Is your weight genetic? Obesity genes account for only 5 percent of all weight problems. So 95 percent of any weight problems have nothing to do with your genes. This fact has not affected the high incidence of obesity we see in our culture. We can’t blame the obesity problem on high fat diets either. Even though fat contains 9 calories per gram, as opposed to carbohydrates or protein which actually contain 4 calories per gram, we still can’t nail our epidemic on the consumption of fat. In fact, research has shown that low-fat diets don’t work either and they actually cause more harm than good. And to top it off – avoiding fat in your diet is not a major determinant of body fat. The Women’s Health Initiative, which is the largest clinical trial of diet and body weight, found that 50,000 women on low fat diets had no significant weight loss.
Did you know you can actually be at an “ideal” weight that appears to be perfect and actually be considered clinically obese? We call it “Skinny Fat”. Many models who you think of as skinny or lean may actually have a high percentage of body fat. Anything over 30% is considered clinically obese. Many of these “ideal” model types have actually very little lean muscle on their bodies. They are literally, as we often say, only skin and bones and let’sinclude fat under that skin to our description as well. It’s so important to know what your actual body fat composition, or your fat to muscle ratio, is. This marker determines not only your true slimness but also your true state of health. This is the reason I always recommend having your body fat composition tested.
Even without getting the actual test done – eating in a whole and balanced way – the method I teach clients – is the ultimate prevention of falling into the “skinny fat” category. Here’s a secret – you can actually eat more when you have a higher category. Here’s a secret – you can actually eat more when you have a higher percentage of lean muscle mass than less to maintain your weight. Your body becomes a virtual furnace and can efficiently break down what you consume – easily. I’m not saying that it easily burnseverything down. If you feed your body unhealthy foods – your muscle mass will decrease and so will your “furnace’s” ability to burn calories. There are 2 main things that increase lean muscle mass – resistance exercise and protein. Both in appropriate amounts for your body size and exercise level will give you the desired lean muscle to fat ratio you are looking for.
Back to the issue of treating obesity and weight – the ultimate is in personalizing your approach. In my field of nutrition we are hearing more and more about something called Nutrigenomics. It is the science of how we can use food to influence our genes. Yes, you heard that right – our diet can influence and potentially change our gene’s expression. Let’s call it Genetic Eating if you will. When we give your body the building blocks and proper nutrition your genes get “turned on” so to speak. Simply put – you come into this world with a certain genetic makeup and if you don’t “feed” your genes properly – thehealthy expression of our genes stops. For example – let’s call it the “healthy weight gene” without the proper nutrients this gene shuts down and weight gain takes over and that is what you see. In order to turn the genetic light switch back on we need to give our body the right current-cy (a little play on words there) – so they work. Of course this is a very simple explanation of an extremely complex process. The most important thing for you to understand is that you can change your genes, and fit into your jeans, and YOUR Diet plays one of the most crucial roles in this regard.
Until next time – Stay Healthy and Choose your foods carefully!
Freaky Genes? This English Model has tried everything, she says, to change her hour glass figure but even with any weight loss her body still maintains this unusual and rare shape.
