How to Use Your Body Fat% and BMI to Improve Your Health and Overall Well-being
There’s no doubt that staying fit is a crucial aspect of a healthy lifestyle. While weight is often the go-to indicator of fitness levels, it is not always the most accurate measure. That’s where the Body Mass Index (BMI) and body fat come into play. These two indicators provide a more comprehensive picture of an individual’s health and, in turn, their potential for developing diseases such as heart disease or diabetes. Calculated using factors such as height, weight, and age, BMI is a widely utilized tool to assess whether a person’s body weight falls within a healthy range. Meanwhile, body fat takes into account the amount of body fat relative to everything else in the body, including muscle, bones, and organs. Both of these measurements can be essential in determining the best course of action for individuals seeking to improve their overall health and well-being. If you are interested to know how to use these numbers to improve your overall health and well-being, then this blog will tell you everything you need to know.
Understanding your BMI
Understanding your BMI and body fat percentage can make a big difference in effectively creating a wellness strategy, but when used alone, your BMI can sometimes be misleading. Your BMI (or Quetelet index) is used to assess weight relative to height and is calculated by dividing your body weight in kilograms by height in meters squared (kg∙m -²). For most people, once your BMI goes beyond 25, the higher your risk for certain diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, gallstones, breathing problems, and certain cancers. But this number can be misleading.
For instance, a 5’9 bodybuilder can have the same weight as an obese individual and can be considered to be “overweight” and at risk for major health issues, even though they diet and exercise consistently. On the other hand, knowing your body fat percentage can give you a better understanding of how you should navigate your BMI. For instance:
If you have a high BMI and a low BF%, then you have more lean muscle than fat which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Keep in mind that if your BF% is too low then that can be dangerous to your health. Women need to have at least 10-13% body fat to be healthy and men need at least 2-5%. You have to remember that our brain is nearly 60% fat and fatty acids are among the most crucial molecules that determine your brain’s integrity and ability to perform.
Ideally you would want both your BMI and BF% to be at optimal levels but if you have a high BF% and a high BMI, then you can calculate how much fat you need to lose to get back in a healthy BMI range. You can typically do it on your own but it may help to work with a qualified fitness specialist if you have health concerns or physical limitations to be cognizant of.
How to use your body fat percentage and bMI to determine your target weight
When most individuals try to determine their ideal weight, they use the following equation:
Target weight = lean weight / (100 percent – desired percent body fat).
But if you have chronic health issues, then it may be more beneficial to calculate your target weight by determining your ideal BMI.
Say for instance, Jane Doe, a 47 year old 5’9 female weighing 183 lbs with 41% body fat has a BMI of 27. Her doctor told her to get her weight down to improve her numbers and reduce her risk of chronic health conditions but didn’t give her a specific target number. So how does she decide what her target weight should be?
Well since she knows all of her numbers, it would be easy to determine how much weight she should lose to improve her health. Since we know that her current BMI is 27 with a 41% body fat percentage, all we have to do is determine how much weight it would take for her to get down to at least 39% which would officially put her in an acceptable BMI range of 24.9 according to the chart above. This can be done by doing a 4 step process:
- Lean body mass = Current weight * Current body percentage
- Target weight = Lean body mass/ (100 percent – desired body fat percentage)
- Desired body fat = Target weight (desired body fat percentage)
- Ideal weight loss goal = Current body fat – Desired
In the case of Jane Doe, her ideal weight loss goal would be calculated as follows:
- 108 lbs. (lean body mass) = 183 lbs. (current weight) * .41 (current body fat percentage)
- 177 lbs (target weight) = 108 lbs (lean mass)/ (1oo percent – .39(desired body fat percentage))
- 69lbs (desired body fat) = 177 lbs (target weight) * .39 (desired body fat percentage)
- 6 lbs of fat (ideal weight loss goal) = 75 lbs (current body fat) – 69 lbs (desired body fat)
Ok, so I know what you’re thinking, Why should I do all these calculations instead of picking a number and aiming for that goal? Well for starters, it will give you a better peace of mind. How much more confident would be in your ability to lose 6 pounds of fat instead of 15, 20 or 30? And on top of that, how much would your self-esteem increase if you were able to exceed your goals? You would probably be more motivated and committed to continue your weight loss plan with an increased sense of self confidence.
Wouldn’t you rather feel like this instead of stressing, or resorting to extreme measures, to lose a large amount of weight that isn’t even necessary? Wouldn’t your goals feel less like an uphill battle when you have an attainable goal that is guaranteed to improve your health and reduce your risk (or symptoms) of chronic health conditions? I don’t know about you, but taking the effort to do a few calculations to preserve (and improve) my mental well-being is well worth it instead of aiming for your ideal weight and getting disappointed when it’s harder than you thought.
Creating a Wellness Plan Is More than Just Knowing Your Numbers
Keep in mind that knowing your numbers is just the beginning of your wellness journey. Your methods of obtaining your goals is equally as important. While most people will start off by plugging in their treadmills or buying more walking shoes, I would like to stress the importance of having a structured health and fitness plan that includes a balanced diet, stress management, strength training as well as cardiovascular exercise.
Too often, individuals will try to put their health in their own hands by following a restrictive diet and increasing their cardio but doing so won’t guarantee fat loss. Using that weight loss method may but common but it won’t ensure that all the weight you lose will come from just fat. Neglecting to do strength-training exercises as part of your weight loss routine, will actually result in about 25 percent of what you lose will come from muscle instead of fat, according to the Quarter Fat Free Mass Rule.
Suffering from chronic health issues (and possibly physical limitations) can make it difficult to reach your health and wellness goals but working with a qualified fitness specialist can make the process easy. The STEW Project offers online fitness programs that allows you to work with someone who can create a personalized wellness plan that includes a personalized exercise prescription, nutritional/dietary recommendations and 1:1 coaching to improve your lifestyle habits as well as manage stress, without having you to turn change your current lifestyle too much to do it. If you are interested in working with me to help make your fitness journey easy and enjoyable, then contact me so we chat about your goals and determine the best way to help you achieve them. I hope this helps.
In Good Health,
Amber Stewart BS,
Holistic Nutritionist
Certified Master Life Coach
ACSM Exercise Physiologist
CTNC Mental Health Specialist
TBMM Corrective Exercise Specialist
Hi! My name is Amber and I’m a Body Goals Builder, Master Life Coach, Certified Health Coach, CTNC Mental Health Specialist, Stress Alchemist & Fear Conqueror
I used to be a people pleasing, work-a-holic who stressed herself out to climb the wellness industry’s corporate ladder but when years of chronic stress and anxiety made me spiral into a deep depression, I realized that none of it mattered if I wasn’t happy with myself, inside and out, and surrounded around people who loved and respected me.
I now help individuals who are stressed out, out of shape and struggling to find balance in their lives learn how to ease their worries, improve their health, create 10x more joy in their lives and manifest the life of their dreams. At the STEW Project, we are maximizing our living potential by Simply Taking an Emphasis on Wellness.
