Sunday, September 27, 2009

Why Am I Fat - Tips About The BMI Index


All this about The BMI Index may be a little mind-boggling, but maybe it will give you an idea how to think about it and to even decide if you are really fat. If you are asking the question; why am i fat, you need to know if you are in fact fat!

The BMI Index is a tool that was invented in the early 1800s. While there aren't many health and fitness tools that were created in the eartly 1800s that we're still using today just as they were, the BMI index is relatively unchanged in almost 200 years. It's still a popular tool used to figure out if a person's weight is healthy.

The BMI simply compares your weight to your height and decides if you're underweight, a normal weight, overweight or obese. Most of us can look in the mirror or notice whether or not we're having to squeeze into our pants, and determine this without the use of numbers and calculations. But that doesn't stop the BMI from being widely used by doctors, and worse, insurance companies.

Insurance companies frequently use a person's BMI to determine if the person is a risk to insure. Health insurance costs can be higher for those who have a BMI in the overweight or obese range, and life insurance can be higher or it can be refused completely. While it's within these companies' rights to refuse to insure anyone, the use of the BMI index to make that determination represents flawed thinking, unless other factors are considered, too.

The BMI Index determines a person's BMI by dividing their weight by their height squared (their height times itself). When kilograms and meters are converted into pounds and feet or inches, the formula changes very slightly, but the resulting BMI number is very close the number obtained by using kilograms and meters. For most people, the BMI Index is a decent measure of their weight in proportion to their height. But for some, it comes up with a label that's far off.

Consider a championship bodybuilder. He's one of the best in the world in the lightweight division, at 5' 3” and 154 pounds. The man is solid muscle, and he's in amazing physical shape. The BMI Index says he's overweight and needs to lose weight.

When you take his height times itself and divide that into his weight, he comes up with a BMI of almost 27. The cut-off for normal weight is 24.9. Clearly, he's not overweight, with barely an ounce of body fat anywhere. But an insurance company won't care about that, they could refuse him insurance based on his 'high-risk' BMI.

Once you've used the formula to figure your number on the BMI Index, you can see where you rank as far as healthy weight. A person is underweight with BMI of 18.5 or below. The normal weight range is from 18.5 to 24.9. From 25 to 29.9 indicates that you're overweight. And anyone with a BMI of 30 or over is considered obese. Try plugging in some professional athletes' heights and weights, and see how many are classified obese with the BMI Index.

This makes it clear that while it's a valuable tool, common sense, appearance and body fat must be considered along with the BMI Index to determine a person's ideal weight.

Have a look at Leg, Butt, Hip & Thigh Exercises for those sexy slim legs you are longing for.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Two Healthy Eating Facts You Shouldnt Ignore


Whether you are saying"why am I fat?" or whether you know why, there are a few healthy eating facts that you should be aware off. You have to know about fats.

There are certain healthy eating facts that don’t change no matter what kind of a diet you follow, or what kind of lifestyle you have. Whether you’re sedentary or active, too much saturated fat isn’t good for you.

Whether you eat 1600 calories a day or 2500, depending on your activity level, trans fats are unhealthy, for example. And whether you’re trying to lose weight quickly or jump start a long-term weight loss program, fasting isn’t a good choice for your body.

One of the healthy eating facts that we didn’t have to worry about years ago is that trans fats are unhealthy.

Some trans fats occur naturally in food, but those aren’t the same as the man-made trans fats that make up margarine and shortening, and are found in almost every commercially produced baked good you can find. Trans fats are also often included in boxed mixes that you prepare at home, and things like instant cocoa, because of its long shelf-life.

Hydrogenated fats like margarine and shortening became available in 1911. Before then trans fats weren’t something the average consumer had to worry about. Now, though, hydrogenated oils or trans fats are present in almost every type of food you can think of.

The hydrogenation process keeps fats from going rancid for a longer period of time. But the link between hydrogenated oils and heart health is clear—it’s worse for you than saturated fat.

This is one of the healthy eating facts that has prompted the government to step in. They’ve insisted that fast-food restaurants reduce the amount of trans fats in their food. Food manufacturers also have to include the amount of trans fats on their food labels, too.

