Fitness and fulfilment

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/06/2022 (1210 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I want to get real and raw with you today. I lost my grandmother when I was very young. She was the most caring person I knew. I wish I had two decades more with her. I wish she would’ve seen me get married. I wish she could’ve met (and spoiled) my daughters. But it wasn’t meant to be.

Now, could more awareness around health and fitness have given her those extra 20 years? I don’t know. But the science is clear that so many diseases today are triggered by lifestyle choices, not fate. This is why I am so passionate about preventative health as the first line of defence.

And it’s also why I hate hearing this kind of thing… “I’d die for my kids.” It should be, “I’m going to do everything I can to live for my kids.”

So many are sacrificing self-care in an act of selflessness. But the most selfless thing you can give your loved ones is the version of you who prioritizes your own health. After all, how can you guarantee you’ll be there for them if you’re not taking care of yourself?

Not only that, recent research by Child Trends says a parent’s health was more strongly associated with his or her child’s health than any other socioeconomic or demographic factor, including family income, family structure, parents’ level of education, and the child’s sex, age or race.

When parents are in “very good” or “excellent” health, the odds that their child’s health will also be “very good” or “excellent” are about 3.7 times greater than if parents are not in “very good” or “excellent” health (net of the aforementioned other factors).

But it’s not enough to just move your body a little each week. Here’s why prioritizing weight loss — not just a fitness routine — is so important. Losing body fat has very positive effects on almost every health bio-marker, including blood sugar, heart rate, cholesterol levels and systemic inflammation markers.

A 2021 meta-analysis showed weight loss improves health-related quality of life in overweight individuals, with greater effects in more obese individuals. Obesity is soon going to pass tobacco as the leading cause of premature death in the modern world.

While science shows being lean (a BMI at or below 25 or slightly higher with a low body-fat percentage) protects against diabetes, chronic inflammation and hormonal imbalances.

Literally hundreds of studies have been done on the relationship between BMI and health and they show a reasonably consistent J-shaped relationship between BMI and all-cause mortality — the risk of dying from any cause.

People generally have the lowest chance of dying when their BMI is between 20 and 25.

There is a progressively higher risk when they’re underweight or overweight, and a much higher risk when obese.

Centenarians — people who live past 100 years old — are rarely overweight.

And, unfortunately, as I touched upon, research shows physical activity can only compensate for excess body fat up to a point: it can address the symptoms but not the root cause of the problems.

A 2022 meta-analysis even found that weight loss also improves cognitive functioning, including brain functioning and memory, even in non-overweight individuals.

So, the take-home point is if you’re overweight, do what you can to lose some of that weight. But that isn’t helpful advice, nor necessarily the right approach to start with. So let me dig in here.

What about “healthy at every size” (HAES)?

For any of you who react instinctively to that phrase, I get it. It’s polarizing. Even “normal-sized” bodies can be unhealthy if they happen to be extremely sedentary and smoke.

But this misses what the HAES movement is about from my understanding. Their claim is that people can be healthy at a variety of sizes, just as people can be unhealthy at a variety of sizes, and shaming or judging does not create change.

Weight stigma isn’t an effective tool to motivate. As a former 260-pound dude, I know full well the uphill battle you face to “prove” yourself capable as an overweight person.

Research shows you’re less likely to get hired or promoted, generally paid less, receive biased medical treatment, and even face social exclusion and bullying.

That’s the unfortunate part. That heavy-set guy or gal you judge at first glance may very well be in the early stages of a health journey and has already lost 20 pounds! You don’t know, and that’s the point.

Actor Rebel Wilson said as much in a recent interview after losing 80 pounds.

“I think what’s been really interesting to me is how other people treat you,” Wilson said. “Sometimes being bigger, people didn’t necessarily look twice at you. And now that I’m in a good shape, like, people offer to carry my groceries to the car and hold doors open for you. I was like, ‘Is this what other people experienced all the time?’”

For what it’s worth, I’m not trying to be an apologist for the HAES movement here. And I’m not trying to call out anyone who stands in opposition to it. But what gets missed is HAES does talk about the use of movement and nutrition to help people improve their health regardless of what that does to their body size. Maybe that’s not enough based on the science that suggests weight loss is most critical, but it’s a start.

Because maybe by getting started with movement, they’re more likely to someday adjust nutrition intake to support their health journey, and that’s great.

That’s how I got started. I walked before I ran. I ate a bit better before I ate a lot better. It would’ve been impossible to succeed if I skipped several steps. And if I didn’t start small, I don’t know where I’d be today.

In other words, we can encourage health without stigmatizing body size, because that approach may discourage people from even trying. And that’s the most tragic outcome altogether.

Where does muscle factor in?

Science shows more muscular people tend to live longer. The most obvious health benefit of muscle mass is protection against physical frailty and risks such as falls as we age, but muscle is responsible for most of the blood-sugar uptake after you eat, so it’s helpful in keeping blood-sugar levels in check and bouncing back from “food indulgences” as it were.

Healthy muscles essentially function as a sponge for blood glucose, thereby preventing hyperglycemia and reducing the demand for insulin production to keep blood-sugar levels in check.

The science is clear… just start! I promise everyone you care about benefits from the best version of you. So, if you’re living the example already, awesome. Keep doing your thing. I salute you.

If you aren’t and know you should be, just start with a small step today. Don’t let the fear of being judged stop you from getting started.

A walk or short workout is a momentum builder. Making a meal yourself instead of grabbing one on the go is another. Just do something and build from there. The “compound interest” will accumulate in your favour in no time.

And if you need a helping hand, you know where to find me.

Mitch Calvert is a Winnipeg-based fitness coach who has helped more than 1,470 people transform their bodies and lives over the past decade. Visit mitchcalvert.com to grab a free copy of his metabolism jumpstart or drop him a message to get direct coaching to drop a size without sacrificing all the fun this summer.