But you’ve heard of BMI, right?
BMI, or Body Mass Index, is one of the simplest tools for measuring your level of fitness (take special note of me saying “simplest”!).
This article looks at BMI and how it can help you reach your weight loss goals. As you’ll learn, it’s really only helpful to a degree, and like everything, it has a few flaws.
Let’s take a look…
BMI: What is it?
BMI is a scientific and objective measure of health and fitness based only on your height and weight. It’s used by physicians, healthcare practitioners, and personal trainers as a way of showing people where they’re at in terms of body weight.
BMI is a single number, calculated by dividing weight (kg) by height (meters squared). BMI is a ratio, so the higher the number, the more overweight you are by medical standards. For a BMI calculator, click here.
The number you get can then be classified as underweight (under 18.5), normal healthy weight (between 18.5 and 24.9), overweight (between 25 and 29.9), or obese (30 and over). These numbers essentially tell us if we have too much or too little body weight for our height.
BMI and Weight Loss: What’s the Deal?
If one of your main fitness goals is weight loss, then BMI can be a good tool for tracking your progress.
I’d recommend keeping a log of your in measurements, exercises, and workouts using a great tool like the Fitlosophy Fitbook. BMI should be measured at the start of your weight loss goals with your other measurements, and taken again about every 2 weeks.
Obviously all you’re going to measure is your weight. But you should be calculating your BMI periodically as an indicator of whether you’re in a healthy range. If you’re starting out in the overweight or obese categories, dropping to the normal healthy range can have a big impact on your health and overall well-being.
But there’s a catch.
If your weight loss goals also include increasing lean muscle mass, then BMI is not going to be the best indicator of your fitness level.
The problem is, BMI is such a simple measure that it can’t distinguish between body fat and lean muscle mass. So if you’ve been working hard at the gym and have a lot of muscle mass, your BMI may be telling you you’re overweight. Even if very little of that weight is actual fat!
So in the end, BMI is a good rough estimate of your health and fitness, but it doesn’t tell you a whole lot, especially if you have very specific fitness goals.
Reducing Your BMI
If you’re trying to lose weight and reduce your BMI, there are a few simple additions to your weight loss tool box that will get you seeing results fast. Here’s a couple I recommend:
- A heart rate monitor for making sure you stay in your target fat burning zone. Check out the awesome Bowflex Classic Strapless Heart Rate Monitor.
- A natural weight loss supplement like Irwin Naturals Green Tea Fat Metabolizer. This is a great way to get you motivated in the beginning and seeing results.
- A good protein supplement to help you fight the cravings like Gaspari Nutrition Myofusion. This will help you maintain lean muscle mass, which means you’ll burn more calories on a regular basis.
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