BMI (or Body Mass Index) is a tool that has been around for a long time in helping determine which ‘category’ someone’s weight, height, age and lifestyle puts them in - Underweight, Healthy Weight, Overweight, Obese, Morbidly Obese etc…
Within the fitness industry, we have always approached BMI with a little caution, because it does not account for things like muscle mass, so someone who has a high level of muscle and an incredibly healthy lifestyle can also appear as being ‘overweight’…
However, in recent events and with the COVID-19 crisis still underway, there has been research showing that those with BMI 30+ may leave themselves more at risk of experiencing complications when overcoming the Coronavirus - as well as numerous other health complications.
So our new goal? To help get you beneath 30!
Calculate your BMI here
Why do we want a BMI under 30?
Generally speaking, it is incredibly hard to get your BMI over 30 through muscle mass alone. We’ve asked around and of our friends and colleagues who workout A LOT, none of them exceeded 30. So unless you are an elite athlete, it’s pretty hard to achieve.
For the average person, a BMI of 30+ generally means that there are things you could be doing to improve your fitness and lifestyle.
In terms of the COVID-19 crisis, it’s easy to feel helpless against an invisible killer. So any advantage of improving your resistance to the infection is definitely something we think everyone will want to get involved with!
How can I lower my BMI?
You might think that it is simply ‘don’t eat’ or ‘exercise more’…and whilst nutrition and exercise are big factors, it’s all about sustainability!
There is no point in going all out for a week, only to pile it all back on the following week! Instead, it's far more beneficial to focus on HABITS.
Simply put, in order to lower your BMI, you need to consume fewer calories than you burn each day. This is known as a ‘calorie deficit’ and it allows your body to burn through fat.
Activities such as resistance training are fantastic for this as not only do they burn fat, but also encourage muscle growth and toning.
...BUT YOU CAN’T TRAIN AWAY A BAD DIET.
If you are exercising regularly and are still finding that your BMI is over 30, then you may need to take a look into your nutrition too. Ditch those processed foods for some fresh, cruciferous vegetables!
Highly refined carbohydrates sharply raise blood sugar levels, which your body then stores as fats and are typically incredibly low in fibre, meaning it is harder to feel fuller after eating them. Of course there are a million other things that you can be doing to help improve your nutrition, but a good place to start would be to minimise processed foods, up
So there you go, whilst BMI does have it’s faults, it is still a great performance tracker to keep an eye on every so often. If you would like to learn more about BMI or would like advice lowering yours, our nutrition team are here to help!
