What is your BMI? Do yourself a favor, you may be more at risk than you think.

These are the ranges for determining your BMI, where do you fit on this scale.

Normal                      18.5-24.9

Overweight              25-29.9

Obese                        30-34.9

Very Obese              35-39.9

Morbidly Obese       Above 40

Formula is weight/(height squared) times 703=BMI

For example: 

150 divided by (65 squared) times 703 equals 24.96

Do yourself a favor and do a Fitness Assessment, it's a very inexpensive way to find out where you stand in terms of Body Fat % which is far more important than your BMI.  Do not think that you may not be in the obese category, this is strictly a formula and a guideline to seriously take action and have your Body Fat tested.

I have more regular looking clients that fall in the obese and unfortunately Very Obese category and your life is at risk of these weight related diseases;

• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Arthritis
• Infertility
• Miscarriage
• Asthma
• Fatty liver disease
• Cancer

But if you can lose even just a little weight your risk will drop - Just a five per cent weight loss  has been shown to significantly reduce the health risks associated with obesity, such as reducing your cholesterol levels and blood pressure and giving you better blood sugar control.

To have a BMI over 35 is considered as being very obese and this means that obesity-related illnesses could severely affect the quality of your life and shorten your lifespan by several years. Yet even now it’s not too late to do something about it. Improved fasting insulin and thus glycaemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes, even coming off the medication you may take for diabetes or blood pressure is possible if you can lose some weight. You should see your doctor and talk about getting help.

If your BMI has reached 40 or more you're ‘morbidly obese’ - you will be 80 times more likely to develop type two diabetes than someone with a normal BMI, your lifespan will be shortened by over ten years and your quality of life will be reduced in many ways.

If you're obese you may have lost control of your eating habit, so gaining control is the first step back to a normal healthy lifestyle. Tips to help you, which won’t make you feel hard done by, include:

• Plan your meals and only shop for those meals, even get someone else to do it for you so you aren’t tempted by impulse buys.  I can help you with a healthy meal plan that includes shopping list and recipes, ask me about the 90 Days to a New You program.
• Try to watch the clock and keep your meals routine; reduce your snacking or more importantly eat healthy snacks
• Reduce your portion size, most people eat 2-3 times the normal portion size and use a slightly smaller plate so it still looks full, I use a dessert plate most of my meals
• Change to low cal drinks and alternate with drinking more water
• Don’t eat on the go - try to sit down at a table to eat meals, put your fork down between each bite
• Choose low fat versions of sauces and of course portion control
• Make sure you get five-a-day of fruit and vegetables to make you fuller
• Read the labels - ‘Low in fat’ can mean high in sugar, whilst ‘low in sugar‘ can mean high fat
• Increase your activity to burn off the calories - aim initially for 30 minutes of exercise a day of enough activity to make you slightly breathless and gradually increase