Ignore the Body Mass Index BMI

The Body Mass Index is a basic measurement that works out if someone is underweight, within normal weight ranges, overweight or obese by using just height and weight.

The measurement is very simple, take your height in metres and times by two then divide your weight in kilograms by this number as shown.

The thing is that if you ask any body builder or powerlifter they ignore the BMI index and so should you even if fat loss is your target.

The problem with the body mass index (known as the BMI) is that there are too many shortfalls in the equation. The BMI does not take into account someone who has a very muscular frame so someone like me is borderline overweight because of the extra weight I carry in muscle (My current BMI is 24.8).

In a short time period when I have added more muscle mass through training I will be overweight even though I have an average waist size and have a good diet.

If you are serious about finding out how well you are achieving whether it be in weight loss or increasing muscle mass then I suggest speaking to your gym and asking if they could measure you body fat percentage.

To do this calipers are used to measure the fat on different areas of your body and this then translates to a body fat percentage, this can then be used to see whether you are in the normal range dependant on your age. Please see the body fat guidelines below for both males and females.

Its important to note that women always carry more fat than men, this is natural and this is why women have a normal fat percentage level that is higher for the normal range.