(Or give them - nicely gift-wrapped - to someone you cannot stand!).
Neither our bathroom scales nor our Body Mass Index will tell us how we are faring healthwise in terms of our weight. There are only two (!) measurement methods that we recommend in connection with 10in2 ® AND actually use (when our bathroom mirror seems to give us an inaccurate picture.)
One of the methods - which is offered by Prof. Dr. Dr. Huber in Vienna - is called Dexa measurement. But if you shy away from the cost involved or aren’t a regular visitor of Austria’s capital, we recommend you to take the second method to your heart – pardon – your belly. This method gives us, among other things, a rough idea above what point (in centimetres) our belly girth starts to become a heart-attack risk and below which there is little danger. Moreover, it provides measurement freaks with a splendig method for comparing measurements. Thus, genuine 10in2 disciples will answer the question “How much have your actually slimmed down?” with “a clear 6 centimetres!” “Aha, and how much is that in real terms?” “About 1.5 in dress size! Why do you ask?”
How does one then measure one’s belly girth? This is what Prof. Dieter Magometschnig, from the Institute for Hypertonics in Vienna, suggests:
1) The best time to measure your belly girth is in the morning, after you have had your first bowel action.
2) Have the tape measure ready! Tighten and relax your abdominal muscles, inhaling and exhaling several times. This will avoid obtaining distorted results caused by existing muscular tensions.
3) The next step is to take the tape and measure your belly girth where it is WIDEST! (For most people this is at the height of the belly button!). Mission accomplished!
4) Since women are pear-shaped, they should measure their waist in addition to their hip girth. These two measures give them a chance to figure out an interesting ratio: waist (belly girth) divided by hip girth (waist-to-hip ratio / WHR).
With the help of these measurements it can be determined that:
there is NO risk of a heart attack for
*men with a belly girth of less than 94 cm
*women with a belly girth of less than 80 cm
*women with a waist-to-hip ratio of between 0.8 and 0.9 or less
There is a HEIGHTENED risk for
*men with a belly girth between 94 and 102 cm
*women with a belly girth between 80 cm and 88 cm
*women with a waist-to-hip ratio of more than 0.9
There is a very HIGH risk for
*men with a belly girth higher than 102 cm
*women with a belly girth higher than 88 cm
Here is a list of further metrics (Prof. Dr. Magomentschnig):
1 cm of belly girth is equivalent to:
By the way, 4 cm of belly girth equals one size point in the European trouser or frock size system.
Bernhard Ludwig uses a tape measure that gives a precise indication of the risk factors associated with different belly girth measurements in centimetres. The tape can be obtained at Bernhard Ludwig’s seminar sessions. Experience so far has shown that a reduction of 20 cm in belly girth within 6 months is not unusual for obese people, provided that they apply the 10im2 method consistently.
