jennifermaria
Cathlete
I've been hearing a lot lately about waist to hip ratios, especially after the latest study a few weeks ago about a high waist to hip ratio increasing the risk for dementia later in life (this in addition to other things). I've always been conscious about this, since we tend to be "apples" in my family and carry our weight in our waists.
I THOUGHT I had read somewhere that as long as one's waist to hip ratio was under 1, we wouldn't be at a higher risk for all of the things associated with the high ratio (i.e. heart disease, diabetes, dementia, etc.). But now I'm reading that for women, the ratio should be less than .8. I'm at .85--so now I'm a little panicked.
I consider myself a pretty healthy shape/size. I'm 5'5 and weigh about 132 (which is about 4 pounds above what I normally weigh, so I'm trying to get back to my "fighting weight"), and according to these calculations, I'd need to lose about 2 inches off my waist to be at the ideal ratio. The problem is, I have no idea how to do that! Even at my smallest, my waist was never that size. I'm pretty lean everywhere else in my body except for my waist--which of course, happens to be where it's most dangerous.
I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do. I'm already having a difficult enough time losing these last 4-5 pounds, and adding to that the knowledge that you can't spot reduce--that all I can do is work hard and pray that the fat around my waist decides to go away--is pretty frustrating for me. Yes, I have body fat to lose overall, but I'd say 80% of it is in my waist area, so I don't have a drastic amount to lose anywhere else. I just feel as though if I lose the 5 pounds I'm trying to lose, I'd lose it everywhere else in my body except in my waist--which is where I not only want to lose it, I NEED to lose it to reduce my risk.
I've made the journey towards clean eating and eat clean about 90% of the time (I do allow 10% for non-clean "treats" right now--I'd eventually like to get that down to 0%, but it needs to be a gradual process because the last time I went cold turkey, I couldn't handle it LOL), and I also do the typical 3-4 days of cardio (45-60 min) and 2-3 days of strength (had been doing splits for a while, but now I'm doing total body and circuit). I feel as though I'm doing things right for the most part, so I'm not sure how much more I can do to really get the dramatic change I need. Diminishing returns and all of that working against me, you know?
Anyone else an apple and found success getting their waist to hip ratio down? Is below .8 really the magic number, or should I not worry so much being a .85? And doesn't my genetic make-up have a lot to do with this? Am I just resigned to having a higher risk of the bad stuff because my body is pre-disposed to being at this ratio, even if I do everything "right"??
Jennifer
I THOUGHT I had read somewhere that as long as one's waist to hip ratio was under 1, we wouldn't be at a higher risk for all of the things associated with the high ratio (i.e. heart disease, diabetes, dementia, etc.). But now I'm reading that for women, the ratio should be less than .8. I'm at .85--so now I'm a little panicked.
I consider myself a pretty healthy shape/size. I'm 5'5 and weigh about 132 (which is about 4 pounds above what I normally weigh, so I'm trying to get back to my "fighting weight"), and according to these calculations, I'd need to lose about 2 inches off my waist to be at the ideal ratio. The problem is, I have no idea how to do that! Even at my smallest, my waist was never that size. I'm pretty lean everywhere else in my body except for my waist--which of course, happens to be where it's most dangerous.
I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do. I'm already having a difficult enough time losing these last 4-5 pounds, and adding to that the knowledge that you can't spot reduce--that all I can do is work hard and pray that the fat around my waist decides to go away--is pretty frustrating for me. Yes, I have body fat to lose overall, but I'd say 80% of it is in my waist area, so I don't have a drastic amount to lose anywhere else. I just feel as though if I lose the 5 pounds I'm trying to lose, I'd lose it everywhere else in my body except in my waist--which is where I not only want to lose it, I NEED to lose it to reduce my risk.
I've made the journey towards clean eating and eat clean about 90% of the time (I do allow 10% for non-clean "treats" right now--I'd eventually like to get that down to 0%, but it needs to be a gradual process because the last time I went cold turkey, I couldn't handle it LOL), and I also do the typical 3-4 days of cardio (45-60 min) and 2-3 days of strength (had been doing splits for a while, but now I'm doing total body and circuit). I feel as though I'm doing things right for the most part, so I'm not sure how much more I can do to really get the dramatic change I need. Diminishing returns and all of that working against me, you know?
Anyone else an apple and found success getting their waist to hip ratio down? Is below .8 really the magic number, or should I not worry so much being a .85? And doesn't my genetic make-up have a lot to do with this? Am I just resigned to having a higher risk of the bad stuff because my body is pre-disposed to being at this ratio, even if I do everything "right"??
Jennifer
. I don't need to worry so much after all 