Once upon a time it was fashionable to be fat, it showed that you were wealthy enough to 'keep a good table.
' Only the poor or the sick were skinny.
How times change, now the well heeled spend their money on personal trainers and executive gym memberships books and videos on ways to lose body fat are best sellers and a mark of affluence is a slim trim body.
What is the secret? So what is the secret of getting and keeping that desirable perfect body? It's no secret really, it is to eat, frequently and healthily.
Follow a regular pattern of eating to provide you with you sufficient calories (energy) to match your lifestyle, enough, and only enough fat of the right kind to keep you healthy and the vitamins and minerals your body needs to maintain itself and fight off infection.
That sounds simple but it can be made much easier with the right expert advice.
What is the ideal weight? Medical experts agree that the perfect percentage is 15-25% of body weight for women and 10-20% for men.
Women store fat differently to men, we have softer curvier body lines with fat stored under the skin while men tend to store more fat in the belly area.
If the your body fat is above 25% but below 30% (Women) or above 20% but below 25% ( Men) then you are overweight, you are carrying more fat around than you need or that is healthy for you and it probably means you are eating too much of the wrong foods.
It would almost certainly help you to feel better and look better to lose a few pounds and you know - you could probably do that without much trouble Above 30% in women or 25% in men is seriously unhealthy and if you value your health and happiness it is time almost certainly time to make some committed choices.
These figures are a rough guide not absolute and they can be allowed to creep up a little Some scales can give you an indication of body fat percentages but beware, they are not very accurate and can vary quite a lot with the water content of your body.
All these measurements are interesting and can suggest health, but really should not be the basis of a nutrition regime.
What is a healthy diet? The best way to lose body fat is to eat a healthy diet, but exactly what is a healthy diet?