Body Mass index (BMI) is a ratio of the fat to muscle in your body. You BMI can help you to determine if you are underweight, in the normal weight range, overweight or obese.
There are several online calculators that can help you to determine your own BMI. You will need to know your height and weight in order to get your BMI from the calculators.
In order to get a more accurate BMI, some clinics are equipped to weigh you both in and out of water. They use the difference in weights to calculate an accurate fat to muscle ration for you.
Persons that have a BMI between 18.5 and 25 are in the normal weight range. If you are below the range, you may need to add some weight. If you are above the range, you are overweight and should work to reduce. If your BMI is above 30 you are considered obese.
If your BMI indicates that you are overweight or obese, you may want to take some steps to lose some weight. One healthy way to lose weight is based on your Basel Metabolism Rate or BMR. The BMR is a measure of the number of calories required to maintain your current weight when you are at rest. If you eat a balanced diet that is slightly lower than your BMR, you can safely lose weight over time.
If you start eating less and exercising more, you can still lose weight at a healthy rate. Increasing activity may be some small steps that you take. You may want to consider exercises that increase your core strength or those that will tone muscle groups. This will help you to build muscle as you lose fat. It can prevent loss of muscle mass in the weight loss process.
As you lose weight, your BMR will also drop. Thus, you may eventually recalculate the BMR and adjust your calorie intake so that you continue to lose weight. Keep the calorie intake below the BMR in order to continue your weight loss.
Planning your food consumption based on you BMR is a healthy way to eat. It prevents your body from entering into a famine mode where it tries to store every bit of energy that you consume. In addition, you will not be on a starvation diet and are not as likely to have the rebound effect when you end your diet.
As you work to lower your body mass index, you may begin to see many health benefits of your new diet plan.
Check out how you can tell your body mass index. Knowing your BMI will allow you to know just how much fat you need to lose in a diet. Head online and find out more today.