Tag: Body Fat Percentage

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Weight Loss Exercise

The Limitations Of BMI


BMI is one of the most common tools for determining whether you’re too heavy in proportion to your height. Otherwise known as Body Mass Index, this is a calculation that helps to compare you to average weights and heights, to determine whether you’re in the normal range. It can vaguely tell you whether you have too much fat on your body.

The index can be very useful when deciding on what your ideal weight should be when you are trying to lose weight. However, as helpful as the BMI is, it also has its limitations. These are extremely important to know, as following BMI could actually sometimes take you in the wrong direction.

What’s Wrong With BMI?

There is no one scale that can truly determine what is the right weight for every single human on the planet. This is because everyone is different; people have different heights, weights, builds, activity levels, and so on.

When measuring one’s BMI index, the only two things that are taken into consideration are the height and weight of the person. Therefore, for those who have a big build or have a large amount of muscle mass, and those who those who are elderly and therefore have less muscle mass, the BMI scale is less dependable upon and can be very incorrect.


A person who has a larger amount of muscle mass is heavier, but this does not mean that the person has a larger amount of fat. Using BMI alone, you cannot determine if this person is actually normal or overweight.

Using Your BMI Measurement the Right Way

Therefore, when referring to the Body Mass Index to determine your ideal weight, do practice some common sense to decide what the right weight you should be aiming for is. If you have a larger build or are more muscular than most people, adding 10% to the ideal weight stated for your height is a more realistic aim. If you are of a smaller build, subtracting 10% off the stated weight can be your aim.

Measuring your body fat percentage is also a much clearer indication of whether you’ve got weight to lose. Even if you have a high BMI, having a healthy body fat percentage is what’s important to your health.

Besides doing this, keep an eye on how you feel when you get to a certain weight; if you have reached a certain weight but feel tired, fatigued, and generally feel you look too thin, then perhaps you have lost too much of weight and need to gain a little bit to be at the right weight.

Hopefully, you now know what the limitations of the BMI are and understand how you can get around these limitations. In the end, compared to weight, it’s your health that matters more; don’t set unrealistic targets for weight loss that will instead cause damage to your health and well-being.


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Weight Loss Exercise

How To Track Your Bodyfat Percentage


You may have already heard that tracking your bodyfat percentage is one of the best ways to track your weight loss progress, as this way you can be certain that you are losing fat and not water or muscle.

There are several methods available for you to ascertain your bodyfat percentage; some can be done at home, while others require you to spend money and use big equipment. Here are some of the most effective:

Best Ways to Track Bodyfat Percentage

US Navy Bodyfat Measurement

US Navy Bodyfat Measurement

Skin Fold Calipers – You can purchase these calipers, pinch the fat on your body, and place the pinched area in between two calipers to measure your body fat percentage. This method is pretty dependable and repeatable; however if you are more than 40 pounds overweight, you may not be able to use this caliper method since the pinched fat may not be able to fit between the calipers.

Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) – A BIA scale sends tiny electrical currents through the body and records the resistance that the body offers to this current. This resistance is then used to determine the percentage of body fat in the person’s body. This is the simplest way to measure your body fat, and the scales are usually not too expensive. However, the accuracy of this method is questionable and it also depends on how well your body is hydrated when you step on the scale.

The US Navy Method – This means using body measurements to determine body fat percentage. This is the cheapest way to get your body fat measurement, since all you need is a body tape measure or a cloth measuring tape. For men, you measure the waist, neck, and height; for women, the measurements taken are of the hips, neck, and height. While this is an easy at-home method that anyone can use, its accuracy is highly questionable.

Hydrostatic Weighing and DEXA Scans – Hydrostatic weighing is the traditional gold standard of determining one’s body fat percentage, where the person is submerged in a special type of water tank. The DEXA scan, however, is somewhat of a ”new gold standardâ?, where the person just lies down and the scanner determines the amount and distribution of fat in the body. Both these methods are generally not practical, since hydrostatic weighing is uncomfortable and both these methods cost around $150 to $300 every time you perform them, which is quite pricey.

In a nutshell, there are the many different methods you can use to track your body fat. However, for daily or weekly measurements at home, there are only three methods you can use, as detailed above.


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How Do You Know When You’ve Lost Enough Weight?


Losing weight is often a long process and many people struggle on their journey. However, after reaching your earlier set goal weight, you may ask yourself; ‘Have I lost enough weight?â? When figuring out if you’ve lost enough weight, there are a few things you must consider such as your BMI, body type, and more.

First things first, remember that a doctor is the most qualified person to tell you if you’ve lost enough weight, especially if you’re doing so due to a health condition. If you want an idea at home, however, then here’s how to do it.

Check Your BMI

Although there are a number of limitations with BMI (Body Mass Index), it can be a useful measurement. To calculate your BMI, just divide your weight (in kilograms) by your height squared (in meters).

The normal range for your BMI would be between 18.5 and 25, but this may not apply to everyone. For instance, if you naturally have a big structure and heavy bones, your ideal BMI would probably be above 25, which actually makes you overweight by normal standards. On the other hand, if you have a small structure, your ideal BMI is probably lower than others.


Measuring Your Body Fat

Measuring your body fat percentage is another good way to make sure whether you’ve lost enough weight, and is more accurate than BMI. Always use this to verify that your BMI is telling the truth!

There are a few ways you can use to measure your body fat with the simplest method being using a skin fold caliper. You do this by pinching your fat (usually around your waist) and measure the thickness with a caliper. You then compare the measurement you get to a body fat percentage chart which you can easily find online. Alternatively, you can also use BIA (Bioelectric Impedance Analysis) where you step on a scale that then estimates your body fat percentage.

See How You Look And Feel

The best and simplest way to determine if you’ve reached your ideal weight is to just stand in front of a mirror and see how you look. If you have lost quite a bit of weight and you feel that you look good and healthy, then you probably are at your ideal weight. Ideally you should also not feel tired and must have enough energy to go through your day.

Of course, the main reason for you to lose weight should be to ensure your health is good, and that you feel good in yourself. Therefore, you can also decide to either stop or continue losing weight depending on how you feel health-wise.


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