Weight - is it the wrong measure?

Weight is easily the most important driver of behaviour when it comes to health. Weight loss motivates us, and we are disheartened when it does not occur. But have you ever thought about the possibility that the metric is wrong?

Yes, I do mean what I am saying, weight, while a good metric is not the ideal metric to track. Instead, you should be tracking something called body composition, and more specifically, body fat. Allow me to explain.

The strength in our body is made up of bone, muscle, and fat. Yes, and skin as well, but it's a minor factor. Imagine you started out at 50 kilograms.

You worked out regularly, and you ate a balanced diet. You got stronger every day as your body put on muscles.

Abdomen, biceps, quadriceps—you get the idea. Now you weigh 56 kilograms. Your weight went up, but this would be a dream come true for most, wouldn't it? So clearly, by itself, weight is not your issue.

Your bone weight does not really change much. Sure, as you age, you will lose some bone mass, especially if you are not in great condition. But we are talking about a few pounds.

The real metric you should be tracking is body fat. Imagine you started at the same 50 kilogrammes and put on 5 kilogrammes of body fat. In this case, it was the outcome of a sedentary lifestyle and the overconsumption of calories.

In most cases we see on an everyday basis, the extra calories did not come from carrots and peas. It came from junk. So the increase in body fat is symptomatic of a far greater underlying problem: a poor lifestyle.

We had tied up with a company in San Diego to monitor body composition and body fat from the comfort of your home. I was therefore shocked to learn that they did not get traction globally.

The app is still active, and they are offering a free test to all our customers through December. Write back if you want the free promo code.

Reach out to me on twitter @rbawri Instagram @riteshbawriofficial and YouTube at www.youtube.com/breatheagain