The One Thing You're Doing Wrong to Check if You're a Healthy Weight

If you’re like most people, you use the scale as your main tool to determine if you’re at a healthy weight or not. However, according to recent studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, this may be one of the worst ways to tell if you’re maintaining an appropriate body mass index (BMI). Here’s what you should do instead to tell if you’re at a healthy weight and how much you should weigh.

Body Mass Index Doesn’t Always Tell the Whole Story

When you hear people talk about BMI and weight loss, they usually mention the obesity epidemic that is making its way through America. Obesity affects nearly one-third of adults and 17% of children and adolescents in the United States, meaning that millions of Americans are at risk for major health issues like diabetes, heart disease, cancer, depression, sleep apnea, and orthopedic problems. But what many people don’t know is that BMI can be a skewed number when it comes to measuring an individual’s weight. Many people think that if they’re at a healthy weight according to their BMI then they’re automatically healthy — but this isn’t always true!

There Are Better Ways to Calculate Your Metabolism

A very common way of checking if you’re a healthy weight is to calculate your BMI. And while it’s true that the calculator will give you an indication of whether or not you’re a healthy weight, it’s a way too simplistic metric. You might be aware that there are more accurate ways to measure your metabolic rate, but many people don’t know about them. So here are some signs that the math has never been done correctly:

# You’ve been eating well and exercising regularly for months and have seen no changes in your weight. Weight loss just takes time, so don’t lose hope if the scale says otherwise!

How to Measure Body Fat

If you’re looking to get a good idea of whether or not you’re a healthy weight, check your body fat percentage rather than your weight. Body fat is the best way to tell if you’re over-fat, under-fat, or just right. That’s because the best way to measure body fat is by using calipers and then assigning a percent to the data. You’ll have to pay attention to certain parts of your body (triceps and thighs are usually the most accurate) while a trainer manually squeezes some skin and measures how much give there is on each side.

What Can This Information Tell You?

There’s one thing that you’re probably doing wrong to check if you’re a healthy weight and the end result might not be what you’re expecting. You’ll notice that we talk about BMI a lot here and I want to tell you why, especially since so many people think it means something else.

Set Realistic Goals

If you’re reading this, you’re probably one of the many people that have a difficult time figuring out if they’re a healthy weight. You might be on the internet looking up things like, What is BMI? or Are 200 pounds overweight? But instead of trying to measure your body fat or check how much weight you carrying around as one easy way to tell if you’re at a healthy weight, there’s another quick test you can do. And it doesn’t require any complicated tools. Take a shirtless selfie in natural light and look at the photos with someone else who will give you an unbiased opinion about whether or not you need to lose some weight.

How Much Do You Need?

An often-quoted measurement for health and fitness is body mass index (BMI). That number can tell you if you’re a healthy weight, or if you need to lose some pounds. The trouble is, BMI is not always accurate. If you’re muscular — or if you carry your weight in your upper half — it might say that your weight falls within a healthy range when it really doesn’t. And even more, interestingly, the more muscle mass people have, the higher their BMI will be! This measure might seem like a quick and easy way to check where your fitness level is at, but unfortunately, it’s not going to give us a full picture of our health. What’s more important?

It’s Not About Calories (but They Matter Too!)

In a previous blog post, I mentioned the mistake of assuming you’re at a healthy weight if you’re just looking at one measurement, like your body mass index. Some people have become discouraged because they don’t see their weight on the scale changing and they might even be gaining weight when they’re trying to lose it. That can happen if you’re eating too many calories but also not exercising enough. If you want to learn more about how to measure your progress toward a healthy weight, be sure to read that blog post!

Use Exercise as Entertainment, Not Punishment

There are a lot of different ways to check if you’re healthy and fit weight, including body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, waist circumference, and skinfold measurements. BMI can’t be used by a lot of people because they have abnormal proportions. The weight itself doesn’t tell you much about someone’s overall health–instead, it only gives a baseline idea. That’s why exercise is important too: not just for a healthy weight but also for good moods and mental health, in addition to everything else that comes with it. In addition to checking your physical health, weightlifting is a great way to increase muscle density and strength (so your risk of injury decreases) which means an overall healthier you!

Think About Where your Food Comes From

For a long time, checking your weight was the go-to method for determining if you’re a healthy weight. There are two major problems with this though: first of all, people get swayed by short-term changes in weight that don’t mean anything, and secondly, this method doesn’t actually tell you how much fat and muscle you have. Body composition is important because it has a lot to do with how many calories you burn or store. If a person’s body fat percentage is high compared to their lean muscle mass percentage, they will find it harder to lose weight than someone who has a healthier ratio. You’re Doing Wrong to Check if You’re a Healthy Weight

Chill Out and Have Fun!

You’re Doing Wrong to Check if You’re a Healthy Weight

It is possible that you might be fooled by the one thing that’s always believed to be the most reliable way of checking if you’re at a healthy weight. Have you heard about BMI? It’s short for Body Mass Index and it was developed by mathematician Adolphe Quetelet back in 1832 to help classify body size based on a person’s height and weight. It’s been used as an indicator of body fat percentage over time, but BMI is limited because it cannot take into account body types, such as heavier builds with more muscle mass. Just because someone may appear healthy according to the BMI calculation doesn’t mean they are truly in shape.

The One Thing You’re Doing Wrong to Check if You’re a Healthy Weight