be present in the entire body — often concentrated in the abdominal area, thighs, and hips. 

Individuals within this range of body fat percentage have an increased risk of metabolic or cardiovascular disease. Obesity is also linked to poor self-esteem as well as low energy levels.

Overfat: 20-25% (Men); 28-32% (Women)

Men and women who fall in this body fat percentage range may not have as much excess body weight as those in the previous category but still have excess body fat.

While it is true that some people in the overfat category will be overweight, it’s also possible to have a normal or average body weight but have too much body fat. This is also known as sarcopenic obesity or skinny fat.

Like their obese counterparts, possible issues include low energy levels, higher risk of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease, poor self-esteem due to physical appearance, and a shortened life expectancy.

People who are skinny fat are also particularly vulnerable to health problems because they have similar body compositions as people who are overweight, but may have very few visual indicators that can warn them of their health risks.

Average Fitness: 15-20% (Men); 23-28% (Women)

Men in this body fat percentage category are often described as moderately lean and fit. While muscle definition may not be obvious, outlines and striations may slightly appear.  A bit of vascularity may be present in the arms.

For women, this category is neither slim nor overweight. With more body fat around the thighs and buttocks, curves will begin to form in the hips.

Both men and women may have some muscular definition but it may take on a softer appearance. Off-season athletes typically fall in this category. People in this category typically enjoy high energy levels, better sleep, and good overall health. They may also look good in tight fitting clothes which in turn leads to better self-esteem. Health issues due to excess body fat are less likely to develop over time.

Athletic Fitness: 10-15% (Men); 18-23% (Women)

Men and women who fall in this body fat percentage category have the classic beach body look. They are lean, muscular, and clearly fit. There is little fat to pinch and muscle definition is particularly obvious in the shoulders, arms, and abs. Professional athletes may fall into this category.

Vascularity may appear in the arms but it may not as pronounced in the legs among men. Women with this body fat percentage may have fat in the arms and legs but it’s not as obvious than those with higher body fat percentages.

Besides looking really fit, individuals with this body fat percentage tend to enjoy excellent overall health and well-being. They also experience less cravings due to regular physical activity and strict adherence to a diet that works for them.

Exceptional Fitness /Bodybuilder Range: 3-10% (Men); 12-18% (Women)

This body fat percentage category often includes bodybuilding competitors and fitness models.

Muscle definition tends to be high in both men and women and there is very little fat. Bodybuilders, for instance, may aim for the extreme low end of this range on cycles when they are competing because in order to have a competitive look, they require next to no body fat.

This is an incredibly difficult body composition to maintain consistently over time, especially at the lower end of this range.

Throw into the above numbers, other factors like age and actual fat layout or distribution across the body, and you can see why it can become such a confusing topic.

Health Risks and Dangers of Low Body Fat in Adult Men and Women

Men who have less than 6 percent body fat and women with less than 16 percent body fat are considered too low. They are typically bodybuilders in contest training or fitness models on the day of their photoshoot. These individuals have gone to great lengths such as going on a strict diet and exercise regimen for weeks.

You might be thinking that these body fat percentage ranges are actually healthy because they are still above the essential fat values. 

But, not so fast.

In a 12-month case study conducted by the International Journal of Sports Physiological Performance, researchers tracked the body composition and physical state of a male competitive bodybuilder whose body fat percentage was around 4.5 percent for competition.

Researchers indicated that several negative outcomes consistent with overtraining, such as decreases in physical performance and reduction in immune system function, had occurred.

A more recent investigation showed that in order to achieve these extremely low body fat levels, these athletes had to rely on steroids and other drugs to help them achieve their goals, common practices within the field of bodybuilding/figure competition. What is now becoming clear is that these practices, while useful for helping attain the desired look, are associated with significantly greater risk of heart disease and liver dysfunction.

These athletes went on to explain that these negative physiological changes are unfortunate, but necessary, repercussions of competitive bodybuilding.

Female bodybuilders, on the other hand, experience an additional side effect of having an extremely low body fat percentage — the temporary stop of menstruation or amenorrhea. It forms one part of a condition known as the Female Athlete Triad.

Additionally, competitive female bodybuilders have been shown to share the same eating-related habits as those with bulimia. They may shun social events that involve dining out and may not have the time for other activities. Female bodybuilders may also experience other reproductive and fertility issues.

Bodybuilders’ Bodies Are Not Ideal

Despite their impressive physical appearances, bodybuilders do not have an ideal body composition.

Their sports demand they put their body through stress to the point where normal biological functions become impaired. Therefore, looking like a bodybuilder should not be a goal (unless you’re a bodybuilder).

Can Low Body Fat Improve Sports Performance?

While low levels of body fat seem to be associated with improved sports performance, body composition alone is not a great predictor of athletic success. There is little evidence for any health benefit when men drop under 8 percent in body fat and when women drop under 14 percent body fat.

Additionally, trying to achieve a body fat percentage that is similar to professional bodybuilding goals can lead to a slew of health issues and complications like impaired body thermoregulation, increased risk of injury, fatigue, loss of muscle tissue, and suboptimal body performance.

The Takeaway: Going Beyond Body Fat Percentage

Although your body fat percentage is a significant and useful metric, relying on it alone will not provide you with solutions or answers that can improve your overall health and fitness.

You will need more specific values than your body fat percentage and weight such as your skeletal muscle mass, visceral fat, and even segmental lean analysis. This will not only help you maintain a healthy body fat percentage in respect to a healthy weight,  but it can also help you figure out if you have muscle imbalances, reduced muscle mass, or are not eating enough.

Your body is a very complex system of specific components working together. Think of body fat percentage as merely a single tree in a large forest. It’s important to get as much information as possible about the health of the entire forest and not just for one specific tree.

By completing regular body composition analysis you will not only have a much better understanding of this, but it is a method by which you can track your progress if improvement is your goal.

Contact My Body Composition Solutions for more information.

Disclaimer: This article should not substitute professional medical advice. When starting a new diet or exercise plan, always consult your physician and exercise professional first.

Information in this article has been extracted and edited from InBody USA ‘Is It Healthy to Have a Low Body Fat Percentage?”

published on August 9, 2018 and written by Kyjean Tomboc, a nurse turned freelance healthcare copywriter and UX researcher.

 This article includes words and phrases that link to several other information resources.