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Well there we have it! Don't be fat. Don't be too skinny. Easy huh!?
Yeah right. Easier said than done, and I know this as well as anyone.
Let's look at the heavier side of life first...
A few years ago I was around 30-35kgs heavier than I am now, and definitely not in a good way. I actually don't know what my peak weight was because I almost never weighed myself. I happened to step on a scale at the vet one day and saw 3 digits come up (in kgs haha). That definitely wasn't even at my heaviest.
I also know the lies we tell ourselves about this. "Yeah I'm a bit soft, but I'm fit so it's fine." "I can lose the weight easily any time I want." "I still look fine, so it's fine." But it wasn't fine.
It wasn't until multiple comments from friends about being a little "chunky" or "had a few pizzas there bro!", not even in a bad way, just friendly jabbing, that I started to realise it wasn't fine. I had even previously been to a doctor for a mysterious side pain and nausea that kept recurring, and she had told me directly that I needed to lose weight, but I didn't take much notice. It's strange how comments from friends made a much bigger impact on me.
Long story very much shortened, I lost a bunch of weight over a good few years, using multiple different methods.
Basically every single health problem I had, that I thought was just a part of not being 18 anymore, went away. Completely. My back didn't hurt anymore. I almost never got sick with colds/flu. That mystery side pain vanished completely and so did the chronic heart burn and the Proton Pump Inhibitors I had to take because of it. All because I lost 15-20kgs (at that point). That showed me just how much of a difference "a little extra weight" made in my life. Everything was just a little bit easier.
So anyway, what should you be paying attention to?
The 2 metrics here to watch are your BMI (Body Mass Index, how heavy you are compared to your height) and your waist circumference. Sure, you could geek out and spend a small fortune on getting detailed body composition scans etc, but a scale and a tape measure are all you need for these 2, so they are accessible to everyone.
-BMI you want to be between 18.5 and 25. (There is an exception to this, we'll look at)
-Waist circumference: Males should be smaller than 37inches (94cm), Females smaller than 31.5inches (80cm). Here there aren't really any exceptions.
If you have a waist circumference larger than 40 inches as a male or 36.5inches as a female you are at significantly increased risk of chronic disease (think heart disease, stroke etc) and this should be your priority to work on.
The exception for BMI comes on the high end. If you have a BMI greater than 25, but a small waist, then you're probably good and just really well muscled. Even if you have a really high muscle mass, this doesn't seem to change your waist circumference much if your fat mass is low (see pictures of Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime...HUGE but tiny waist.) Of course this has limits and if your BMI is 30-35 you may be getting into the risky category again.
Now the other end.
If your BMI is UNDER 18.5, you are almost certainly underweight and at risk because of this as well. Sarcopenia is the term for having very low skeletal muscle mass. People with very low muscle mass seem to do much worse individuals with a healthy body composition. Frailty and weakness is never an advantage and can be seen as having very low "health reserve" if you are unfortunate enough to be hit with a disease or accident. Someone who is very skinny and frail has less reserve to rely on in these times.
Many older people seem to fall into this trap. "Im not overweight so I'm fine!" but they struggle to get up out of a chair, or bend over to pick something up, or play with their grandkids on the floor. These people could definitely benefit from trying to add some muscle and get stronger and more resilient.
So yes, don't be fat, don't be skinny....GREAT STU!! AS IF WE DIDN'T KNOW THAT!! HOW!!!?
The answer here is largely diet. In either case focussing on 2 things is all that matters:
1 - Total Caloric intake.
2 - Get enough Protein.
This sounds too simple, but honestly that's all it comes down to at the end. It's more of a problem of choice because nearly every successful way of eating achieves these 2 things but in different ways. Instead of being overwhelmed by the different possibilities, feel freed to follow a diet that works for you, as long as it achieves those goals. It could be low fat, low carb, Mediterranean, intermittent fasting....anything!! Exercise obviously helps at all, but the focus should be diet.
The details of diet are not really part of this. I would just ask you to actually step on a scale, measure your waist and be honest with yourself about your body composition and how it may be affecting your life. Whether you actually do have a bit of weight you really do want to get rid of, or you actually would like to be able to pick your grandkids up and roll around with them and be a bit stronger....it's possible!!!! Chat to somebody who can help you achieve these guidelines.