How to Stay Healthy and Have a Good BMI

Finding out what your weight should be is always challenging. Our bodies have different traits, and you can never directly compare your physique to someone else’s. 

However, there is a simple way to calculate your overall health. It’s called the Body Mass Index. 

BMI considers your height, weight, and age and works out a score on a chart from underweight to obese. 

Although BMI doesn’t factor in muscle mass and fat, it is a good tool for measuring whether people are underweight, healthy, overweight, or obese in clinical settings. 

But what is a healthy BMI? And how can someone get a good BMI? 

We discuss answers to these questions in this post. 

What is a Healthy BMI?

If you have a BMI of between 18.5 and 25, you have a healthy BMI. People with a BMI lower than 18.5 are underweight. As you can guess, those with a BMI higher than 25 come in the overweight category. 

If your BMI exceeds forty, you are obese and at a high risk of respiratory issues, heart problems, type-2 diabetes, and other serious health conditions.

This is a general classification of BMI ranges. If you’re an athlete, you might have more muscle mass and be overweight, although you are fit. It’s best to avoid the tips in the next section if this is the case and speak to a nutritionist to maintain the right balance of nutrients in your body. 

If you want to determine your BMI quickly, you can navigate to the Meta-Calculator’s BMI calculator. It factors in your age, gender, height, and weight and gives you your BMI in a matter of seconds. If you’re looking for a BMI calculator by age, you cannot go wrong with the Meta-Calculator BMI calculator.

How to Have a Good BMI

You can lower your BMI by making simple changes in your lifestyle:

#1 Eat a Balanced Diet

Eating a calorie deficit is the safest and most reliable way to lose weight. Meaning you need to eat fewer calories than you burn. 

Cut down on high-calorie food and drink, reduce your portion sizes, and eat more daily meals to keep yourself full. Avoid eating processed foods and switch to whole-grain alternatives where possible.

Your diet should comprise mostly fruits and vegetables. If you follow a non-vegetarian diet, stick to lean meats such as chicken breasts and lean cuts of beef and pork. 

Above all, avoid switching to “quick fix” diets. These might give you some short-term results but do little for your health in the long run. Stick to eating healthy as best you can, and you will steadily attain a healthy BMI.

#2 Keep Away from Hidden Sugars

Some studies report that adults should eat no more than 30 grams of sugar a day. Consuming more sugar than recommended is the fastest way to ruin your chances of achieving or maintaining a healthy BMI. 

When you decide to lose weight, you will know to keep away from desserts and fizzy drinks. But some foods you might not have on your radar have high sugar content. These unexpected culprits include:

• Coleslaw
• Granola and cereal bars
• Ketchup
• Pasta sauces
• Salad dressings
• Shop-bought soups
• Tinned fruit syrups

Make sure you avoid these surprising sources of sugars in addition to steering clear of the obvious ones.

#3 Exercise

While controlling your diet is more than half the battle, exercising will also help you lose weight. According to the NHS, spending two and a half hours a week doing moderate-intensity exercise is a great way to get in better shape. That’s thirty minutes a day, six days a week.

Take a brisk walk around your home, pedal away on your cycle, or go for a hike. If you prefer, you could do 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise weekly. Fast swimming, uphill cycling, running, playing sports, and gymnastics all count under vigorous exercise.

Remember, you don’t have to go to a gym to lose weight. But you will need to spend at least half an hour a day doing some exercise to get healthier and feel happier.

#4 Fall Back on Your Support System

Spending time with others who also want to lose weight is an excellent way to ensure you stick to the plan. Gym classes work well, but a social media group of others trying to lose weight with a positive attitude can also be a game changer.

Some encouragement from family and friends can help a lot in getting healthier. If a friend is overweight or obese, start working on your fitness with them. Call each other often or meet up to work out regularly. 

If you live with your family or a partner, cook delicious healthy meals that they will also enjoy. It’s a great way to keep yourself driven to get in better shape.

Conclusion

When you reach your ideal weight, speak with a nutritionist and ask them how you should maintain your weight. They will help you with behavioral or dietary therapy to stay fit and healthy.