Beyond the Scale Part 1: Why is it important to track all of your body composition instead of just tracking body weight?

Tracking body composition is important because it provides a more comprehensive understanding of your overall health and fitness progress compared to just tracking body weight. Here are a few reasons why tracking body composition is beneficial:

1. Differentiates between fat and muscle: Body composition analysis allows you to determine the percentage of body fat and muscle mass. This is important because even if your body weight remains the same, your body composition may change. By tracking body composition, you can assess whether you are losing fat and gaining muscle, which is essential for achieving a lean and healthy physique.

2. Evaluates overall health: Body composition analysis provides insights into your overall health beyond just weight. Excessive body fat, especially around the abdominal area, is associated with an increased risk of various health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. By tracking body composition, you can monitor changes in body fat levels and take necessary steps to improve your health.

3. Personalizes fitness and nutrition plans: Understanding your body composition can help personalize your fitness and nutrition plans. For example, if your goal is to lose body fat, tracking body composition can help you assess the effectiveness of your exercise and diet regimen. It allows you to make adjustments based on your specific needs and goals.

4. Motivates and encourages progress: Seeing positive changes in body composition, such as a decrease in body fat percentage or an increase in muscle mass, can be highly motivating. Tracking these changes can help you stay focused and committed to your health and fitness journey.

In summary, tracking body composition provides a more detailed and accurate assessment of your overall health, helps you differentiate between fat and muscle changes, personalizes your fitness and nutrition plans, and serves as a source of motivation. It is a valuable tool for monitoring progress and making informed decisions to optimize your health and fitness goals.

Over the years, I have used tape measures, hand held bio electric impedance devices, body fat calipers, and a variety of weight scales to conduct body composition assessments on my clients and myself. 

While each method has different pros and cons, I have switched to a new device that does it all and is less hands on and invasive. 

My new device that I have used for the past couple of years, for my clients and myself, is the Inevifit Eros Smart Body Fat Scale and its associated iPhone app. 

You simply step on the scale barefoot and the scale transmits your data to the app on your phone. 

It tracks more than 9 different metrics or data points related to your body composition. And you can add your whole family to your users on the app. Or in my case I have myself and my clients on my app. 

This data provides you with a much more detailed picture of where you stand in regards to your progress towards your goals. This way you can make informed decisions and better adjustments to your fitness and nutrition plan as needed. 

Complete Body Composition: Metrics include Weight, Fat Percentage, Muscle Mass, Water Percentage, Bone Mass, BMI, Visceral Fat, Metabolic Age & even Basal Metabolic Rate

I like this scale a lot and it has proven itself to be of great benefit for my clients and myself. 

So I highly recommend this scale and app for home and business use. 

After having such positive experiences with this scale and app, I have added it to the list of products that I sell through Dempsey’s Resolution Fitness. 

If you want to know more about this scale, and get one for you and your family or business, use this link here:

Inevifit Smart Body Fat Scale

The Girls Track Their Fat Loss with the Eros Smart Bodyfat Scale

The girls have both lost body fat and weight this week. They were quite pleased. 

We track their numbers every Friday using the Eros smart body fat scale and it’s free app. 

This scale provides 13 data metrics which allows you to meticulously track your BMR, BMI, body fat, weight, water level, lean body mass, fat mass, visceral fat, subcutaneous fat, bone density, metabolic age and more. 

You can store numerous profiles on the app so you can use it for your whole family or in my case, personal training clients. 

It really simplifies the data tracking and provides you with a lot of information. This allows you to take the appropriate actions to help you reach your goals. 

Inevifit has a variety of smart scales, food scales and meal prep kits.

You can use coupon code Eric to receive 20% off your order through my link below. 

Eros Smart Body Fat Scale

How Often Should You Check Your Weight and Body Fat Percentage?

I did my weigh-in and I was checking my body fat percentage with my bioelectrical impedance device. I use an Omron, it's a standard BEI device you find in a lot of gyms and used by a lot of personal trainers, strength coaches and different fitness people. It's non-invasive and gives you a general ballpark figure on your body fat percentage. People always get wrapped up about the level of accuracy. 

The whole thing is to consistently do it like I do mine with my clients and myself. I try to do it every Friday at the same time between like three to six pm. That consistency using the same number is the whole goal. Is doesn't matter how accurate it is. I want to make the number go down. It is the same thing when I used to use skinfold calipers. 

Back in the day I also used the measuring tape, especially when I was a weight control NCO in the army. I used to run the weight control program and the remedial fitness program for the different companies I was in with the army. I've been doing this for a long time and I've tested a lot of people. 

I don't recommend checking it more than once a week and doing it at the same time, not every day. I'd take my clients and check them, for the past couple of decades on Fridays, at end of the week at the same time whatever their appointment time was. So they knew every Friday that they were checking their numbers. 

