Muscle Gain/Fat Loss vs. Weight Loss

Question
QUESTION: I'm pretty upset about this. I'm 5'5 and 175 lbs. (If you check the bmi thing, that's pretty overweight) My body fat percentage is 23% which is not overweight at all. I know that I'm supposed to work with the mentality that I should be building muscle and not worrying about the number on the scale--but I'm tired of being told by doctors that I am overweight. The number on that stupid machine matters more than "23% bodyfat".

I've reduced my protein intake to the modest 4 ounces of lean protein such as baked fish or chicken sans skin. I do a cross-trainer for an hour 4 days a week so that I get cardio and resistence in at once. I've lowered my caloric intake to 1,000 calories - 1,200 calories per day.

I don't want to bulk up in my thighs and calfs anymore, I don't want the biceps, I don't want ripped abs--I just want the weight on the scale to drop down to a 'normal' weight for me so I can stop being told that I have to lose weight every time I go in for a checkup. It makes me feel bad about my body the rest of the time.

ANSWER: Tegan, are you happy with your rippedness? If you are (without this doctors influence) Then my suggestion is to get another doctor.


The kind of crash diet that you are going on is much worse for you than being 175 lbs and 5'5! Go strike up a conversation with some of the other really buff folks at the gym and find out who their doctors are. (The Personal Trainers might be the easiest to approach if they aren't with a client- they always love an excuse to talk to people)  BMI is not the end all beat all- it only accounts for the "average" person, and the Average person can't lift their own body weight!

I had a nurse look at my file(without seeing me) and she suggested to my doctor that I was gaining weight too rapidly and approaching obesity and that he should sit down and talk to me. He walked her into the exam room and said "You tell her she's getting fat- I'm not gonna!" He was a gym rat too, and knew that I wasn't "approaching obesity" I was just bulked up!

Get a new doc- this one is an idiot!

And quit that stupid diet- you'll kill yourself!

Lela Simon

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: So what you're telling me is..I will never be a svelte 120 lbs, and that I should stop trying to be a waif because my body is built to survive and have muscle and not built to be a size 6--and to entertain such an idea is pretty darn stupid?

...

Thanks. The way you worded it and explained it to me made me feel so much better about my body despite what others may say/think about my body in relation to my weight.
I don't know how to dismiss the thought that a high weight = a bad weight.

Answer
We are all built differently and to stuff every person into the very narrow box of "average" is ridiculous. As long as you have a healthy lifestyle and feel good about yourself- forget "average".

Concentrate on goals that actually mean something to you- when I was "bigger" I was set on my leg press weight I got to pressing 2x my body weight- FOR 10 reps! (I could have gone heavier- but I didn't have a spotter at the time.) Pick something to aspire to that means something to you and go for it- Passionate people are more interesting than listless waifs any day!

You can join my website- I have a forum that you can post on to get support and help. LelaSimonWellness.com just click the join button and when you login the members only pages will magically appear! :)

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