I was at my yearly exam required by the VA hospital in Augusta, Maine.
I did my normal weigh-in and proceeded to have my vitals taken.
All was well so, I was asked to view my list of medicines and give any new updates. Once verified, I went in to see my VA primary care doctor. We greeted each other as he went over my med list and the normal questions were asked. He then looked at my boots and said, “They could weigh a few pounds more than sneakers.”
I responded that they were sneakers and didn’t weigh that much. He then mentioned my weight and asked what was going on. I looked puzzled as he asked me if I wanted to join fitness therapy at the VA to get my weight under control.
I said no because I did not believe my 225l lb weight was a problem. Yes, I lost weight after my surgery and am not in contest shape, but by no means fat.
Plus I owned a gym and and took pride in training and keeping myself fit. He said, “As you know Mr. Smith, as we get older muscles will turn to fat so we have to keep ourselves in check.”
I politely responded that muscle can not turn to fat. It can atrophy, but fat is fat and muscle is muscle. He said again that I should look into it.
He asked me to take off my sweatshirt and shirt to be examined. I did and sat on the table as he turned around to listen to my lungs. I asked, Doc, do I look fat? He moved the stethoscope to my chest and I asked again. With no answer, I asked a third time as I bounced my chest.
So….. Do you think I’m fat? He then smirked as I laughed with him.
Even though I respect and understand his point, one must realize that the scale is not a good indication of fat percentage.
Muscle weighs more than fat and if we stop exercising as we get older, we will lose muscle. This can be harmful to our health and hinder our ability to do regular tasks. But one must not be a slave to the scale for the scale will lie. My heaviest while in the military was 270 lbs, 93 lbs heavier than the maximum weight I was allowed to be.
But by body fat standards was lower than my shipmates. Don’t be guided by the scale. One can lose weight quickly, but carry more fat if their weight loss is muscle. Here is a picture of my client Mike. The after picture shows he gaining 20 lbs, but the fat loss is evident.
Hint you are losing weight and your skin is very loose, you are losing muscle.
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