Once you see every your numbers every Friday and you're checking it consistently, that number is either going up or down. You can then make necessary adjustments for the next week. Don't worry about it week to week. Don't worry about it day to day because if you check the numbers every day you'll drive yourself insane. Your weight can easily flex two to five pounds up or down every day.

 

I get on my scale every day just to prove the point. Today my weight was like 233lbs. A couple of days ago it was 238lbs. I'm not trying to lose weight. I'm actually trying to gain weight so I'm failing miserably. The whole point is don't don't worry about it. Check your stuff consistently on a weekly basis and make the necessary adjustments after you get your numbers. Then hit the next week hard and you'll achieve victory. Stay at it my friends, be consistent, and never quit.

Watch the video here:

 

Body Composition Tracking for Health and Fitness

Body composition tracking is an effective way of using analytical data to assist you in reaching your goal.

For some reason, the debunked calorie deficit "eat less and exercise more" method of weight loss has been on the rise once again.

Body weight equals the sum of your combined lean body mass and fat mass (apples and oranges).

There are numerous methods available to track your body composition.

When you track data, you can make necessary, and timely adjustments to your fitness and nutrition program so it puts you back on track, or keeps you on track, as you proceed toward your goal.

Blindly losing weight can cause you to lose an excessive amount of lean body mass, while retaining and sometimes even gaining body fat.

Regardless of your goal, burning fat, while retaining or gaining lean body mass, is the optimal path towards victory.

So if you aren't tracking calorie intake, and body composition levels, and you aren't reaching your goal, consider tracking your numbers, at least periodically, so that you can make adjustments as needed.

It is very important for us to maintain or build lean body mass, while decreasing our body fat levels, especially as we get older.

Eric Dempsey

MS, NASM Fitness Nutrition Specialist

Dempseys Resolution Fitness

Body Fat: Some things you need to understand about it

Most people do not understand fat. We have been taught by our society, and health related industries that fat is bad. 

Fat is not bad or good. Fat is an important part of our body. 

Too much fat is bad. Too little fat is bad. The goal is to reach and maintain an appropriate body fat percentage, that supports your health and fitness needs and goals. And that number is different for each individual. 

Body composition is a key component of an individual’s health and physical fitness profile.

Obesity is a serious health problem that reduces life expectancy by increasing one’s risk of developing coronary artery disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, obstructive pulmonary disease, osteoarthritis, and certain types of cancer. 

Too little body fat also poses a health risk because the body needs a certain amount of fat for normal physiological functions.

Essential lipids, such as phospholipids, are needed for cell membrane formation. Nonessential lipids, like triglycerides found in adipose tissue, provide thermal insulation and store metabolic fuel (free fatty acids). 

In addition, lipids are involved in the transport and storage of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) and in the functioning of the nervous system, the menstrual cycle, and the reproductive system, as well as in growth and maturation during pubescence. 

Thus, too little body fatness, as found in individuals with eating disorders (e.g., anorexia nervosa), exercise addiction, and certain diseases such as cystic fibrosis, can lead to serious physiological dysfunction.

Recommended body fat percentages vary based upon which chart that you look at. Generally accepted numbers for recommended body fat percentages for healthy, active adults, between 35-55 years old are 7% - 18% for males, and 20% - 33% for females. 

You should base the numbers on your health and fitness needs and goals. All of the charts are for reference and are not law or gospel. Find out what is right for you. 

References:

Heyward, V.H., & Gibson, A.L. (2014). Advanced fitness assessment and exercise prescription (7th ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Eric Dempsey

MS, NASM Fitness Nutrition Specialist

Dempseys Resolution Fitness

My Summer Get Lean Program 4 Week Wrap Up

The 4 week Summer Get Lean Program has ended after finishing the 10 day re-shock module. This is it for now. I will share some lessons learned. But first my meager results.

So the total damage or lack of damage ended up being as such: I lost 8lbs, lost 2.7% body fat (hand held bio-electrical impedance), and lost 2 inches from my waist. I tightened up, got a little more defined, lost some water retention, detoxed the body, improved my nutrition planning and water consumption.

Ok, so back to lessons learned.

Fitness Training: I strained my lower back (old injury) using heavy weights, when I should have stuck to lighter weights with higher reps during this stage of training. That hampered my ability to execute hardcore metabolic conditioning training and reduced the effects of the nutrition program. When you are trying to get lean, keep things light and fast. You can go heavier but keep the reps higher with less rest. HIIT, tabata, sprints and metabolic conditioning are your keywords for lean. I need to get better here.

