All Your Questions About Weight Answered

Weight is a sensitive subject. It’s something that’s considered rude for men to ask women to about, and it’s something many people are self conscious about. It can be hard to know how much you should weigh, and it can be easy to compare yourself to others.

A quick way to figure out if your weight is good is to calculate your BMI (body mass index). It uses your height and weight to calculate your tissue mass. However, it does not take into account your fat or muscle percentage. You can use an online calculator such as this one to see where your weight falls. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm

Before you do anything about your weight, you should understand how your body and food work together. Your body has a metabolism, which is how it converts food into energy. Everything you eat is measured in calories. The amount of calories something contains is how much energy you can get from it.To get energy, you burn calories. Your body burns a certain number of calories every day, which is called your basal metabolic rate (BMR). Your BMR is the energy spent doing everyday functions, such as breathing and circulating blood. You also burn calories as you move throughout the day and when you exercise.

If you are underweight, it may mean you are burning more calories than your consume. You can fix this by eating an extra 500–1,000 calories a day to gain one or two pounds a week. You shouldn’t eat much more than that, or you’ll gain weight too fast which can have detrimental health affects. You should also eat more protein and try weight training, to put on muscle. You should avoid a lot of cardio, or other things that burn a large amount of calories.

If you are at a healthy weight, you should just make sure that you burn as many calories as you consume each day. You should still eat healthy and exercise to keep your body happy and healthy. If you are at a healthy weight, but unhappy with your appearance, you should work on building muscle while burning fat. You should eat as many grams of protein as your body weighs a day (for example, if you weigh 110 pounds then you should eat 110 grams of protein a day).

Lastly, there is weight loss. It can be hard to know how to lose weight, especially when everyone seems to have a different opinion on the matter. The internet tells you one thing, celebrities whisper in your ear telling you their “secret tips,” and nutritionists are saying something completely different. However, losing weight is a lot more simple than you may think. You need to consume less calories than you burn a day. Specifically, about 500–1000 calories less a day to lose one to two pounds a week. You shouldn’t do much more than that or you’ll lose weight too fast, which can be detrimental to your health. You should also eat as many grams of protein as your body weighs a day, and you should weight train to avoid losing a large amount of muscle mass.

So there you have it, all your weight questions answered. It simply goes down to science, calories, and how much you eat. To know how many calories you eat, you can download an app that will help you track what you eat all day. Overall, weight is a lot simpler than people make it out to be. Don’t fall victim to unhealthy fad diets, just simply eat healthy most of the time, but know that it’s okay to treat yourself once in a while :)

Sources:

• Brett. “How to Gain Weight and Muscle Mass.” The Art of Manliness, 27 Sept. 2018, www.artofmanliness.com/articles/how-to-gain-weight/.