What is the InBody?
The InBody machine is a very expensive, non-invasive analysis tool that gives us a complete breakdown of your weight in terms of body fat, muscle mass, and water weight. Ever wonder what’s really happening when you step on the scale every morning? How can it be 5-10lbs different from one day to the next? Did last night’s wine really make me fat overnight?
Weight is a really poor indicator for health. It does not distinguish fat from muscle. That being said, the Body Mass Index (BMI) is also a poor indicator of health. Your BMI is calculated based on weight and height. So, someone who is a fun-sized, extremely fit athlete may appear obese on a standard BMI chart because their weight to height ratio may not take into account all the extra muscle mass.
Instead, we focus on your body fat to weight ratio known as body fat percentage. Measuring body fat percentage will help us better focus on fat loss rather than weight loss. Ever heard of skinny fat? You can have a perfectly healthy looking 120lb female, put her on the InBody and find out that she’s 48% body fat. That’s almost HALF her body weight in fat. Again, standard BMI measuring is inaccurate. The InBody test will tell you your body fat percentage and exactly how many pounds of fat you have in comparison to healthy ranges of people your age, height, and gender.
Muscle is just as important! You’ll see numbers all over the sheet that show us exactly how many pounds of muscle you have, the distribution of muscle mass in each segment of your body, and your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)–how many calories your body burns at rest with no exercise–HINT: the more muscle you have, the more efficient your body is at burning fat!
If you’re concerned about weight fluctuations daily, your water weight is likely to blame. Your body may be dehydrated, inflamed, or lacking proper nutrient absorption. We will be able to see changes in water weight with the InBody as well. If you’ve gone on a low carb diet, you may have noticed a huge decrease in weight on the scale! “Yippee!! I’ve lost weight.” Hold on! Let’s check for accuracy with the InBody. Come to find out, by only cutting out carbs and not focusing on proper exercise, sleep, stress, and quality proteins, fats, and fiber dense carbs, you only lost 15lbs of water and actually gained 3lbs of fat. No wonder fad diets don’t work!
If you’re curious what’s going on with the weight on your scale, REACH OUT TO US at www.crossfitmountainisland.com. We offer InBody scans at CrossFit Mountain Island with a complete interpretation by a professional coach. Book your No Sweat Intro now!
If you’re already a member and it’s time to retest, reach out to me or Coty to schedule your next scan.
In Health,
Noelle McConnell
