Slicker than your average

Depending on where you look, the body fat percentage for healthy males is about 14% – 18%. Back in Brisbane I had some scales that measured body fat, and I always hovered around the 18% mark.

Of course we don’t own any scales in New York – it’s not exactly on the “essential items” list. But there are scales in the gym, and as a similar story to Brisbane, my weight has hovered fairly religiously around 172 – 174 pounds (about 79kg). That’s slightly slimmer than what I was back home, but nothing worth writing home blog about.

That is until today – when we found that there’s a guy who, once a month, comes into the gym and does a body fat test for you. I was keen to find out how I was doing, since I’m at the gym quite strictly about 3 – 4 times a week. So after all the setup rigmarole, this little machine spat out my measurement – 11.7%! That’s way below what I was back home. Which to me, proves a number of things:

• Walking everywhere in New York is good for your metabolism, and overall weight;
• A yoghurt, omlette, and a coffee is a great way to start the day; and
• There’s no point obsessing about your actual weight, since muscle mass really is heavier than fat mass.