Ok, so I am different. Despite the fact that body fat testing is widely promoted as an indicator of fitness, I remain skeptical about the accuracy and importance of such tests. I have read dozens of articles claiming that only when you know what your body fat is can you compute a realistic weight goal and design an exercise and nutrition program that fits your body. I am not convinced.

The more I research this subject, the more disillusioned I become. When I first began strength training, the "fat craze" was in its infancy. People relied on common sense to lead them through their meal plans and workouts. They only needed to know that a healthy diet and exercise program made them feel better, helped firm them up and got rid of the "jiggly stuff". Plenty of them achieved success using well-designed exercise programs without ever knowing what their body fat percentage was. Today , even though we know more than ever about keeping body fat levels to a minimum, we continue to become fatter and fatter. Why is this?

As I said, I am different. I do not spend a single second pinching my clients with metal calipers, wrapping a tape measure around their behinds, or sending them off to be dunked in a tank. These tests are intrusive, embarrassing, time consuming, and a less than accurate way of measuring fat. Instead I teach people to rely on much more useful ways of keeping fat levels low, such as learning as much as possible about the foods they eat, and how to plan and stick with balanced aerobic and weight training sessions. I also urge them to get back to basics, which means using more accurate indicators of body fat, namely, the mirror and the way their clothes fit. Not only are these simple, easy, practical everyday indicators of progress but they give control back where it belongs, to the individual. Personally, I am concerned with the whole "fat obsession" that is going on in this country. It has now become such a focus that people are eliminating even essential fats from their diets, having body fat tests without knowing all the facts, consuming high priced, sugar laden, overly processed fat-free products by the truckloads, and gulping fat burning supplements like candy. I feel it is time to take a second look at what we are doing to ourselves and what we are really trying to accomplish. Today, and in the upcoming weeks, I will be bringing you as much information as possible on this subject because I feel it is so important.

Lets start here: The first thing you need to remember is that body weight includes lean muscle tissue (which comprises roughly half of your total body weight), water, blood, fat, internal organs and bones. Many things can alter your body's weight and give you an inaccurate perception of how lean or fat you truly are. For example, dense bones can drive a body fat reading lower than others with less bone density, giving a false sense of good health when it might not be there. Then there is the water weight issue. Many people who have a history of crash dieting have a considerably lower than normal basal metabolic rate. It is not unusual for these people to gain weight once they begin eating a balanced diet. What they may not know is that much of this weight is water , not fat. Bodybuilders increase body weight by adding new lean muscle tissue through strength training, and decrease body weight by reducing fat stores. The scale is a commonly used method for learning what your body weighs, but too often it is thought of as an indicator of body fat, or level of fitness. Keep this in mind when you decide to weigh in and use the scale only as one indicator of progress.

In the weeks to come, we will take a look at some of the many methods of testing body fat, including hydrostatic weighing and skinfold measurements.

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