Carefully read food labels so that you’re at least aware of what you’re eating. Anything that says hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated is a trans fat, and something you want to avoid as much as possible. Eliminate these trans fats from your diet completely if you can.

Another one of the healthy eating facts that not too many people think about is how bad regular soft drinks are for your health. A can of regular soft drink contains about 9 teaspoons of sugar. And how often do you drink more than one soda in a day? Some people drink several sodas per day, preferring soda to beverages like water or tea.

Everyone’s going to eat sugar in some form, but moderation is called for. And when one soda provides you with 9 teaspoons of sugar, that’s pretty much the sugar limit for the day—that we don’t need refined sugar at all is one of the most ignored healthy eating facts. But most people have sugar in other forms, too, raising their daily total of sugar intake much higher.

Considering the rising rates of obesity, diabetes and other diet-related illnesses, cutting back on trans fat and soda in our diets is important. These healthy eating facts can make a huge difference in our weight and overall health if we don’t ignore them

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Why Am I Fat - What Can I Do?


Why am I fat? That is the question so many ask. Why do I go on diet and I do not lose enough weight. Even worse! I do not eat that much, why am I fat?

Well you are probably just eating the wrong kinds of food. You are eating all the fatting stuff that is so tasty such as hamburgers and fries, not to even mention the soda that goes with it!

Well, here are a few ideas to help you get rid of all this fat. You will not even have to ask the question “How To Lose Weight Calories” Eat the right food until just before you are full and you will lose weight

Do You Want to Lose 6 Pounds Quickly Without Asking “How To Lose Weight, Calories?”

Do you want to lose 6 pounds quickly? While many diets are geared at people who want to lose 20 pounds or more, the plan I’m presenting here will help you lose 6 pounds quickly – perhaps in just one week.

The first thing you want to do is clear out your pantry of all the foods that make you fat. Clean out your refrigerator and throw things away. Donate the packaged food in your pantry to a local food bank.

Then, go to the grocery store and buy the following sixteen things only:

  • Whole wheat bread
  • Tuna
  • Any and all fruits
  • Any and all vegetables
  • 8 oz. steak
  • Two chicken breasts
  • Salad vegetables
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Special K Cereal
  • Skim milk
  • Brown rice
  • Instant oatmeal (not the sweetened packaged kind though)
  • Sliced turkey breast
  • 3 servings of fish
  • Low fat yogurt
  • Eggs

Using these foods as the basis for your diet, write out a diet plan for the next seven days. After that, you will be fully committed to sticking to it. Part of the motivation for clearing out your kitchen ahead of time is that there will not be any food that you can “cheat” with.

Next, you want to get a pedometer and make sure that you walk at least 10,000 steps each day. That may seem like a lot, but here are some ways that you can get extra steps in.

  1. Park far away from the front door of your work or a store. Not only will you get extra steps in, but you will have a much easier time parking.
  2. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. If you work above the fourth floor, get off of the elevator at least two floors early and walk the rest of the way.
  3. When you have to contact a colleague at work, don’t phone or email them, walk over to their office or desk.
  4. If you take the bus or other form of mass transportation, get off a stop or two early and walk.
  5. Walk the dog. If you don’t have a dog, volunteer to walk the neighbor’s dog.
  6. Take a walk before dinner. Not only will you increase the number of steps you take that day, but a walk before dinner will reduce your appetite.

Finally, try to drink at least eight, 8 ounce glasses of water each day when you are trying to lose weight. You can do this by drinking one liter of water at work and another liter at home. If you don’t like water plain, it is okay to substitute unsweetened iced tea or sugar free lemonade or punch.

It is possible to lose 6 pounds in a week. Try radically altering your diet, walking more, and drinking a substantial amount of water. It’s not a lifetime that you will be restricted to this plan, it’s just a week. And, you’ll be able to lose 6 pounds in that time.

Well with this help you will soon stop asking the question “why am I fat?” You will be cutting calories without knowing it. How To Lose Weight Calories will not be your problem any more.

For more excellent help have a look at How To Lose Weight Calories.