Should I Lose Weight?

The easiest thing for you to do is to find out what your BMI, or Body Mass Index is. This is a number that is calculated based on a few basic measurements, and which will tell you, approximately, how healthy your weight is.

Put simply, your BMI is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms, over your squared height in meters. Relax, it's really easy! Just follow the example below.

Let's assume you're 5'3'' tall and weigh 130 lbs. The first thing you would do is convert these into meters and kilograms, respectively.

To find how how many kilograms equal 130 lbs, multiply it by 0.45, like so:

130 x 0.45 = 58,5. This tells you that your weight is equal to 58,5 kilograms.

Now we're going to find out what your height is in meters. To do that, we multiply your height in inches by 0.025. Those 5'3'' are equal to 63 inches, so here's what you do:

63 x 0.025 = 1,575. This is your height in meters.

Obviously I used a calculator to carry out the above, and you should too!

So now we know that you weigh 58,5 kilograms and are 1,575 meters tall. Let's use these numbers to calculate your Body Mass Index:

Take the height, and multiply it by itself (square it). What you get is 1,575 x 1,575 = 2,480625.

Finally, divide your weight in meters by the result you just got: 58,5 (kilograms) divided by 2,480625 equals 23,58. This is your BMI!



Now that you've got this number, take a look at the list below and find out where you are at:

• BMI below 18.5 - You are underweight.
• BMI between 18.5 - 24.9 - Your weight is normal.
• BMI between 25 - 29.9 - You are overweight.
• BMI equals 30 or above - You are obese.

At this point, I would be remiss not to point out that the values above can be sometimes off, and should not be considered as the be-all-end-all answer to whether you should lose weight. This is particularly the case for people who have been lifting weights in the gym for a long time, and have a much higher than average muscle mass on them. If you are a regular person without an unusual amount of muscle, however, these numbers will be pretty accurate.

Please remember though that it's important for you to like your own appearance and not go out chasing some theoretical numbers. If your BMI points to you being highly overweight or even obese, then you should definitely aim to lose fat through a healthy diet, regardless of whether you like your looks or not. If you're within the "normal" range though, it's up to you really - do you like what you see in the mirror? If not, then you can try losing a few pounds and see how you look.

And I hope that your BMI does not point to underweight though. If it does, you need to gain weight - yes, I said it! Being severely underweight is just as bad, if not worse, than being severely overweight. Don't take this lightly.


About the author: Mark Nazzal specializes in 1 on 1 online weight loss and fitness coaching. You can contact him for help with your specific dieting or exercising issue through his website, where a large number of helpful articles are also available: Help Me Lose Weight [http://helpmeloseweight-coach.com]

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