Are You Overweight? Let's Figure It Out

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It may sound like a stupid question...like who doesn't need to lose weight?  But we often base our weight loss goals on an old version of ourselves that was once fit and thin. 
When you get older, things change and it pays to actually assess your weight with the right tools so you know just how to set your goals.
Many of us need to lose far more fat than we realize. It's not the weight you need to lose, it's body fat and there is a difference.
The first twenty pounds I lost, was actually very little fat. It's easy to lose body mass so after I lost the first 20 pounds and I was still fat I knew I had to change. I couldn't just cut back on my food. I was losing weight by starving myself. I had to eat foods that help me lose weight. I was doing this backwards.
For example, if I normally eat 4 sandwiches a day and I want to lose weight so I eat 3 sandwiches a day, so cutting back I should lose weight and you might but every day you go to bed hungry. You can't lose fat if you eat the same food just less of it. I had to learn that the hard way. Now I know you have to eat better not less. Eating the proper food will actually work to burn your body fat.

Do You Need to Lose Weight? or is it fat you need to lose.

If you're really not sure, your doctor's office is an excellent place to start.
When was the last time you had a physical?  Now would be a great time to schedule one and talk to your doctor about your weight.  He or she can at least give you a ballpark for a healthy weight for you. But you shouldn't get all rapped up in the numbers on the scale. 

Those who want to lose weight, really need to lose body fat. So while most of us use the scale to measure results, we should be using a tape measure. Another blogger wrote in one of her blogs, "your pants don't lie". What she was talking about is that dropping two pants sizes is more important than the numbers on the scale. When you can buy a smaller pair of jeans, that's real progress. You want people to notice the "new you", Don't reward yourself with a piece of cake. Buy new pants.

Tools To Help You Get a Baseline

Of course, there are no shortage of formulas out there to help you figure out if you're overweight.
None of these are perfect, of course, so I would take all of your results with a healthy grain of salt (or some other spice, since too much salt isn't healthy).   You might be overweight if you:
  • Have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of more than 25
  • Have a Waist-Hip ratio of higher than .8 for women and higher than 1.0 men
  • Have an Abdominal Girth measuring more than 35 inches in women and 40 inches in men
Of course, there are other factors involved such as your height, frame size and body fat percentage, which is why it's important to get an individual assessment from your doctor or your personal trainer if you're not sure.

How to Use Numbers That Aren't Always Accurate

As I mentioned, none of these formulas is perfect.  If you have a lot of muscle, for example, your BMI may show you're overweight even though you're not.  So, how do you use these numbers if they're not accurate?
What I recommend is that you use these numbers as a way to measure your weight loss progress.
  Get a series of baseline numbers - Your BMI, waist-hip ratio, tummy girth, body measurements, body fat, scale weight and planetary alignment on your measurement day.  Once a month (or more often if you like), retake all of these measurements.  If the numbers go down, you're on the right track.
If they stay the same, you might be hitting a plateau and may need to change your workouts or, if you're not working out, you really should start.
If the numbers are going up...well, I don't have to tell you what that means.  I would look at my diet at that point, which is often the culprit for weight gain. 

Cutting calories is only part of losing weight. You want to change the foods your eating. Some foods will help you lose weight and other foods will fight again weight loss, so just cutting calories doesn't really work.

About That Weight Loss...

Numbers aside, how does this weight loss thing really work?  It's much more complicated than just creating a calorie deficit.  Well, it is about that, but creating that deficit requires that you focus on a few very important things:
  1. You Need to Exercise More - You don't have to kill yourself, but you really need to do more.
  2. Get Enough Sleep - Yes, lack of sleep can contribute to weight problems. Not only because you're awake longer to eat more, but because your body emits a hormone that causes your body to store more fat.  I know.  Not Fair.
  1. Deal With Your Stress - Yep, stress does it too. That hormone thing again...cortisol, which causes your body to store more fat.  A great reason to move to Maui.
  2. Watch Your Calories - You already know this, right?
  3. Be Consistent - You already know this, too.  Whatever happens in your life, keep doing something, even if it's 10 pushups.  Keep the ball rolling, y'all.
  4. Stop Overdoing It - When the weekend comes, do you bury your face in a big pizza pie?  I know, you've been good all week, but don't let yourself completely blow it on the weekends, ok?
So, there you go.  Do all that and you'll lose fat and weight.  I believe in making all my changes at once. Because you will feel the effects of your efforts quicker.

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my Ebooks at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet.

There’s two ebooks.  “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my Ebook. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.
My new ebook is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. I'll give you a discount code that you can use at checkout. (PJ42H) not case-sensitive.

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