Because of the bodies ability to adapt, we all reach plateaus in weight loss or gain, speed, endurance, strength, etc. We can even reach mental plateaus. This is not a necessarily a bad thing.

As a runner, I think of it this way: Climbing a hill is almost never a climb straight to the top. Most often there are points where things level out. Sometimes the elevation even drops a little. If one takes proper advantage of these level areas or declines, continued progress up can be made.    

Almost all health and fitness related websites have a BMI calculator. But what they don't tell you is very important.

The BMI was devised in the 1800s by Adolphe Quetelet as the "Quetelet Index of Obesity". In the 1980s, it became the international standard for comparing weight against an objective standard. The BMI was devised "as a simple means of classifying sedentary (physically inactive) individuals with an average body composition."* It was not devised as a one-size-fits-all measurement. It was designed for one very specific population and has now been put into use for everyone.

"So what is the value of the BMI? On an individual level absolutely none. It is a statistical tool which only holds a small value and that is for use across a large population, so that the heavily muscled athletes with a BMI of 28+ are averaged out by the skinny fat people that have the aforementioned BMI of 18-25 with body fat percentages of 25%.

So what are better measurements to check? Body fat percentage is a great start. For men, a normal range is in the mid-teens, for women low to mid 20s. Women get the pleasure of carrying more fat for nourishing those growing babies. Obviously athletes will be at lower percentages, but for the average person, those are good ranges. Waist circumference or better yet, waist-hip ratio is another one that can help determine what kind of weight you're carrying. The easiest measurement though is the mirror test. Look in the mirror. Jump up and down. Do you like what you see? Are your clothes fitting better or worse than they did last week? If the answer is "better," then keep on keeping on. If the answer is "worse," go back to the drawing board."**

*WHO Technical Report Series, #854, Physical Status: The Use and Interpretation of Anthropometry, Pg. 9

**Normal Weight Obesity; Or, Why the BMI Sucks As An Individual Measurement Tool by Scott Kustes