Do you know your body fat percentage?

That may sound strange, right? That a person in the fitness profession would be tired of people who want to lose weight. Well, I am. Maybe that's because I'm fed up with what "weight loss" connotates: the number on the scale.

Do you realize that the number on the scale pretty much doesn't mean a darn thing? Do you realize that anorexics obsess over their number, working to bring it lower & lower? Do you realize that dance teams weigh their dancers on the first day of practice, & then every week after that, making a public spectacle over whether they are up or down by a couple pounds each week? Do you realize that your number may fluctuate by about 5 pounds on any given day depending on what you've eaten, what you've had to drink, whether you had alcohol the night before, if you've exercised?

Last week I heard a pregnant woman obsessing over the fact that she had gained two pounds in less than a week. She was almost full term! Of course she's going to be holding water weight, growing larger, preparing for the birth of her child! Of course she's going to be up a couple pounds!

So...I suggest we stop looking at weight altogether. I suggest we stop even looking at BMI. It might be a better measure of fitness, but really, not by much. When BMI claims that a muscley football player is obese (which it often does), that's a red flag that the method of measurement doesn't (excuse the pun), measure up.

I suggest we start looking at body fat percentage. Unlike weight or BMI, it is an accurate predicor of an individuals fitness level, not just their size. It doesn't discriminate: whether you're a muscle-bound football player, or a "finny" (a skinny, low-body-weight person with a high body fat percentage), this measurement will accurately portray your fitness level.

If people start concentrating on achieving a healthy body fat percentage, not their "goal weight," I am confident that attitudes about health and fitness will change. The obsession over the newest weight-loss diet, the newest exercise fad will fade. People will stop obsessing over their "goal weight" or their "high school weight" or their "pre-baby weight" and start concentrating on a healthy level of fitness as determined by their body fat percentage. It will be about healthy choices, the achievement of a real, long-term healthy lifestyle, not the fad of the moment.

So, do you know what your percentage is?