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Body Fat %
- Thread starter dbmathis
- Start date
Average athletic level, so as an isolated measure this is good. However on its own it is meaningless. In the same way as saying I have a 1 litre engine in my work commute, unless I say if that's on a bike or car it's hard to say if it's large or small.
What are you aims?
What do you do?
Etc.
What are you aims?
What do you do?
Etc.
You're right, on its on it is meaningless. This is within the scope of fitness. I should add that I am 6'2 and 175 lbs, do resistance training and endurance cycling and running. I stick to a paleo approach to life and nutrition. My goal is to be functionally fit, have a higher quality of life, look better and live longer (but only if the quality is there with the longevity).
With regards to the weak argument I have seen between paleo man and longevity, please consider the following logical fallacy.
"Confusion of correlation and causation: (e.g., More men play chess than women, therefore, men make better chess players than women. Or: Children who watch violence on TV tend to act violently when they grow up.) But does television programming cause violence or do violence oriented children prefer to watch violent programs? Perhaps an entirely different reason creates violence not related to television at all. Stephen Jay Gould called the invalid assumption that correlation implies cause as "probably among the two or three most serious and common errors of human reasoning" (The Mismeasure of Man)."
Here's a good article to explain what I'm talking about.
Now so far I am doing well with this approach. My average BP is 104/70, my resting heart rate 58, my heart rate recovery 65, my blood sugar levels alway steady in the 80 - 100 range, good oxygen level in the blood, plenty of energy throughout the day, good sleep, ability to run and bike 100 miles a week and I've had full blood work done very recently and it's all in the norm.
I had posted to another topic about the last remaining fat on my body which is right in my mid section. It's not very much fat at all, hardly noticeable, but I'm hoping it will eventually fade away.
Within the context I've given here, I hope 15 percent body fat is decent. Even though that's not my main goal, my theory has been that doing it paleo will get me what I am seeking above. For me, it seems probable that the diet and lifestyle the body evolved with for the most time should be optimal (when combined with other modern technology and science). I may be wrong though which is why I am testing the idea with my own body.
With regards to the weak argument I have seen between paleo man and longevity, please consider the following logical fallacy.
"Confusion of correlation and causation: (e.g., More men play chess than women, therefore, men make better chess players than women. Or: Children who watch violence on TV tend to act violently when they grow up.) But does television programming cause violence or do violence oriented children prefer to watch violent programs? Perhaps an entirely different reason creates violence not related to television at all. Stephen Jay Gould called the invalid assumption that correlation implies cause as "probably among the two or three most serious and common errors of human reasoning" (The Mismeasure of Man)."
Here's a good article to explain what I'm talking about.
Now so far I am doing well with this approach. My average BP is 104/70, my resting heart rate 58, my heart rate recovery 65, my blood sugar levels alway steady in the 80 - 100 range, good oxygen level in the blood, plenty of energy throughout the day, good sleep, ability to run and bike 100 miles a week and I've had full blood work done very recently and it's all in the norm.
I had posted to another topic about the last remaining fat on my body which is right in my mid section. It's not very much fat at all, hardly noticeable, but I'm hoping it will eventually fade away.
Within the context I've given here, I hope 15 percent body fat is decent. Even though that's not my main goal, my theory has been that doing it paleo will get me what I am seeking above. For me, it seems probable that the diet and lifestyle the body evolved with for the most time should be optimal (when combined with other modern technology and science). I may be wrong though which is why I am testing the idea with my own body.
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Paleo would not want to be below this level.
Your diet will likely be paleo style not paleo actual. Sorry bit of a history nerd. They will have eaten whatever their women could have found, tubers and roots mainly, some seeds and berries, some meat, including scavenged. Add some intermittent fresh meat from the small percentage of hunts the men were successful on.
Of course their were some paleo who were already farming, even some who'd stopped throwing up when drinking milk. But all will have had periods of fast and famine. This means sub 15% body fat would be less turn on more concern for ability to survive the first lean time.
Paleo style in our modern world of plenty will be great for longevity and quality of life. The reasons for early death then wasn't what they ate when it was available or their activities. You'll do well.
Your diet will likely be paleo style not paleo actual. Sorry bit of a history nerd. They will have eaten whatever their women could have found, tubers and roots mainly, some seeds and berries, some meat, including scavenged. Add some intermittent fresh meat from the small percentage of hunts the men were successful on.
Of course their were some paleo who were already farming, even some who'd stopped throwing up when drinking milk. But all will have had periods of fast and famine. This means sub 15% body fat would be less turn on more concern for ability to survive the first lean time.
Paleo style in our modern world of plenty will be great for longevity and quality of life. The reasons for early death then wasn't what they ate when it was available or their activities. You'll do well.
Oh, I agree with you there. I am being selective in what paleo traits I take on. Mainly diet with some attention on sleep and exercise. I'm definitely intentionally mixing in modern things, like taking a shower every day. Lol. Speaking of water, I am in the process of getting one of those whole house water filters to eliminate crude in the water.
You didn't mention insects in a paleo diet. I plan to start eating insects soon. Just need to do some research.
You didn't mention insects in a paleo diet. I plan to start eating insects soon. Just need to do some research.
Not eaten any of them. Always managed to find small mammals in shallow holes, fish etc. Didn't always know what they were but they were edible.
Advice on bugs from others I have known who ate them, clean and cook them where practical, mix them with other food to make them more palatable too, wild herbs help. Meal worms etc. are fine to eat along with a massive amount of larvae. This is the state bugs spend most of their life in so will have been the genuine diet.
Advice on bugs from others I have known who ate them, clean and cook them where practical, mix them with other food to make them more palatable too, wild herbs help. Meal worms etc. are fine to eat along with a massive amount of larvae. This is the state bugs spend most of their life in so will have been the genuine diet.
For a woman of 25, a healthy range of body fat would be between 21-32 percent. This can increase slightly with age, to 23-33 percent for women between 40 and 59 and to 24 - 35 percent for those over 60. The healthy ranges in men are from 8-19 percent for those between the ages of 18-39, from 11-21 percent for those aged 40 to 59 and 13-24 percent for those over 60.