How to (and Should You) Use BMI to Determine Obesity

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BMI stands for Body Mass Index. It is a commonly used method of determining whether an individual is underweight, normal, overweight, obese, or extremely obese. It is nothing more than a special number that is calculated based on your height and weight (and nothing else), which you then look up on a chart. Your doctor may refer to it if you discuss your weight with him/her. It is almost certain that your health insurance company uses it. Even the Wii Fit uses it. This article discusses the steps to calculating your BMI, we well as more practical and accurate steps to take to determine if you are overweight or obese.

For those of you who like math, you can compute your BMI by taking your weight(in pounds), and dividing it by the square of your height (in inches). Then take that quotient, multiply it by 703, and note the result. That's your BMI score. Alternatively, you can use a chart like the one pictured above to determine this number.

Some charts are color-coded to immediately show you the category of your weight (overweight, obese, etc). If your chart does not show this then it will likely have the following legend that you can refer to for your BMI score: Underweight (Under 18.5), Normal (18.5-24.99), Overweight (25-29.99), Obese (30 -40), Extremely Obese (40 and higher).

That's it. You now have your BMI score, and what is supposedly means. It is worth noting several things, in an attempt to answer the "and should you" portion of this article's title. First of all, the BMI score is based on nothing other than height and weight. It doesn't take anything else into account, such as age, gender, body frame, body fat percentage, or muscular development. Many gold-medal-winning Olympic athletes are considered obese according to their BMI.

As a more practical step, if you want to categorize your weight, simply take off all your clothes, and look in a full length mirror. Turn all around, look at yourself from any and all angles, and make an assessment. You don't need any charts for this. Unless you are totally delusional, and are totally fooling yourself, you will simply be able to see what the situation is. If you are a professional athlete who is slim and muscular, you will see that. If you have a big beer belly, you will see that as well. If you are underweight, you will see that. Just look, and make a plan of action as need be, working closely with your doctor. Just be honest with yourself. If you see a big belly in the mirror, just accept that it isn't healthy, but you can do something about it, unlike people who have incurable medical conditions.

As the final step, if you are overweight or obese, and feel the need to assign a concrete number to your condition, the best thing to do is have your body fat percentage calculated. You can get a rough idea of this by using a simple, low-cost device that sends a mild current through your body which you do not feel at all. You need to follow the instructions carefully, and use it under appropriate conditions to not get a false reading. It is still not totally accurate. You can have your percentage calculated more accurately by having a professional use skinfold calipers to measure it. Finally, you can have your percentage calculated by doing hydrostatic weighing. This requires a facility that has a special weight tank that you must immerse yourself in.

Keep in mind that if you are overweight, you will know if you are losing weight based on looking in the mirror, and of course by using a simple scale. You will also know it by the way that your clothes feel, or by how many notches on your belt you are using. We do not need to be so dependent upon special methods, especially oversimplified and generic charts, to tell us such obvious things about our health.

Running for Success

Though it may not seem like it when we’re drenched in sweat and our legs feel like lead, marathon running is as mental as physical. When we’re exhausted, continuing consists of mind over matter. This takes enormous mental power. Once developed, this skill can be transferred from the racetrack to the boardroom.
Training for a marathon is an ideal place to improve the skills needed to achieve success in business: strategy, clear objectives, and a positive attitude. These techniques are also crucial to completing a marathon. Without them, even the most fanatically fit athlete is doomed to fail. Through physical training we can develop and master these skills.
In business, investment and marathon, a well-planned strategy is essential. In each situation, we must commit to our plan, yet be willing to adapt it if it isn’t working. Though strategy can be complex or simple, with our first marathon it’s best to choose the latter. Simplification is a great way to remove self-imposed pressure. This can mean concentrating on maintaining a steady heart rate or pace. We need to do this during both training and our marathon, since sustaining this relaxed-focus helps remove the barrier of performance anxiety.
The strategy of shifting attention to our body’s sensations is called association, and it’s a tactic used by many elite athletes. The self-focused introvert may find this more comfortable than directing attention outside. The outgoing extrovert, however, may be more suited to the disassociation technique. This involves turning our awareness outward. According to a report published in The Journal of Sports Psychology: “ Considerable evidence exists to link disassociation strategies with increased pain tolerance during endurance tasks.” Disassociation may also useful during a dull seminar, or an extended visit from our mother-in-law.
Just as business meetings have objectives, so should your marathon training. Whatever your personal goal, it needs to be specific, measurable, and reasonable. Similar to our professional life, these can be accomplished by choosing to focus on either the process or the outcome. In our business life a process goal would be improving our customer relation skills, while an outcome goal would be making X amount more dollars. For your first marathon, process goals are better. Since meeting them may be as simple as adhering to our training schedule, they guarantee success. As we all know, success produces self-confidence. Developing this gives us courage to challenge ourselves to achieve greater victories. Outcome goals, like beating a rival, are more risky. Since external factors can interfere with them, they are harder to succeed at.
Maintaining a positive attitude is crucial to accomplishment. Without belief in eventual success, we’ll quit at the slightest obstacle. This is true both in career and running. Everyday, marathon training teaches us persistence through discomfort. This is essential. Without challenging ourselves we can never progress to higher success. Besides the things we tell ourselves, a positive attitude also includes motivating inner images.
Many superior athletes use mental imagery, or guided visualization. These include Marion Clignet, 1996 and 2000 silver medallist on the French cycling team, and 6 times Masters winner Jack Nicklaus. Medical experts have also tested this method. A recent article published in the Journal of Sports Science states: “The power of mental imagery in sport performance has been widely noted. Keep your thinking and mental rehearsing of your upcoming races positive and it may contribute to new personal records.”
The importance of mental imagery is also noted in Olympic runner Jeff Galloway’s Marathon: You Can Do It. In this book, Galloway encourages us to rehearse parts of our marathon every day. He says that this will help us prepare for and find solutions to problems we may encounter and help us “tough it out.” This strength doesn’t end in out legs and lungs. Finishing a marathon makes us more tenacious, helping us bring home “the gold” in business.

