How To Maintain Healthy BMI Naturally

We are people and we all come in different shapes and sizes. It is good to embrace our difference, but we must stay healthy. The body fat percentage is one key indicator of health. The first stride in handling your body fat is to get an accurate measurement of how much body fat you have. The best way to do this is to measure your BMI (body mass index), which estimates the percentage of your body fat based on your height and weight.

The BMI is calculated by dividing the weight over the square of the height for adults. By factoring in both the height and weight and not just the weight, the BMI can help you to determine if you are at risk for some diseases.

A healthy BMI:

The adult body mass is a range of body fat percentages which are determined by age and height. The healthy percentile is considered for people who have a BMI between 18.5 and 25. People, who have a BMI lower than 18.5, are considered underweight. People, who have a body mass index which is between 25 and 30, are considered overweight. BMI measurements are standard for most people, but there are occasional exceptions to the rule.

Athletes and people who have a higher level of muscle mass may generate a BMI calculation that designates them as overweight or even obese, despite their high level of fitness. It is very important for athletes and other people who are physically active to talk with their doctors to ensure that they are maintaining a healthy body fat balance.

Health consequences of high BMI:

The stakes are high when it comes to the amount of body fat you carry. Obesity and high levels of body fat can give you a lot of health consequences and they can affect your overall health and quality of life. They include increased risk of death; mental disorders, such as anxiety and depression; certain types of cancer; chronic inflammation and pain; sleep apnea; osteoarthritis; gallbladder disease; stroke; heart disease; diabetes; high cholesterol levels; high blood pressure.

How to measure BMI:

Your doctor will typically measure your height and weight during your annual physical. Based on this information, your doctor will chart your BMI. In between your doctor’s visits, you can self–monitor your BMI by measuring your weight and using a BMI calculator for up–to–date measurements.

Measuring BMI for children and teens:

Children and teens are measured their BMIs with the same formula which is used in adult BMI, but the age and gender factors are considered in it. This is happening due to the variances in BMIs throughout the children’s development which may tip the scales. You should talk with your children’s pediatrician about their BMI as it changes and what to expect as they are getting older.

How to maintain a healthy BMI:

We live in a society where there is a lot of pressure to be thin. But, when people are thin, it has very little to do with good health. Many of us want to be thin, even though if we have a healthy weight. We get desperate and we turn to diets to get help. But, there are few things which you should remember about diets.

Diets do not work:

Diets can temporarily make you thin. When you are on diet, you are usually eating less. When you stop your diet, your eating habits will change again, so it is not the same with the small amount of food that you consumed through your diet. So, when you quit your diet, the extra weight which you have lost will come back. Usually, dieting means that you cannot eat many of the foods that you want to eat. When you quit dieting, you will return to eating foods that you have quitted in that period and this will return the weight you have lost.

When you are on diet, you are eating too little food, so you are hungry all the time and you do not have the energy to do many things as in the past. When you quit dieting, you will start eating food as before and in this way, your lost pounds will return. Most diet programs, it is not included an increase in physical activity, and this is vital for staying at a healthy weight. So, when you quit dieting, then the weight will come back again.

Five servings of fruits and vegetables:

You should aim for at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables on daily basis. Your fruit or vegetable will be more nutritious as it is more colorful. The dark green spinach has more nutrients compared to the light green iceberg lettuce.

Avoid foods high in sugar:

Some foods which are high in sugar and which should be avoided include fruit-flavored drinks, soda, sweetened cereal, and pastries.

Choose whole grains:

You should try to choose whole-grain cereal, bread, pasta, and rice. Many people say that the whole wheat or whole grain on the front of the package is really made with white and processed flour, but this is not always true. You should always check the ingredients, so you will see if the whole wheat or whole grain is the first ingredient listed. You should not be fooled about how food looks like. Some dark brown bread is colored with coffee or other dyes and not whole grains. Brown rice is whole grain and not white rice.

Dieting can actually be bad for you:

In most cases, people who quitted dieting will regain the weight they have lost and they will gain even more. In many diets, the right balance of foods to keep you healthy is not included. In some people, dieting is a reason for eating disorders. Some people can feel defeated and depressed after they have not rapidly lost their weight and they stop eating healthy and making regular physical exercises. Also, there are a lot of natural things which you can do to maintain a healthy BMI, such as

Improve your eating habits:

You should start improving your eating habits slowly. You may be enticed to do a diet rebuild and change everything about the way you eat. But, your body will do not have as much energy as you are used to, so you feel bad. So, it is recommended to try with one change in your diet and work on it. In this way, you will be more successful in your way of staying healthy and keeping your BMI healthy. You can always discuss with your doctor the way of how to stay healthy.

Eat less cholesterol and less fat:

Most people know that eating cholesterol is bad for our health. But, we make cholesterol from the fats that we eat. Also, fats are very high in calories. You should cut down on total fat intake, so it will help you to have a healthy BMI. All fats are bad, so you should always check food labels to be sure that you are eating the smallest amounts of saturated fat and trans fats.

They tend to be those of fats found in milk and milk products, like those which are solid at room temperature (like fat in shortening, margarine, butter, and meat products) and fats which come from fried foods and baked goods. Unsaturated or polyunsaturated fats should be fats which you should eat. But, there are some exceptions, they tend to be liquid at room temperature, like olive oil, canola oil, and other vegetable oils.

Get moving:

One of the best things which you can do to stay healthy is to make your physical exercise on regular basis, just as you are brushing your teeth. Talk with your doctor or the professional trainer about the way of staying physically active.

Change your thinking:

We know that our thoughts have a lot of deal in the way of how we feel and what we do. When you stop your brain from feeling discouraging things and have it start encouraging, you will be surprised how much healthier you will be in both things, body and mind. Talk with a doctor which can help you how to stop feeling bad about yourself and how to start feeling more positive.

5 smaller meals:

It is better to eat 5 or 6 smaller meals throughout your day because this can help you to lose weight better than eating 3 larger meals per day. But, this will work if you take care not just of calorie content, but also of the amount of food that you eat. To goal is to eat a small amount of food (such as no-fat yogurt) every three times or so. You should eat only enough so you do not feel hungry, but never so much to feel stuffed.

Some people have reported better results when they were eating meals on smaller plates, because when food is served on a bigger plate, then they have a tendency to eat all of what is served to them. Unfortunately, portion sizes for our homes and restaurants have grown a lot in calories and they are unhealthy. So, you should always choose something which will make you feel full, but you will not consume a lot of fats.