Looking for a way to determine if you are overweight? The following is an easy and fast way to determine if you are overweight and what your health risks might be because of it.

The Waist to Hip Ratio determines distribution of body fat. More body fat in the chest and waist suggests increased health risk for elevated triglycerides, high blood pressure, strokes, longer time to conceive, heart disease or diabetes. More fat in the hips and thighs suggests fat loss may be difficult.

Using a tape measure, measure your hips in inches at the top of the hip bone on the right front of the body. This spot will be slightly lower than your belly button. Next, measure the waist 1" (2.5 cm) above your belly button in inches.

Using these two measurement values, divide the waist reading by the hip reading. This tells you where most of your body fat is located.

Apple shape (a ratio of .95 or greater) means your body fat is located above your waist which shows a increased health risk for diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and some cancers. Pear shape (a ratio of less than .95) means your body fat is located below your waist which indicates a decreased health risk, but fat located in the lower half of the body may be harder to lose during weight loss.

The whole point of keeping fit is to lose unwanted body fat. Try to think of it more as weight training rather than weight loss. You don't need to push yourself to be a bodybuilder you want to convert your fat into lean muscle tone. If you follow a well planned out exercise routine with an end goal in mind, combined with a sensible eating plan, not only will you improve your general cardiovascular or strength fitness but you will keep those unwanted pounds off.

Being overweight might be due to a slow metabolism. It is a proven scientific fact that lean people burn fat more efficiently than overweight people. This is true more so of those with lean muscle tone. People who go on crash diets do not fare so well and usually end up feeling worse after as the body seeks to restore itself back to it's old level. Diets without exercise and crash diets are the worst possible choice if you want successfull weight loss - and to keep it off permanently. The best way of achieving long term weight loss is to do it slowly over a period of time so that your body can adjust to the changes you are thrusting upon it.

1. Change your eating habits. Try smaller portions - instead of a full plate try eating 2/3.

• Try eating 3 or 4 smaller meals during the day rather than 2 large ones
• Eat your main large meal at midday with the other meals much smaller in content
• Don't eat heavy meals late in the evening - they will be stored as fat in your body
• Balance your meals out during the day so in one day you have a mix of protein, carbohydrate and vitamins
• Drink lots of water during the day and before, during and after exercise. You should drink at least 8 big glasses of water a day
• Drink alcohol in moderation or not at all
• Stop smoking or cut down
• Eat more fibre i.e. grains, nuts, pasta, brown rice, cereals, fresh fruit
• Eat more vegetables
• Eat less dairy products or choose those with less fat content i.e. cottage cheese, low fat yoghurt, skim milk
• Try steaming or poaching food instead of frying it - frying adds calories by the bucketful
• Cut down on red meat. Eat more lean proteins like chicken breast or fish
• Use low fat oils in cooking i.e. sunflower, corn or Mazola
• Cut down on your salt intake
• If you have a craving in between meals, try eating carrots or fresh fruit instead of biscuits or sweets

Choose a diet which is low in fat and cholesterol, moderate in sugar and salt and high in fibre, but at the same time has a variety of everything in turn, making it a delicious and well-balanced diet.

2. Start getting regular aerobic (cardiovascular) exercise at least 3-4 times a week. This is aimed at those who want to burn fat and convert it into lean muscle, if your intention is to build muscle then you need a different routine based on heavier weights and less repetitions.

If you are starting off at an unfit level and want to convert fat into lean muscle:

• Stretch your body for 5 minutes to prepare it for activity - muscles work better warmed up
• Try to do 10 minutes at an easy pace on a bike, rest for 1 min., then 10 minutes on rowing, 1 min. rest, and so on for each exercise machine you want to do
• For weights do 10 repetitions at a very light manageable weight, rest for 30 seconds and repeat this twice. This way you do 3 sets of 10 repetitions at a light weight on each weight machine
• Do the same for other weight machines taking only 1 minute rest in between each different weight exercise - remember to use light weights
• Concentrate on cycling, rowing, stairmaster, stepper type machines. Jogging effectively can put 10 times the bodyweight force on the joints and should only be done on soft surfaces such as grass and with adequate cushioned footwear. That's why the treadmill is not to be recommended. The other aerobic machines put less stress on the joints
• At the end of your program which should be about 40 minutes on average you need to cool down, try easy cycling for 3 minutes and then stretches after that

It is very important to warm up before an exercise routine and to cool down after, this is so you don't suffer from muscle soreness and tenderness and there's less chance of muscle tear and injury.

After a few weeks you will notice considerable improvement and will want to either increase the intensity, duration or weight in your program as it gets easier. Increase the reps to 20 for each exercise if you want to carry on getting leaner.

Remember, to burn fat and get lean, defined muscle do more repetitions at a less weight. To build heavy muscle and gain strength do less reps at a heavier weight.

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