Lose Pounds - 2 Simple and Cheap Ways That I Was Able to Lose Pounds, All 47 of Them

eople are getting busier no matter how old you are and who you are. You can even see a 5 years old kid will have a schedule for tuition's, leaning music instruments, swimming classes in some countries, while some adults will be drowning in their jobs to make ends meet. Connected to this matter, fast food restaurants will be exactly blissful in doing their business. People tend to settle their meals by consuming fast food to save time. Let's us see some points that might make you draw back from fast food and junk food.
The first issue that we definitely cannot put it aside is obesity. A burger in fast food restaurant basically contains more than 1000Kj of calories, while that's exceeding half of our body needs for a day! I won't believe that you will just have a burger in you right hand without a cup of vanilla coke in your left hand. Where do you think these extra calories will go inside your body? They will change to become fats in your abdomen and that's what you usually can see down the street there are uncountable fast food lovers with a fat-bellied. Well, you might love that if it's not on your body.
Obesity not only makes you dare not to stand in front of a mirror, it's not just simply an eyesore to the public as well. In fact, obesity is the major cause for some chronic diseases such as high cholesterol, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and many other types of cancers. This explains why the age group of people in getting chronic diseases is showing wider range nowadays. Who wants to go on long term medications and run in and out to the hospital forever? In this case, you always have the choice to choose the way you want.
Not to mention that our brain is the organ in affecting how we think and move. Fast food and junk food are very low in nutrients; instead they are full with colorings, flavors and preservatives. You won't want to know how the unhealthy ingredients could lead to some severe mental disorders. Researches have shown that junk food might cause dyslexia, ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and worse is autism. An individual's mood and attention are highly influenced by the food taken, which means it will affect your concentration in school. For the parents out there, you won't want your children to be called as stupid in school, don't you?
Does that mean you can't have fast food and junk food at all? It is not necessary so. You just need to reduce the amount and frequency of having them in your diet. To begin with, you could bring your home-cooked food to your school or workplace. Of course, bacon, sausages and canned foods should not be your choices. Try some fresh foods and vegetables. You still can have your favorite fast food not too often; with the condition you drink a lot of water and exercise regularly.

Lose Stomach Fat!

When it comes to losing stomach fat it is best to have a strategy. I say this because the stomach can be an extremely tricky place to shed unwanted pounds. The stomach tends to be one of the last places the weight comes off when you're burning calories through exercise. In this article I will show you how to lose overall body weight and a way to target your belly fat specifically.
If you are looking to lose stomach fat, improving your diet is a good place to start. Not all of us are health nuts that can handle eating tofu and rice cakes all day. I know I can't, but we could definitely cut out some of the junk meals and snacks that we all enjoy. This does not mean we cannot indulge in the foods we love, it just means we have them in moderation. Did you know that people with a higher metabolism burn fat more efficiently? What if I told you that you can increase your metabolism by eating smaller portions every 2-3 hours rather than gorging yourselves with three large traditional meals? Doing this keeps a constant flow of nutrients to our bodies thus making it easier to burn fat.
Exercise would be another thing to focus on when trying to lose stomach fat. The results may not be immediate, but the weight will eventually come off. I recommend everyone should get at least 30 minutes of good aerobic exercise, 4-5 times per week. This could be as simple as a jog, a bike ride, or even a brisk walk. In order to burn fat we must burn the daily calories we take in plus the calories stored in our fat cells.
If you have a specific area that you would like to target such as stomach fat, I've found that body wraps can be a very efficient solution. What is nice about body wraps are that you can target a certain area where you are having trouble achieving your desired results. The applications only take about one hour and they are quickly becoming very popular within the weight loss community. These body wraps not only break down the fat in your cells but also aid in detoxifying your system which is utterly essential when trying to lose stomach fat.
If you can find a way to incorporate these items we've discussed into a healthy diet regimen, you will surely lose that unwanted stomach fat in no time flat.

