Body Measurements

There are a variety of factors that need to be measured to gauge your general health and determine your nutrition needs to either lose or maintain your weight. You may have heard some terms like BMI, BMR, bone mass, muscle mass and a few more. What do they mean and how do they fit into our health and wellness plan?

I'll try to summarize the important ones.

• BMI - Body Mass Index (BMI) is a number calculated from a person's weight and height. Basically your supposed to weigh a certain amount for your sex, age and height. Its a basic gauge of how overweight your are.
• BMR - The basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the base rate at which your body consumes calories for basic metabolic functions. In other words, it is the rate at which your body consumes calories when at rest.
• Metabolic Age is a number that comes from comparing your Basal Metabolic Rate with the Basal Metabolic Rate average of your chronological age group.

There are scales that measure these and a few other indicators such as percentage of water, muscle mass and visceral fat. Many nutrition clubs and fitness clubs have these scales, can get these measurements for you and explain them in more detail and how they effect your general well being. You can also pick them up at many department stores for home use.

Knowing these factors along with your current weight, height and age will give you a better idea of your nutritional needs to maintain weight, but more importantly, to lose weight.

The other measurements are more simple. Your waist, chest, arms, thighs and belly are measured in inches or centimeters prior to a weight loss program so you have a physical reference of how you are doing. Obviously, regular weigh ins are a part of tracking your progress.

Typically the only measurement tracked weekly is your weight. If you are on a 12 week weight loss program, the other measurements are done at the beginning, half way point and the end of the program.

Before starting any weight loss program, regardless of what type of exercise or nutrition plan you have chosen, you need a starting baseline to track your progress from to know how well you are doing and the above measurements help do just that. By all means you can and should check with your Doctor before starting an exercise routine.