Ideal Body Fat Percentage - What Level Is Right for You?

Many people want to know what their ideal body fat percentage is.  The problem with trying to answer this question is that that there is no straight answer that applies to every individual person.  The ideal body fat percentage can vary quite a bit in between various individuals depending on body type, heredity, age, eating habits, gender, and normal activity levels.  All of these can effect what a healthy body fat percentage, as 6% might be healthy for one individual, but 15% is healthy for someone else.  However as a general rule of thumb, once you get up to 25%, that’s unhealthy for anybody.

The ideal body fat percentage also varies greatly depending on gender.  For example, most males who have 5% body fat are considered in excellent health because that’s the safe lower limit for most men.  Women, on the other hand, have a minimum of 12% to be at safe levels.  A woman aiming for 5% body fat is not only being unrealistic, but is probably aiming for a goal that would actually make her unhealthy.

Active people tend to have lower body fat, while individuals with a more sedentary life style are obviously more likely to have a high level of body fat.  In addition to this, age has a lot to do it.  For example, males who are 20 are often considered to have too little body fat if they are below 8% (obviously there are exceptions, like hard core athletes).  But at 70, you would have to be below 13% to have too little body fat.  The healthy range for a 30 year old male is 8-19%, while for an 80 year old it is 13-25%.

Figuring out your ideal body fat percentage and working to keep it in that range is a very important part of staying healthy and is a better indication of overall health than the body mass index (BMI).  Going to a doctor for a test can be a good idea, and there are body fat monitors that help you to monitor your progress as you diet and exercise your way to an ideal body fat percentage.

This is one of the most important things you can do to in order to stay in good health.  Your ideal body fat percentage should be one of your main goals in working out and becoming healthy.  Taking another measurement every three weeks to steadily keep track of your progress towards your ideal body fat percentage can help you to stay motivated and stay with a workout and diet program.

There are actually a wide array of body fat monitors available, giving consumers multiple choices.  Aiming for the body fat reduction can be encouraging, as sometimes you may be staying at the same weight but gaining muscle while losing fat, or you might be losing weight but your body takes longer to show it.  By keeping track of your progress, you will get healthier and may find it easier to reach your ideal body fat percentage.

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Body Mass Index - A Way to Measure Weight & Height

The body mass index, more commonly known as the BMI, is a way of measuring a person’s weight in proportion with their height, assigning a statistical number that represents both.  While the BMI in general can be a good way to estimate the average healthy body weight for a person’s height, this is not an exact science and one common misconception is that the BMI is a measurement of body fat, which is not true.  While the BMI is an estimate of healthy body weight for height, it’s not exact at all.  The BMI of a professional bodybuilder, for example, could be high in the “extremely unhealthy” range because of all the extra weight from muscle, but that would not be an accurate description of the bodybuilder’s actual health.

The body mass index is often used in lieu of actual body fat measurements because it is easy to measure and figure out, making it more popular.  The body mass index was first used between 1830 and 1850.  The BMI is figured out by taking the person’s body weight and dividing it by the square of the height.  For weight use kilograms, not pounds, and for height use meters.  So to get the right BMI number you want to take kg/m2.  That measurement will let you figure out your BMI.

The body mass index isn’t perfect, but for average individuals it is often a relatively reliable estimate of where your weight sits health wise.  The BMI measurement became most popular in the 1950s and 1960s when obesity first started to become a serious and common problem in developed Western societies.  The Body Mass Index has come under fire recently, mostly because of its misuse.  While the BMI is a good estimate, it was never intended to be used as iron clad figures, or to be used by doctors for medical diagnosis of health.  A more accurate use of BMI’s purpose is to have it used as a simple easy to estimate means of seeing how physically active or inactive the average individual is as measured by weight in relation to height.

There are several factors that can really through off the accuracy of a BMI report.  Two of the obvious are heavy weight lifting, like bodybuilding, and extreme height.  Because of the simplicity of the math, the taller a person, the more likely the BMI is to be off.  There are several “ranges” that BMI scores fall into.  It’s generally accepted that:

BMI Categories within the healthy range:
Low 18.5-19.8
Med-Lo 19.9-21.1
Medium 21.2-22.4
Med-Hi 22.5-23.7
High 23.8-25.0

Scores under 18 are dangerously underweight, while scores over 25 indicate obesity, and go all the way up to morbidly obese.  These are once again, just general measurements that compare the weight and heights of average individuals, but it’s still a good way to get at least a general idea of how you’re doing in regards to weight and health.

