Are you a TOFI?

" Fattiness", has always been a topic for centuries. And different methods had been introduced to measure our health level. Weight vs Height, BMI and now the Skin Test. Still, loopholes are everywhere...

Fats is not a word for unhealthy, Slim is not a word for healthy. We are looking for Fit.
Aside from struggling being an apple or a pear; fats nowadays are pretty "educated". They know how not to be exposed.
What could scare us more, is when Slimness hides a deadly secret. When we look into the mirror, that reflect lies. That we are unaware of the excess "potential energy" we are containing inside the body. What you see, may not always what you get.

TOFI is a new tag for the generation. " Thin on the Outside but Fat Inside". Just like a wolf wearing sheeps' wools. Waiting to pound on you.

Let's look at the types of Fats, we have:

Subcutaneous fat--- goes underneath the skin
Visceral fat--- goes in the abdomen and surrounding internal organs ( internal/ central fats)
Cholesterol fat--- travels in the blood that has been metabolised by the liver. Low Density Lipids ( LDL) can form plaque, blocking the arteries.

More likely to be a TOFI if...
* You're a male. Genetically, men has more central fats for work
* You're post-menopausal female. Due to the drop of oestrogen hormone; that protects against central fats
* You're under stress. Reflex of "fight" leads fat to deposit centrally
* You're older. Fat tissue increases, lean body mass drops
* Family history of diabetes

Most of us can simply use a measuring tape to see how much fats we're carrying. Some with high internal/ central fat levels can only be detected with an MRI.

Eating in large quantity in every meal leads to increasing fat level. Eating in small quantity but high in calories, also leads to increasing fat level.
Any food, whether its fats, carbohydrates, proteins, ... if the input of the energy is not use, they will transform into fats. When the fats are stored for long, lead to stubborn fats.

Exercising and good diets are buddies for fit health. It is OK to be fat, but we want to be fit in order to experience the beautiful events in life.... comfortably.

In most time, we just rely on our eyes too much. And take delusions as truth. Which is dangerous... because we've no idea what's playing behind our naked eyes. All we need, is a piece of self-consciousness. Know what we put into our mouth.... without guilt--- earn for it.

A short note: When we choose to eat very processed food. We've also choose to exercise even harder to very unprocess them.

Research article  from Reader's Digest, January 2011, Singapore