Why BMI Calculations Suck...

If you have every tried to lose weight you most likely know about BMI, body mass index. This is a way to calculate your body fat percentage without any extra tools, except maybe a calculator. The way BMI is calculated is:

(Weight in KG) / (Height in Meters) x (Height in Meters)

 

I am sure that none of you use the metric system so you would have to convert these manually. Now if you don't want to calculate it manually I'll put the link here. I made it so it opens in another window for you guys. But for those of you who want to do the manual conversion I will show you it!

Conversion:                                                Conversion:
inches to meters                                          pounds to kg

Your Height In Inches / 39.37                  Your Weight In lbs x 2.2

ex: 66 / 39.37 =   1.68                                      ex: 135 / 2.2= 61.36

Then plug these into the top ^ equation.
 
(61.36) / (1.68) x (1.68) = 21.8 <----that is the BMI for the examples.

Now that number it gives you is your body fat percentage. I made this chart to show you if you are underweight, overweight, etc according to BMI.

Underweight	Healthy Weight	Overweight	Obese
BMI 18.5 or lower	BMI 19-24.9	BMI 25-29.9	BMI 30 or higher

Take in consideration that this formula doesn't account for how much of that percentage is muscle, bones, etc. It's just a basic cookie cutter formula that bases its results all off over the "average" person.

Now there are many other forms of calculating body fat and they all have their flaws, but we will talk about those another time. Now, I'm not saying that BMI isn't a good way to follow weight loss but when using this form of calculation there are always errors. The best way to calculate a body fat measurement is this method. I'll even compare my results to BMI for you guys!

So my BMI calculation from above was 21.8% body fat and when I measure myself with a tape measure I was 20% body fat.

Also just for a second test my roommate's BMI is 20% and when I measure her with a tape measure she was 17% body fat (yes I know, she is TINY haha)

Hopefully this post increased your knowledge on measuring body fat!

What's Your Doshas?!

So I'm taking this amazing class at ASU called HSC 300 Complementary Healthcare (I know, the name sounds terrible) but basically it focuses on all the different forms of medicine that are very different from traditional medicine. We've covered things like Chiropractors, Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and so on. Well, a recent chapter we covered was on Ayurvedic Medicine; it was believed that the power of healing relied on balancing the doshas within your body.

A Dosha is basically an energy inside the body that is believed to circulate all through the body. There are three different doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Each one represents something different! It's like a horoscope for health. If you want to find out what dosha you are CLICK HERE! <----don't worry when you click it, it opens in another window so you can still read my post (:

Here's the chart of doshas in case you didn't want to take the quiz!

Once you know your dosha you then can find homeopathic ways to heal yourself without the use of harsh drugs or medicine. The key concept of Ayurvedic medicine is that everyone is made up of the three doshas and when these doshas are in balance is when one is healthy. When you test to find out which one you are, you are really just testing to see which dosha is most relevant to the characteristics of you.

I am a Pitta for instance so I must find things that balance out my dosha and not heighten it because it is most dangerous when your "main" dosha takes over. Ways you can balance your dosha is through diet, aromatherapy, and exercise that are tailored to your dosha.

Also, don't be alarmed if you take the test and it says your "tridoshic" I actually am considered "tridoshic" but I base my health choices based off which dosha was highest, even if it was by one point. You know, I'll just show a picture! It'll make more sense for those of you who are visual learners, like me. (:

Like This:


Your scores are Vata: 3 Pitta: 4 Kapha: 3

                                       ^my highest score, so I am considered a Pitta

Peace out,

 



References:

• Picture: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/feel-lousy-feed-your-dosha.html
• The second chart was made by me but I got some of the info from: http://www.whatsyourdosha.com/articles/dosha-chart.html