> if you are fit and eat things that are good for you
> and you weigh ten pounds more than you think you
> should, you are wrong.
Ah, but how do you define fit? That's what started my
whole mental conversation with myself (reading about
studies and "experts" who claim that our current
standards of fitness are too lax). I keep reading
that most Americans think that they're fit when they
could be healthier.
Some of these studies come from the whole
anthropological movement which claims that the human
body was designed to be active 7 or 8 hours a day
(and, they claim, was pretty darn wirey 90% of the
year in the caveman days) -- that much physical
activity, they say, is "fit." Fit is being able to
run 5 miles a day. Fit means around 20% bodyfat for a
woman. (They say -- these aren't my opinions, mind
you.) That's not going to allow for an extra ten
pounds.
Bear in mind that those two opposing opinions in my
first post are not necessarily mine -- they're the two
sides of the argument that I keep tossing around in my
head. I'd much rather exercise for 15 minutes a day
and eat whole grains, fruits & veggies and keep my
comfortable body the way it is (little extra flab and
all) -- but I've been spooked by all the research
showing that toned is healthier, that 18-22% BF is
best for women, that we should all be exercising for
30 minutes five days a week AND lifting weights three
times a week AND eating 25% fat, 25% protein, 50%
carbs AND it should be 10-11 X your body weight in
calories... it just keeps piling up.
But perhaps I'm a victim of health boards and medical
studies.
Isabelle B.
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Isabelle Bracamonte
San Francisco, CA
ibracamonte@y...
ibracamonte@y...
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