Effective Weight Loss

With so many weight loss scams out there it seems impossible to find an effective weight loss treatment. I have helped many people attain maximum weight loss results with a simple routine. If you are seeking an easy effective weight loss treatment look no further.
Changing Our Eating Habits
Watch what you eat. Try to eat smaller portions of healthier food five to six times per day rather than gorging on the three traditional meals that we are accustomed to. By changing our eating habits this will in turn raise our metabolism by keeping a constant flow of nutrients to our systems. This makes it simpler for our bodies to burn this unwanted fat. Steering away from sweets and replacing them with fruits and vegetables is a great start. Effective weight loss starts with a healthy diet.
Daily Exercise
I can't tell you how important exercise is. To lose weight our bodies need to burn calories stored in our fat cell's. Exercising burns calories which in turns makes us lose weight. It can be as simple as going for a brisk walk, jog, or swim. Anything you can do to get your heart rate up is great. Strength training is very useful in our quest to burn fat. Weight lifting can keep burning calories hours after the actual training session.
Detoxifying Our System
Detoxifying our systems is one of the key steps in losing weight that most of us are unaware of. Everyday our bodies are exposed to harmful toxins. We are exposed to these toxins by the air we breathe, foods we eat, and activities we partake in. Drinking plenty of water helps flush our systems. Some other great ways to rid our bodies of these toxins are body wraps and colon cleansers. Cleansing our systems properly is essential for effective weight loss.
Effective weight loss results can be attained by implementing the steps we've discussed into our lives. You will be amazed at how much better you will look and feel in no time.

Low Carbohydrate Diet Burn Fat

How Does a Low-Carbohydrate Diet Burn Fat?

In the early 1990s, nutrition and diet went through a "you are what you eat" period in the media. "Fat breeds fat!" they told us simply. We were encouraged to eat without abandon; as long as, it wasn't a lipid. Simple and complex carbohydrates were deemed safe for the pound conscious. The problem was, with all of the talk about eliminating fat, dieters were getting fatter. Researchers have since discovered that the formula isn't so simple. Body fat doesn't just come from our fat intake but is based on other factors such as our overall caloric intake and our insulin levels. As a result, our relationship with carbs, once again, came into question. We wondered if our breads and our baked potatoes and pasta were actually betraying us. Nutrition authors and physicians were now promoting a low-carbohydrate diet as a way to burn fat.

Processing Glucose

Carbohydrates, scientifically named saccharides, are starch and sugar substances. They are also found in plant form as cellulose. There are two types of carbohydrates: simple (the sugar in fruits, bread, pasta and refined-sugar products) and complex (those found in veggies and brown rice). They are used in our diet to give us energy and are a fundamentally positive source of nutrition. However, there exists two factors which cause fat gain. The first is that carbohydrates tend to be higher in calories and the second is the way in which our bodies process them. Once simple and complex carbs reach our liver and are turned into glucose, our pancreas begins to produce insulin to absorb the carbohydrates. When this happens, our bodies stop burning fat for energy and start burning glucose: thus, ending the fat-burning process.

Limiting Glucose

A low-carb diet entails limiting the amount of carbohydrates of any kind to less than 30 grams per day. With this low level of sugars, less insulin is produced and less glucose is available to burn for energy. With its source of fuel diminished, the body will enter a phase called ketosis. Meaning, it will begin to produce ketones which burn stored-body fat. The jury is still out when it comes to the total overall healthfulness of a diet that condones fat and restricts carbohydrates at an extreme level. A healthy diet consists of many elements. Body fat is most certainly one of these elements but there is also heart health, muscular composition and digestive condition to consider. With that said, dieters concerned solely with the burning of fat may find that a low-carb diet can be ultimately successful.

How to Start a Biggest Loser Club

Inspired by the contestants on NBC's Biggest Loser, you might want to get in on the action yourself. Invite friends and family to compete in your very own Biggest Loser Club.

Round up friends and family to participate in your Biggest Loser Club. Send a group email, so nobody feels singled out about their weight. Encourage players to get an OK from their doctors before beginning a weight-loss program.

Step2

Agree on an amount of money that each participant will contribute to the prize pot. Decide if the total amount will go to one winner at the end of the competition, or be split amongst the first, second and third place players. The group should also determine what an appropriate end date for the competition will be. You may want to take photographs of each player for before and after images.

Step3

Select one player's house to host the weekly weigh-ins. The same scale should be used for all weigh-ins throughout the competition. The host should keep a weekly tabulation of the players' weights and calculate each player's percentage of weight loss. If your club coincides with the television program, invite the group over to watch the show, and then weigh in.

Step4

Decide if your group will follow an online or popular eating plan, or if each participant will devise his own diet and exercise plan. Your group may decide to use part of the pooled money to hire a nutritionist or personal trainer to meet with the group and advise them on diet and exercise.

Step5

Plan a party for the final weigh-in, complete with healthy party treats. Remember to take "after" photos so participants can show off their new slim figures.