Measuring Progress

Pictures can be very useful for assessing progress during a diet or a body-building program. The photographs show the difference between having a Body Mass Index in the overweight category and in the normal range. I lost 18 pounds and improved my muscle definition from age 60 to age 63. Dietary changes based on better understanding of lipid metabolism lowered my total cholesterol from 223 to 164.

Age 60, BMI=25.4

Age 61, BMI=23.8

Age 62, BMI=23.0

"It is not a diet.
It is a way of life."
-- Janet Jackson

Age 63, BMI=22.7

Age 64, BMI=22.7

Age 65, BMI=22.8

Age 66, BMI=23.5

Age 67, BMI=22.8

Age 68, BMI=22.7

Age 69, BMI=22.9

Age 70, BMI=23.9

Age 78, BMI=26.8

As I get older, I want to maintain a healthy weight to avoid diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, and I want to be strong enough to take care of myself and be independent.

BMI=Body Mass Index, W/H=Waist/Height, %BF=Percent Body Fat, LBM=Lean Body Mass, Height and Waist in inches. Weight and LBM in pounds.

Before

Age	Height	Weight	Waist	BMI	W/H	%BF	LBM
60	68	167	34.0	25.4	0.50	18.3%	136.4
61	68	156	32.0	23.8	0.47	14.2%	133.8
62	68	151	31.5	23.0	0.46	13.2%	131.1
63	68	149	30.5	22.7	0.45	10.9%	132.7
64	68	149	31.0	22.7	0.46	13.2%	129.4
65	68	149.4	30.8	22.8	0.45	12.6%	130.5
66	68	151.8	31.0	23.5	0.46	13.4%	131.5
67	68	149.6	31.8	22.8	0.47	14.9%	127.3
68	68	149.0	32.0	22.7	0.47	15.3%	126.2
69	68	150.6	32.0	22.9	0.47	15.3%	127.6
70	68	157.0	33.8	23.9	0.50	18.3%	128.3

I eat approximately 2,000 calories per day which is a 10% calorie restricted diet based on the calories required for my height. My goal is to keep my BMI around 22, which is the middle of the normal range. I prefer to be in reasonable shape year-round and avoid the high calorie diets and yo-yo weight gains and losses practiced by bodybuilders.

Whether you are male or female, the following techniques will assure that your photographs show you in your best form:
Preparation and Posing

• Muscles can be seen better if body hair is removed by trimming with electric clippers or by shaving.
• Take the picture before eating so that the stomach is not distended from food.
• A short workout before taking the picture will bring more blood into the muscles and increase their volume.
• Apply a light coating of baby oil or cooking oil to the arms, torso, and legs to create highlights that emphasize the curvature of the muscles.
• Keep your back straight or arch slightly backwards to stretch out the stomach and display a trimmer figure.
• Suck in your stomach, inhale deeply, and tense the muscles of the arms, chest, stomach, and legs to make them bulkier when the picture is taken.
• Smile to make it all look effortless.    :-)

Camera and lighting

• Put the camera on a tripod or steady surface to avoid blurry pictures.
• Strong lighting from the top will create shadows on the bottom portions of the muscles and produce better contrast.
• Don't use front flash because it will wash out the shadows.
• It may take several tries to get a satisfactory pose and lighting conditions, specially if you are using a self-timer and have to hurry to pose after clicking the shutter.

Body hair, flash, and ornate background obscure body features and distract attention from the subject.

Back view with and without hair.

Body builders normally have an "off-season" weight which is the weight at which they train and build muscle, and a "competition" weight for which they reduce their percent of body fat to less than 10% by dieting severely. The off-season weight is generally 10%-15% higher than their competition weight. The competition weight is achieved by strenuous workouts and by eating low-carbohydrate, low-fat, high-protein, reduced-calorie diets designed to lose 25 to 40 pounds in about 12 weeks, but such diets cannot be maintained permanently.

	Jack LaLanne (September 26, 1914 – January 23, 2011), noted for his pioneering physical fitness TV shows. At age 90, Jack was 5'4" and weighed 152 pounds (BMI 26.1). In his prime, he had 20 pounds more muscle. He ate a healthy, natural-food diet and he exercised every day one hour with weights and swam for one hour. He aged gracefully, but died at age 96 from respiratory failure due to pneumonia.
	Arnold Schwarzenegger (b. July 30, 1947) Arnold is 6' 2" and his competition weight was 235 lbs with a waist of 34". His waist-to-height ratio was 0.46 and his BMI was 30.2. In 1969 he won the Mr. Universe title and he dominated the Mr. Olympia competition from 1970 to 1975. Arnold's off-season weight was 250-260 pounds. Arnold had a long career making movies and eventually became governor of California.
	Lou Ferrigno (b. Nov. 9, 1952) won his first Mr. Universe title in 1973 at age 21. He won the title a second time in 1974. Lou, who is 6'5" tall, weighed 285 pounds and had a 34" waist at the time. That corresponds to a BMI of 33.9 and a waist-to-height ratio of 0.44. Lou's off-season weight was 310-325 pounds. Lou gained notoriety for his role in the TV series "The Incredible Hulk".
	Stephanie Park (b. Jan. 20, 1976) is 5'2" and weighs 118 lb during contests (BMI = 21.6). Stephanie's off-season weight is 145 pounds. She is a Canadian fitness model and won the 2001 South Western Ontario Bodybuilding Level I Championship.
	Ronald "Ronnie" Coleman (b. May 13, 1964) is 5'11" and has a competition weight of 296 pounds (BMI = 41.4). His off-season weight is 330 pounds. Ronnie's enormous muscles make everybody else seem small by comparison. He has won the Mr. Olympia contest every year from 1998 to 2005.
	Yaxeni Oriquen (b. Sept. 3, 1963) is 5'7" and has a competition weight of 160 pounds (BMI = 25.1). Her off-season weight is 185 pounds. Originally from Venezuela, Yaxeni now lives in Florida where she is a physical fitness trainer. She was the winner of Miss International at the 2005 Arnold Classic.