Q&A for: 5-Dec-09
2912. Q:
i am 27 years old and im 5ft 3 and weigh 52 kg am i under weigh
A:
You are right on the border of being underweight. Healthy weight for you is considered to be 115 to 140 pounds range or 53 to 64 kgs. That does not necessarily mean you are unhealthy now -- some people naturally have slimmer builds and don't weigh as much -- but you certainly should not be thinking of losing more weight from here.
2913. Q:
I often will catch a cold or fever after vigorous physical activity.I usually play doubles badminton. I started feeling sick after playing singles which is much harder than doubles.what can I do to prevent this?
A:
Heavy physical activity of any kind can take a toll on your body. It's not unusual to be more susceptible to falling sick at times like that. There is no perfect solution, but you should do your best to give your body all the resources it needs to recover from heavy physical activity. That means getting plenty of rest and sleep (most people can benefit from 8 hours/day) and eating healthy. Of course you should also observe basic rules of hygiene and make sure to wash your hands often. If you already do all of those things and still find yourself falling sick more and more often, it may be a sign that your body simply cannot keep up this level of intensity and it may be a good idea to scale down your badminton or other physical activity, if any.
2915. Q:
hey mike. I'm 23 years old 180 pounds with 18.5% body fat. Now my Q is what's a small but good amount a body fat to have?
A:
There's no one answer to this since looks are so subjective. At 18.5% body fat you are probably close to average for men (if you are a woman then 18.5% body fat range is already quite low). If you are looking to have a well defined abdominal six-pack then you will need to drop to around 10% body fat. This would not be easy and may not happen at all, but you should almost certainly be able to drop to 12-14% range with a proper exercise and nutrition program -- you can start by reading How To Lose Fat and follow the directions given there. If you are interested, you could start your own Fitness Blog where I could monitor your progress and offer specific exercise and nutrition advice (for free, of course).
2916. Q:
Mike, what is considered active or passive? General run of the day, no high job exertion, bodybuild for one hour, cardio am & pm - because there is a big difference in calories generation active vs. passive on the fitness calorie calculator.
A:
I would definitely consider spending over an hour daily on weight training and/or cardio as active. Passive basically means no exercise, no outdoors hobbies, and no physical exertion at work (a desk job). Remember that whatever program you get from the Fitness Guide it's only a starting point and will need to be taylored to your specific situation, especially as far as the diet is concerned. Make sure to read my Nutrition article to learn how customize your diet plan to stay on track.
2917. Q:
Is it true that when you stop going 2 the gym, you grow fatter than you were?
A:
If you stop exercising but continue eating the same as before then yes, over time you will slowly gain fat since you will be consuming the same calories as before but not burning as many as before. This would be a fairly slow process and if you are simply taking a break from the gym for a week or two, then I wouldn't worry about adjusting your calories at all. But if we are talking about not exercising for a month or more, then it may be a good idea to decrease calories a little to prevent fat gain.
|
