BMI calculations might seem like some esoteric and complicated process that you have no hope of figuring out. That’s not true. BMI isn’t magic or some scientific secret withheld by those in the know. If you’ve ever used a BMI calculator online, then you know that you put in your height and weight, and it cranks out special number. There’s always a chart handy, or the website interprets it for you, and tells you whether you’re underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese, all based on this single number. The website did the calculations for you, but you might be wondering just how it arrived at that number. BMI calculations are fairly simple once you understand the basic formula. But first, let’s look at what BMI is and what BMI calculations are used for in the first place.

BMI is the measure of body mass. By comparing your weight and height, specifically dividing your weight by your height, squared, the BMI calculations give us a single number. Depending on where that number falls on a special scale, it tells you if you’re underweight for your height, in the normal range, overweight, or obese.

BMI doesn’t measure body fat, however, so often the number is wrong when it comes to athletes or very muscular people. Muscle weighs more than fat, so for them, BMI isn’t an accurate measure at all. For most people, though, it’s a very good estimate of weight in relation to height. So what BMI calculations allow us to arrive at that magic BMI number?

BMI calculations may seem complicated, but they’re really not. At its most basic, the formula is kg/m2. Or your weight in kilograms divided by your height in meters, squared (your height in meters times itself). A person who’s five-and-a-half-feet tall stands about 1.7 meters. Square that number (1.7 times 1.7) and you come up with 2.89. A person who weighs 150 pounds weights about 68 kilograms. So the BMI calculations to determine this person’s BMI would be 68 divided by 2.89. The result of that is about 23.5.

A BMI of 18.5 or below indicates that an individual is underweight. The normal weight range is from 18.5 to 24.9. Overweight people will calculate a BMI of 25 to 29.9. A BMI of 30 or greater indicates obesity. So a person with a BMI of 23.5 is within his or her normal weight range, according to the BMI calculations.

If you don’t want to convert feet and pounds to meters and kilograms, then you can use one of the other BMI calculations to figure your number. This person’s new formula would be weight in pounds, 150, times 4.88, or 732, divided by height in feet squared (5.5 times 5.5) which is 30.25. Then divide weight by height squared (732 divided by 30.25) and the result is 24.1, very similar to the metric formula’s result. BMI calculations can also be done by taking weight in pounds times 703, and dividing by height in inches, squared.

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Before you start losing weight it is a good idea to prepare yourself on several fronts. Making sure that the motivation factor is present is one of the first things but most importantly you should learn to use a weight loss calculator to make sure you are burning more calories than you take in each day.

The process is simple. First calculate the amount of calories you need every day. For most people, to lose weight, you should consume 1200 to 1500 calories per day. The calculation is easy. All you do is input your height and weight and level of activity then do the math.

This weight loss calculator will tell you the amount of calories you need to be able to maintain your current weight. Since you do not want to maintain your current weight, you want to shed some of those pounds then you need to take in about 500 calories less than what that calculation gives you.

Next, calculate how many calories are in each serving of food you eat. You may have to practice at measuring out just exactly what a serving size is to get good at it. Make sure you are accurate and aren’t sneaking in just a little more here or there. Those little sneak-ins will add up and all of a sudden you will wonder why you are not losing the weight you want anymore.

Go buy yourself a book that lists calories for servings of food that do not come with labels like fresh fruits and vegetables, or do a search online. You might be able to find a list for free online. Do the same for eating out and when you do eat out make better choices based on what you learn online.

Know how many calories are in each gram of fat, carbohydrates and protein. This will help you when you figure out the percentages of each one that you need each day. So, keep this in mind: Carbohydrates and proteins have an equal amount of calories in each gram at 4 and fats have 9 calories per gram. Fats should make up no more than 30% of your daily calorie count. Carbs and protein should make up 50% and 20% respectively of your daily calorie intake.

Make sure they are good carbs though. The carbs you get from breads and cereals and sugar are overly processed and you should avoid them completely. Basically anything that is made with “white” products. White flour, white sugar, white rice should simply be avoided. These are all considered bad carbs and do nothing for you accept keep you gaining weight and fat around the middle.

The best way to use your weight loss calculator is to do it all yourself. Keep careful records in a small notebook in your purse or in your car so it is handy when you need to write something down. Maybe you could even get an app for that for your phone so you can keep all the information you need right at your fingertips.

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