11/5 Transformation Tuesday

Your WEIGHT is not who YOU are! 

I just finished Fall Check-ins with over half of our athletes (yes, you can still schedule your check-in with me) and I have had several heart-to-heart talks about why your weight is not a reflection of who you are. 
I started CrossFit in March 2010. I am nearing my 10 year mark with one of the most fun, challenging and rewarding athletic endeavors in which I have participated. CrossFit introduced me to obstacle course racing (I have completed 2 races) and, of course, Olympic Weightlifting (I am a World Champion in my age and weight class.)
In the past 10 years my body has changed DRAMATICALLY! I can deadlift and squat almost 300 pounds, I can clean and jerk 200 pounds, I can snatch 165 pounds, and I can still row a 5K in under 24 mins. I can do MORE now at age 48 than I could when I was a young Corporal in the US Marines. 
In fact, when I was in the USMC I was on weight control. I was over the maximum allowed weight limit of 153 pounds for my height. I now weight 182 pounds, a full 31 pounds more than when I was considered overweight. However, I can DO MORE now than I could back then. 
Your weight does not tell the full story of your health and fitness. While I am the heaviest I have ever been in my life, my body fat is 9% less than when I started CrossFit. For a woman my age, 26% body fat is very healthy and much lower than the national average. Obesity starts at 30% body fat for women and at that percentage our risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) increases exponentially. Coronary heart disease is the number one killer of women. That's right! More women die from CHD than from breast cancer. Coronary heart disease is preventable if we reduce our body fat to less than 30%. 
Your body fat, more than your weight, is the predictor of disease and indicator of health. Body fat is a hormonally active tissue. This means it has a part (negative or positive) in your endocrine system. Want to get your hormones under control? Reduce your body fat. Want to decrease your risk of CHD, Type II diabetes, and a whole suite of other metabolic problems? Reduce your body fat. 
Body composition, body fat % and lean muscle mass, rather than body weight is a much healthier and utilitarian metric of your health. The scale gives us only one measurement, and while it's useful for tracking weight loss and making competition weight categories, it does not tell you anything about your health.
It's not uncommon when we start CrossFit for our weight to increase. That's because we are increasing lean muscle mass (I have increased mine by 23 pounds). Lean muscle mass also has positive health benefits. To build lean muscle mass you have to lift weights and that increases bone density. Increased bone density decreases your risk of osteoporosis. Win-WIN! 
I often joke that after a few months of CrossFit our jeans are harder to pull on and easier to button. Seriously though, keep track of your body fat percent, it's a much healthier metric of your body. Don't get caught up in the number on the scale. It says NOTHING about what YOU can DO! 
You can track your body composition on Beyond the Whiteboard. Schedule a check-in with me and I'll take your measurements. Celebrate what your body can DO! 

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