Q&A for: 20-Nov-07
2498. Q:
You said on Question 2494 (13th November 2007) that at 5 foot 6 inches and 135 pounds that the man in question is nearer the underweight than the overweight range. According to the medical book I've got 135 pounds is 10 pounds above the underweight category and 15 pounds below the overweight category i.e. near the middle of the healthy weight category. I agree the man in question does not need to lose weight, but he is fair way above being underweight. I do realize that you can be a couple of pounds heavier with muscle yet look slimmer than someone of a lighter weight. Do Bmi scales vary according to country?
A:
I think we are saying the same thing in different words. I said he was closer to being underweight than overweight and you said that he's 10 pounds away from being underweight and 15 pounds away from being overweight.
As far as the BMI scale, I believe it is the same in all countries. There is a little bit of difference at which point a person is considered underweight -- some people use BMI of 18.5 and some BMI of 20. Personally I think 20 is much more reasonable. I have seen people who had genuine physical and even psychological problems due to their low weight, even though they were over 18.5 on BMI.
2499. Q:
hey mike im 16 years old, 5 ft 8 and 185 pounds, im a bit overweight and i started working out about 2 months ago. Since then ive been doing mostly weight lifting 2 or 3 times a week and a bit of cardio and ive actually gained weight. I eat about 3 meals a day; breakfast-a ham and cheese sandwich with mayo, lunch-usually chicken and rice, dinner-lean steak and vegetables. Is there anything you would reccommend for me to do different?My goal is really to lose alot of my fat and gain muscle so what should i do? thanks for the help
A:
Certainly if you are trying to lose weight and start working out but instead end up gaining weight something is wrong... Your diet is not the best for weight loss, but as you described it still should not have caused to gain weight.
My guess is that most likely you underestimate how much you are eating -- perhaps ignoring snack foods, sodas, juices, vending machine food, etc which are not only poor choices for weight loss, but also can easily add up to 1000 or more calories daily without you even noticing!
However, putting that possibility aside, you can still do quite a bit to improve your daily diet as you described it. Your dinner sounds very good, assuming the veggies are not fried (boiled, steamed, raw, grilled are all fine -- just no frying). Your lunch is OK, but would be better if you could substitute brown rice for white rice. Your breakfast needs the most work... Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and you want to get from it quality complex carbs and protein with healthy fats. An ideal breakfast would be something like a bowl of old-fashioned oatmeal (great healthy carbs) with a piece of fruit (maybe sliced into oatmeal for taste) and some cottage cheese on the side for protein. If you absolutely cannot stomach oatmeal or cottage cheese and just want a sandwich, then use whole-grain wheat bread, lots of lean turkey slices (instead of ham) and either cheese or a little mayo (not both) with as many veggies as you can stuff into the sandwich.
My second major suggestion for your diet would be to try and split your food into more meals over the course of the day. Your metabolism and weight loss picks up with many small meals instead of few large ones. At the very least, introduce a fourth meal by splitting either lunch or dinner (whichever is larger now) into two... So you'd have a breakfast, lunch at school, a meal right after you get home from school, and then dinner in the evening. If you could somehow find time to split your food into five or more meals that would be even better.
Finally, as I mentioned before, really watch out for snack foods, sodas, juices, and even milk -- they are all very easy to eat or drink a lot of and all contain a lot of calories. Stick to your planned diet as much as possible, and drink either water or unsweetened tea as much as possible. Milk is fine in moderation too. But don't drink juices -- eat whole fruit instead and definitely don't drink sodas.
If you'd like to replan your diet, you can post it here and I'll give my feedback. Good job starting to exercise and don't get down on yourself for lack of good results so far -- stick with it and good luck!
2500. Q:
What foods are bad for the muscular system?
A:
There's no foods that are bad specifically for your muscles, but all the usual suspects that hurt your overall health -- junk food, sweets, sodas, alcohol, etc -- will end up hurting your muscular development too in the long run. So whether it is for your overall health or specifically to build muscles you want to eat healthy nutritious foods: lots of vegetables, whole grains, fruits, lean meat/fish/poultry, healthy fats like olive oil and nuts. Most cooking methods are fine with the big exception of frying (and especially deep-frying, of course). If you are specifically looking to gain new muscle, then you'll want to make sure your diet includes lots of protein in every meal. But in general, the same foods that are good for your health are also good for your muscles. Check out my Diet article for more info.
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