Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Smart people know you need body fat to survive (and it could also get you free stuff)

You need body fat to survive. Essential body fat is 2–5% in men, and 10–13% in women. Women need more body fat than men in order to bear children and create hormones, so the minimum for females is higher than males. This minimum balance is needed to keep your organs from smacking into each other like bumper cars and insulates your body.

There are many body fat percentage charts available. I liked this one the best.

You can calculate your body fat percentage by visiting a physical fitness professional, or by clicking here.

Why do I know all this? Well, today I joined...

Yes! I am in my office's fitness challenge! Why? I eat rather terribly and sporadically, consuming a diet of mostly Cheez-its and Diet Coke, that is, when I remember to go food shopping. Oh yes. I am terrible to my poor body. Hopefully this will inspire me to be a little nicer to it (and ensure I look super fabulous for my upcoming Dominican vacay!!!). Fifty-two of us have embarked upon this challenge, most body fat percentage per team wins. From now until June 2, we will work hard, dieting and exercising ourselves to better health.

So I guess that means I shouldn't have ordered three boxes of Girl Scout Cookies!!


Good thing for all of you, I LOVE giving away FREE STUFF! Yes! I am going to give them away!!! Here's the deal. I'm going to put myself on a limb... in order to win my cookies (when they arrive), you've got to guess my body fat percentage. Below is a recent picture for reference.


This is not about weight, it is about body fat percentage which can be very deceiving. There were some very slender people in my office who had rather high percentages, and some not so tiny people whose percentages were rather low. Hopefully this will be educational and maybe inspire you to find your own body fat percentage, become healthier, happier, more productive and make the world a better place. Baby steps.

My fellow weight loss challengers, I have not forgotten about you! If one of you guesses correctly, you will receive a fitness evaluation from Seton Hall University Fitness Center expert Kofi Polley (who is so fit he was refused entry in the contest, which means he must know what he is doing).

Here is how it works (yes, there are always rules and yes, you must follow them):
  • Guess my body fat percentage with one decimal point, example - 1.o% (haha right, I'd be dead or extremely uncomfortable)
  • No repeats
  • Inappropriate comments will be deleted
  • Enter in the comment section below with a valid e-mail address in anti robot format, i.e. lila AT gmail DOT com
  • Price is Right rules (Mr. Maven) closest guess without going over wins
  • Entries will be accepted until 11:59 PM on Monday, March 16th. Prizes will be awarded the following Tuesday
Are you a fitness guru? Got any body fat shedding tips? Include a helpful tip with your entry and you can guess TWICE!

Ok. Ready, set ... go!

A big thanks to Miss Crissy Lopez for organizing this challenge, and Mr. Kofi Polley for donating his most valuable time.

6 comments:

Shana said...

my fitness tip: more reps at a lower weight will help tone your body as opposed to less reps at a higher weight, which will build muscle.

my guess: 20.2%

my email: shanamreyes at gmail dot com

Shana said...

oh wait -

guess #2: 22.8%

LJ said...

If I had to guess the body fat of my BFF I would have to guess 25.4%. lmj1227 at gmail dot com

*** Fitness tip... avoid binge drinking (cough, cough)(especially at St. Patrick's Day Parades in Seaside... cough, cough)

guess 2- 26.1%

Anonymous said...

Guess #1: 18.7%

Email: maven_wlc AT yahoo DOT com

Tip: eat five to six small meals per day. By always providing your body with food, you increase your metabolism and "teach" your body not to store the food for a long time since more food will be coming soon.

Guess #2: 24.3%

dzignjulz said...

Chug green tea and/or ice water all day!! It can help you burn an extra 10-50 calories per hour which can really add up...

guess 20.7%

dzignjulz said...

Eat at least one fruit or veggie with every meal!! (fiber keeps you fuller longer, plus vitamins and antioxidants!) For breakfast have a cup of V8 on the side or put berries all over your cereal.

guess #2 19.5%