Find Your Strength With Yoga

What is health? In gym studios, people often say it’s a weight, a number, a percentage of fat. Sure, they emphasize feeling better, more energized, and happier. But could it be that we focus too much on the numbers?

There are healthy weights, I totally believe that. I do believe that people with a certain percentage of fat should work to lose that fat because of the health risks associated with fat carried on the body. It is possible to be considered overweight, but not be fat or unhealthy. Take athletes for example. My teammate would be considered technically overweight, close to obese, due to her height and age. However, because she carries very little fat and a lot of muscle (which we all knows weighs more than fat), her weight is not an issue and doesn’t mean that she’s unhealthy.

Losing weight is not necessarily the answer to becoming “healthy,” but losing fat should be the focus of a program where becoming healthy is the goal.

So why do we focus so much on what we weigh? The way we determine health is often through weight. You can’t assume that because you weigh a certain amount that you are unhealthy. You have to look at the composition of that weight.

When I begin to approach people at Bally, I will ask them what they are working on today, what their goals are, and why. I want to know what makes people focus only on losing weight instead of losing fat and building muscle. You can still lose weight, and feel happy about reaching that goal, but still carry too much fat. Lose fat, build muscle. I don’t really care about what the scale says, just as long as your body composition improved to more muscle and less fat. I’m more concerned about getting you to be able to walk flights of stairs without getting out of breath. I want you to be able to toss your baby or toddler up in the air and catch them without difficulty and injuring yourself. I want you to be able to determine what a good food choice is. I want you to embrace the lifestyle that has given myself, and so many other people, the ability to enjoy life to the fullest.