Intermittent Fasting: I also learned about longer fasts with intermittent fasting. I did two 36hr fasts after months of only doing 16hr daily fasts. The long fasts of 24-36hrs really sucked. I won't be doing anything over 16hrs again. Some people swear by it. I think its stupid and miserable. 16 hours will be my daily max.

Even my 13yr old son Mike, joined me in my 2nd 36hr fast and he pulled it off with me. He ended up losing 8lbs and 2.5% body fat this past month.

Metabolic Typing: I offer this to my clients to learn more about what type of person you are. There are 3 metabolic types. Protein type, carb type and mixed type. I am a protein type. You need to know which type you are if you want to make gains in your get lean efforts.

Carb Cycling: So I learned that I am a dumb ass. I did carb cycling before separately and I didn't do well on it, nor did I like it. So doing it again combined with high / low calorie days didn't work for me at all. Many swear by carb cycling and I believe it is the carb types and mixed types that respond to carb cycling well.

Clean Eating: I had my kids off and on quite a bit more than normal this past month. Kids make it difficult as all the mom's always tell me. There are no excuses. I simply caved in many times to have fun with my kids that I don't see enough and we ate feel good food and had fun. Didn't help the get lean program and I don't care. When my kids weren't with me, I ate like a paleo caveman. Meat, nuts, veggies and some fruit with tons of water. That works for me every time.

Find out what works for you. I know now that 5-8 evenly sized, frequent meals (old school bodybuilder style) works for me every time. High protein, medium fat and low carb works for me every time. Big picture paleo and primal guidelines of meat, nuts, veggies and fruit, with water, works every time for me.
I know that 16 hours of daily fasting works for me. Combine all of that stuff together and there is my nutrition program for ME. You have to find out what works for you in each of those categories. Experiment and test stuff for at least 2 weeks at a time. There is no one answer. There is only the answer of what works for you.

Hope this helps. Thanks for following me on this past month. I will do it again shortly. If you like my posts, please like, share and comment. Thanks

Eric
Dempsey's Resolution Fitness

The Bod Transformation Contest

Ok, you might have heard about 'transformation contests' before. Heck, you might have even participated in one of them. But here's why this one is different. Very different!

The Bod Transformation Contest 

Cut your body fat in 1/2 in 90 days...with free meal plans and workout created by Two-Time personal trainer of the year. 

2-time personal trainer of the year, Billy Beck III, has teamed up with trusted Prograde Nutrition to create the ultimate 90-day contest that is revolutionary because we are giving away the workouts AND nutrition plans.

So here's why your life is about to change..

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Starts soon so sign up now here:

The BOD Transformation Contest 

Don't miss this free opportunity! 

Eric

Dempsey's Resolution Fitness

My Get Lean Program Winter 2012 Is Over: Now For 2013

My 5th week of my Winter 2012 Get Lean Program didn't go as planned as I had my baby princess Abby with me. The 4 yr old angel convinced Daddy that we deserved more cheat meals than planned :) So I broke down and agreed. We had a great time together. I ended up maintaining my numbers and I'm ok with that.

When you embark on a get lean program, you have to clearly identify your goals. The purpose of my get lean programs are to show the average Joe / average Jane that you can achieve and maintain a healthy body composition and performance level using my program without going to fitness competitor / bodybuilder extremes.

I could have done better and more and achieved greater results. But I would have had to put in way more time, money and energy into doing that which of course would have impacted other aspects of my life. What was my goal? I wasn't going to a fitness model photo shoot or a fitness competition.

I was simply wanting to be as lean as I could maintain while operating within my normal daily life and to start the new year off at a good place as far as performance and body composition. I succeeded in my personal goal. I raised my PR's / 1 rep maxes back to pre- shoulder injury levels without causing further damage and was able to remain as lean as I could afford to while maintaining my normal daily life.

People don't realize how much work it takes to get in real shape and to get really lean. It takes time, money, dedication and alot of constant work in the kitchen and gym. When you are overweight / out of shape, it is actually easier to make big progress. As you get in better shape and leaner, it gets harder and harder to make noticeable progress.  That's just the way it is. And your goals drive you to keep pushing to break the inevitable plateaus that naturally occur. 

So now as we begin 2013, I am in a place where I can plan and start off in a position where I'm not starting from scratch. I believe fitness is a yearlong, everyday, every year lifestyle that doesn't have social rules. Stopping before new year's day and then making some big plans to undo the deliberate lazy neglect under the guise of a new year's resolution is a ridiculous concept to me but it is the social norm. I will never agree with the norms of society. 

So when you make goals / resolutions for this year, make sure that they are progressive, retainable and contribute to a lasting lifestyle change. Use the S.M.A.R.T. concept and get the most bang for your buck as you make exercise and nutrition improvements. Starting and stopping, falling off the wagon, backsliding, are all signs that your plan wasn't well thought out and wasn't sustainable in your normal life. If you can't do it long term then you have to question it. Nothing good in life comes quick, easy or cheap.

