Hi there,
Thanks for your question and I can understand your frustration. The use of BMI to determine whether you are of ideal, over or obese body weight can be fraught with challenge as it doesn’t take into account habitus, muscle bulk etc. Some elite athletes are considered obese based on their BMI alone but for them the weight is predominantly muscle. For the average person, however, BMI remains a useful tool.
Body weight is a balance between output and intake. If your intake is greater than your output, the likelihood is that you will put on weight. While this seem quite disheartening, there can be a number of other factors that come into play, such as your physiology and potential medical conditions. Some people find that they are able to lose weight more with certain exercises than others and for some it’s about combining different types of exercise to optimise outcomes.
Hormone conditions, such as thyroid and adrenal diseas can also affect your weight and it maybe that there is an underlying issue with this.
Without getting too disheartened, why don’t you seek some help with your goals. It might be work visiting a sports clinic that has physicians, dietitians and physiotherapists available to help with your diet, exercise plans and conditioning. Usually a combined approach is helpful. Once you have started to see the benefits, you can then move onto a more general public gym or attend a program that you enjoy.
I hope this helps.
Bw
Dr Dinesh
