Calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI) to find out.
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure of a person's weight in relation to height, not body composition.
BMI values apply to both men and women, regardless of age or frame size.
Use this information, along with other health indices, to assess your need to adjust your weight.
BMI is a mathematical formula in which a person's body weight in kilograms is divided by the square of his or her height in meters (i.e., wt/(ht)2. The BMI is more highly correlated with body fat than any other indicator of height and weight (NRC p563).
Your BMI results:
< 18.5 indicates underweight
20 > 25 is considered ideal
25 > 29 indicates overweight
> 30, experts consider an indicator of obesity
For more information on Body Mass Index calculations, visit the Center for Disease Control.
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Add fiber to your diet... slowly
Dietary fiber is versatile and talented. It assists in discouraging a long list of woes: constipation, hemorrhoids, heart disease, diabetes, bad cholesterol and certain cancers.
Foods such as apples, berries, oranges, beans, broccoli, bran, multigrain breads and cereals should be added slowly into your diet, followed by an increase in fluid intake. Eventually you want to work up to 4 ½ cups of high fiber foods a day.
Otherwise, you might find yourself feeling more bloated, gassy or experiencing stomach cramps.So, add one high-fiber food at a time about a week apart. Increase your water intake (which includes unsweetened teas, diet sodas, juice) to eight glasses a day to help the fiber move through your system.
