Aiming for a healthy weight

by Jen Foley, MVHNews fitness blogger

Welcome to February! We are in week five of the New Year and we start hearing these questions around the Y;  How do I assess where I am? Do I use the scale? I am feeling really good, but how do I know if I am making progress?

Have you done a BMI?

A BMI stands for Body Mass Index and is a useful measure of our true weight status. It is calculated from your height and weight. It is very important to know our true weight  and the best way to measure our status is by numbers.

“BMI is an estimate of body fat and a good gauge of your risk for diseases that can occur with more body fat. The higher your BMI, the higher your risk for certain diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, gallstones, breathing problems, and certain cancers.

Although BMI can be used for most men and women, it does have some limits: It may overestimate body fat in athletes and others who have a muscular build and It may underestimate body fat in older persons and others who have lost muscle”. (Source: www.nhlbi.nih.gov)

How do I find out what my BMI is?
Using the chart below simply find your height and weight and circle the number where the lines intersect. (See Chart) That is your BMI. You can do it yourself, it does not hurt, and it does not cost money. Once you have your number you will know where you currently and you can assess where to go from there.

If your number is high the chances of disease increase. If you do not know how start the process of healthy weight loss, contact your local YMCA and schedule an appointment with a personal trainer. With their knowledge they can help you get on the right path and stick with your lifestyle change. At the end of the day, we all want to live a healthy and full life!

Just a note, don’t confuse your BMI with another assessment called “Body Composition.”  Body Composition Analysis involves measuring the lean muscle-to-fat ratio in your body.  There are different techniques for measuring this and most YMCA’s and many gyms offer this service, often for a fee.

This can be an excellent analysis as it will give a truer picture of the fat percentage in your body. I will be exploring this measurement and what it can tell you about your health in my next blog.

Jen Foley is the Healthy Lifestyles Director at the Two Rivers YMCA, Moline.  Jen majored in Therapeutic Recreation at the University of Tennessee and Gerontology at Sonoma State University. She lives in Davenport with her husband, Tim and their two pugs Jack and Lucy. She enjoys having an active lifestyle and helping others achieve their goals.For a listing of all of Jen’s blog posts, click here.