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Fat Smash Diet - Blast That Fat Away

The fat smash diet is a very popular diet that through intensive eating and working out (coupled with solid online support groups) can help many dieters drastically cut away weight and fat over a 3 month (90 day) program.  The fat smash diet is split into four specific phases, and has been lauded by many for its common sense approach to eating and dieting.  It has also been lauded by many dieters because of looser restrictions: you don’t have to follow the diet in an extremely strict line by line manner as long as you’re following the basic premises of it.

As mentioned earlier, this diet is broken into four specific phases, with an emphasis on heavy eating of fruits and vegetables throughout the whole diet.

Phase One: “Detox.”  This phase of the diet lasts a mere 9 days, but is considered one of, if not the, most important step of the entire diet plan.  During the detox phase you will mostly eat different fruits and vegetables and little else.  The point of this is to cleanse your body of junk and eliminate toxins from your blood that are left over like alcohol, caffeine, and bloat.

Increasing the amount of fruit & veggies you eat also increases your body’s ability to clean itself all the way down on the cellular level.  Unlimited fruits and veggies are allowed with the exception of potatoes and avocados, while small amounts of other food are allowed, but no meat.

Phase Two: “Foundation.”  This phase of the diet will last three weeks.  In this phase fruits and veggies still have the green light, but you also get to eat some lean meats now.  This phase lasts for three weeks, and you can have some chicken, turkey, and fish, along with 2 diet pops a day, if you want a sweet reward.

Phase Three: “Construction.”  This phase of the diet will last four weeks.  In this phase you can eat everything allowed from phase one and two, but you also get to enjoy whole wheat pasta and whole wheat bread.  It also increases the amount of protein you can have, as well as adding quite a few other food items in small doses that were restricted before, such as fat free mayo, peanut butter, cheese, fresh juice, and some dessert.

Phase Four: “The Temple.”  This is the phase of the diet that should set your habits for life.  The idea is if you’ve made it this far in the diet, then you should be able to have the discipline and food knowledge to keep watching your diet within reason from then on out.  In this phase you can eat all the foods allowed before, as well as small amounts of white starches, small amounts of alcohol, and even some junk food.  The idea is control: that if you have a candy bar and soda once, it won’t become a habit and you’ll take a smaller portion of meat at dinner.

This is one of those rare diets that is trying to help the dieter create a life change in their diet habits that will allow them good health and habits through the rest of their life, and the dieter who manages that won’t be disappointed.

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Summer Weight Loss to Enjoy the Sun

Summer weight loss is a serious thing for many people. Not only do long cold winters keep people cooped up indoors in many different climates, but it also keeps them sluggish and feeding mindlessly while the exercise regiment rusts and then folds away completely. Summer is the most beautiful time of year, and who doesn’t want to look good and feel good while enjoying the bright sunlight and weather?

Whether you decide to follow a specific summer weight loss diet or not, there are several simple tips that will help you stay in control of your eating and either keep a good figure, or lose those extra pounds that were packed on during the winter months.

• Keep a food journal. Many people are surprised about how often they mindlessly snack once they start writing it down. Small snacks like two slices of cheese could pack almost 200 calories. Do that four or five times, and a small amount of mindless munching put on 1,000 calories a day.

• Don’t skip meals. This is the worst advice. Skipping meals means you burn LESS calories because your metabolism slows. Then you’re hungry so you eat more later when your body isn’t burning as many calories. Bad idea.

• Drink more water or tea. This keeps you a little more full, and will help keep you from grabbing for those high calorie and high sugar colas.

• Take some long walks. Exercise doesn’t always have to be stressful. Long leisurely walks can help to burn calories, cause you to relax, and are a great way to enjoy the summer weather, as well, even if you don’t have your ideal body yet to show off at the pool.

• Eat high fiber foods like fruits and veggies. High fiber foods fill you up with minimal calories and keep you regular. You should have high fiber foods at every meal to help you.

• Stay away from sugars and white starches. These two things add a lot of weight to people. Sugars should be obvious, but add in white pasta and potatoes and you have all the biggest offenders rounded up in one place.

• Make working out a habit. This is huge. It’s far easier to stay with a workout regiment when it is a consistent habit, done the same time every day or every other day. If you always work out at 7 a.m. then eventually your body will feel antsy if it’s 7 and you’re not working out. Just as bad habits can work against you, good habits can work for you. Take advantage of this.

There are many great pieces of advice you can follow for summer weight loss, and many times individuals don’t necessarily need individual diet plans, but only need to use some common sense and follow some basic guidelines to end up in the shape and weight area that they would be most comfortable in.

Follow these tips and you’re sure to lose some weight and be on your way to enjoying the next beautiful summer.

Get Your Dream Body In 6 Weeks With This Secret Summer Diet Plan