Perfect Body Composition, By Accident!

 

As many of you know, I have been following quite a strict allergy diet for the last couple of years which is loosely Paleo-based, but a lot stricter. Currently, I eat loads of fish, healthy fats like olive oil, avocados and coconut oil, and tons of fruit and veg so quite balanced actually protein, fat and carb-wise, if a little limiting! Nothing else. No grains, legumes, nuts, seeds or meat.

Anyway, I decided this week to have a try on my Innerscan machine – the one I used to use in-clinic for those of you remember standing on it in the dispensary! Ok, it’s not perfect but I reckoned it would give me a good idea how I am getting along. So, here are my results. Very pleased with them I am too. I am showing you these to prove that you can get a perfect body composition with the right diet if you stick at it long enough – even if I have done it by accident as I wasn’t consciously trying.

 

Weight: perfect for my diminutive height at just under 8 and a half stone. I am now a size 8-10, where I was a 14  three years ago.

 

Bodyfat 25%. In healthy range for my age group, could actually do with being a bit higher, which can be useful for hormone production as we approach menopausal age (aargh!). More avocados and olives for me! Incidentally, 5 years ago, this was 36% and I couldn’t seem to shift it no matter what I did! Has certainly shifted now: an 11% drop!

 

Visceral fat (the yellow stuff around your abdomen that is the really harmful stuff) is 4. Healthy range is under 12 so happy with that. It was always under 12, but more in the 7-9 range so this is a good drop too.

 

Bear in mind with the fat scores here that I am actually eating a lot of fat day to day, mainly as olive oil, avocados, oily fish (4-5 x week)  and coconut oil, so this adds fuel to the argument that the issue with fat is where it comes from, not how much you are eating really; something I have always believed. Choose good sources and eat plenty of it – see the effect this has had on my hydration levels next, too…

 

Water 52%. This is an interesting one. For women, it should be 50-55%, men 60-65%. I could never get it over 45% before and I used to drink water like a fish. I can only conclude that my fatty acid levels are good enough now to metabolise water well enough. Most people with poor fatty acid levels find it difficult to stay hydrated. My increased good-fat intake I think may have helped here.

 

Muscle level. I am rated 5, ‘standard’ for my age/height etc. That’s good – you can go from 1 (hidden obese) to 9 (very muscular). 5 is exactly in the middle, hence the term ‘standard’. I used to be classed as ‘3 Solidly-built’ or ‘2 Obese’ even at my worst times, so this is a great shift too.

 

Bone mass is 4.6lb which is almost spot-on for my weight. If you weigh less than 110lb, it should be average 4.3lb; if 110-165lb, it should be 5.3lb; 165lb and over, it should be 6.5lb plus. My weight is 119lb currently so I think 4.6lb is OK, maybe could do with raising a little bit. To be honest, I thought it would be a lot less than that as I am computer-glued most of the day and don’t get anywhere near enough weight-bearing exercise currently.

 

Lastly, my metabolic age is calculated at 22! In other words, given all those statistics, my body thinks I am 22. What fun!

 

Makes me feel a whole lot better about being on a restricted diet, I can tell you!

The lesson we can learn in terms of weight loss, body composition etc is that you can do it and it takes time and effort, but look at what results you can achieve, even if you’re not thinking about it or consciously trying to diet. In fact, better if you’re not.

Low GL diet, highish protein, good levels of healthy fats, your carbs from fruit and veg, eat loads and see it as a way of life, which is what I do. I’m not saying that will work for everyone, or that I want people to be as restricted as me (heaven forbid), but the principles are good ones if you need to improve your body composition.

I do also have to point out that removing my allergens has drastically reduced my inflammatory levels too and I have always believed that a lot of the weight people are carrying around is actually inflammation-based swelling which, quite often, will not go until long enough off your specific allergens. I remember the day about 9 months after I gave up grains (my personal bete-noir), I woke up one morning and realised my wrists were back! I promise, it was that sudden. One minute fat around my bones, next gone. I assume the inflammation dropped sufficiently and I no longer needed the water-swelling protection (think of the swelling and redness you get when you cut your knee, for example: it goes when you have scabbed over and healed the skin underneath.) A theory anyway, but I like it.

Want to see how you’re doing? You can read the Weight Loss Factsheet on the site here and scroll down to Resources to find the machine I used. Use the various diet pointers there too for where to start: the Detox or the Belly Fat progammes.

Good luck! May your clothes all be tiny ones…!