I will embark on many more get lean adventures to keep myself in the healthiest, best shape possible. But I won't be going to any crazy extremes. Think about your goals and ask yourself what it is that you really want and really need to be healthy and fit. The cover of a magazine is not usually in that equation. What progress I have made, although not earth shattering, can be maintained year round. Keep that in mind as you plan for your goals. It's the long term that counts not the quick fix. Stay tuned and Happy New Year!

Eric
Dempsey's Resolution Fitness

Get Lean Program Update - Half way through week 2

Get lean program update -Half way through week 2 of the 5 week winter get lean program. Numbers to date: totals: weight down 2.5lbs, Bodyfat down 2.7%, Waist down 3/4 inch. Performance is way up. Heavy weights creeping in. Eating like a mad dog when not fasting. Still getting hungry. Feeling good though.

If you'd like to join me in the get lean program, the get sexy for santa special is going on now.

Eric

Dempsey's Resolution Fitness

Fitness Is A Lifestyle

http://youtu.be/HxvKM31eGpU

Eric
Dempsey's Resolution Fitness

Winter Get Lean Program- 5 days In

So five days in on the winter 12 get lean program. Starting intermittent fasting again sucks, I was starving all week. Now on Friday, it is under control. Body has re-adapted. Performance is back up and I feel the muscle denseness coming back as water and fat are slowly removed. It feels good but I know it will be hard to keep making gains for 4 more weeks. I gotta keep pushing hard, drinking water and keeping sugar and salt away. Killing the weights and eating real clean. Gotta stay focused and motivated. I'm studying the NASM certified weight loss specialist course now so that helps keep the info fresh in my head. If I can do it, you can do it. Check out the facebook page and subscribe to this blog to get the constant updates.

Stats

Body Fat: Down 2.2 % Body Fat -Bioelectrical Impedance

Body Weight: down ½ pound

Waist: stayed the same

Eric

Dempsey's Resolution Fitness

You want to look your best for the Holidays, Don't you? Try The November Rapid Fat Loss Bootcamp Special

You want to look your best for the holidays, don't you?

Prepare for the holidays with the Rapid Fat Loss Fitness Bootcamp. For all fitness levels.

You are offered 7 classes a week. Mon-Wed-Fri at 12-1pm and Mon-Tue-Wed-Thu at 7-8pm. You can attend any or all of these classes.

Special Runs from Nov 1st - Nov 30th. Reg price is $199 but if you enroll by Nov 1st, you can attend for only $100.

Nutrition coaching, 6 weeks of meal plans and targeted fat loss cardio plan included.

Get a friend to sign up with you and receive an additional week of bootcamp for free. 

For new and returning clients only. Call, Text or email to enroll. 706-573-4236.

Also visit our website at http://www.dempseysresolution.com and Facebook Fan Page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dempseys-Resolution-Fitness/136864169122.

Eric
Dempsey's Resolution Fitness

What Is Weight Loss? 10/21 by Fight The Fat And Get Fit | Blog Talk Radio

Check out my new radio show at blog talk radio

What Is Weight Loss? 10/21 by Fight The Fat And Get Fit | Blog Talk Radio

Eric
Dempsey's Resolution Fitness

It's Time For The 2nd Annual 16 day Sexy Slim Down Program

It's Time for the 2nd annual Sexy Slim Down Program. 8-29 Oct. 

Only $67 or split the cost with a buddy ($33.50). New Clients Only.

Nutrition program, cardio program and 6 week meal plan included. 

Last year's top result was Lisa with a 10.6% bodyfat loss and 5 inches from her waist in the first 10 days. 

What can you accomplish in 16 days?

Enroll Now! Call, txt or email. 

Eric

Dempsey's Resolution Fitness

Stretchy Pants and Your Fat Loss Program

Many women wear stretchy pants not because of the comfort but because no matter how fat or lean you get,  these pants still fit. The problem is that if you are getting fatter, you can't really tell, because your clothes still fit and feel normal. 

Try doing that with a pair of tight jeans - when you get fat, you definitely know it. And you are more likely to take action or at least be aware than if you always wore stretchy clothing. The goal is for your clothes to fit better, looser and get too big requiring a smaller size. Not to wear the same stretchy clothes for 10 years straight regardless of how fat you got. 

Wear fitted clothes most of the time. It will help you keep track of your fat loss progress or lack of progress. A good goal is to set out an old pair of jeans, swim suite, or other clothing in the size you want and give yourself a date to put them on. Put it out somewhere that you can walk by it and see it everyday. 

So minimize the stretchy pants use, wear fitted clothes, have a goal and stay aware!

Eric

Dempsey's Resolution Fitness