Weighing yourself has always been a topic that brings up some negative feelings and emotions. We do understand. However, we try to think of weighing ourselves as a positive thing when done correctly. The numbers on the scale can aid in bettering your health and offer you valuable information that you could use to inform your choices.
We don’t suggest that you use the traditional scales as they offer limited information that doesn’t show the full picture of what’s going on in your body. Traditional scales show only your weight, which can fluctuate due to a variety of reasons, and holding the unfortunate opinion that the higher the number is the worse you should feel about yourself is just not true. Muscle is heavier than fat, so you may have built muscle and burned fat, but the traditional scale simply says 5 kgs heavier.
You should get a digital scale that measures body composition and connects to a smartwatch for a more holistic picture of your health. Our bodies are composed of more than just fat. Bone, water, and muscle weigh something too and by looking at the body composition, we’re looking at the percentages of your weight made up by fat, bone, water, and muscle mass to correctly determine what you need to do to better your health.
We suggest deciding on the frequency and circumstances of your weigh ins as your body composition fluctuates from week to week. You may also find that periods, drinking, stress, and medications will influence your body composition too.
For example, weigh in every Friday at 6 am, before your coffee, if you keep to the same schedule the measurements should be more accurate than if you weighed in intermittently. You want to keep an eye on your fat and water percentages as we often see dehydration being a cause for lower weights, but that’s not good. Being dehydrated is unhealthy. Don’t concern yourself too much with your percentage of bone as we want that to stay the same. Ideally, we want the fat percentage to go down and the muscle percentage to go up.
What are body composition norms?
Body Fat Percentage:
Ages | Average Body Fat % for Men | Average Body Fat % for Women |
20-39 | 8-19% | 21-32% |
40-59 | 11-21% | 23-33% |
60-79 | 13-24% | 24-35% |
Bone Mass Percentage:
This looks at the totality of your skeleton.
Normal bone mass for both men and women is between 3% and 5%.
Total Body Water Percentage:
This is all the fluid in your body.
We are roughly 50-75% water, depending on age, gender, and hydration.
Most men will have between 50-65%.
An average women will have 45-60%.
Muscle Mass:
This is the totality of the muscle in your body. This includes muscles like the heart and around the skeleton.
Ages | Muscle Mass % for Men | Muscle Mass % for Women |
20-39 | 75-89% | 63-75.5% |
40-59 | 73-86% | 62-73.5% |
60-79 | 70-84% | 60-72.5% |
Knowing your body composition can help you make more valuable choices based on the information you have to hand that can help. It may also help you keep on top of other aspects of your health, like if your bone mass decreases suddenly, that would be a cause for concern. Or if your normal water percentage has increased dramatically and you’re having trouble breathing, your lungs could be at risk. Knowing your body composition is never going to be a bad thing.
Don’t be afraid of the scale and never weigh yourself for fear of a number that doesn’t truly represent the amount of fat your body has. Use your measurements to help inform your choices and encourage you to make healthier choices in general. For the very best results, go for an in-body scan from one of our preferred partner dieticians every three to four months.
For a guided and personalised look at understanding your body composition the RITE way, get in touch with us.