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How to reduce a BMI of 56

How to reduce a BMI of 56

As you probably know already, you can’t live in good health while walking around with a BMI of 56. After all, a 56 BMI score is a staggering 26 points higher than average, and the average is, might I add, borderline obese.

See How Your BMI Compares:

How does having a BMI of 56 harm your health?

An obese man with a BMI of 56

Having a BMI of 56 is bad for your physical health because anyone with a BMI this high will undoubtedly have excess body fat.

And while there’s no need to be extremely lean in order to be healthy or happy with your body, adipose tissue (body fat) can become problematic when it accumulates in excess.

It’s a well-established fact that obesity is linked with chronic illness (heart disease, diabetes) and everyday health problems (insulin resistance, back pain).

For these reasons, it’s important that you seek professional help if you have a body mass index of 56. 

Your doctor will be able to give you a health checkup to see if your body can cope with the strain of exercise, which should be part of any good weight loss routine.

How can a person reduce their body mass index?

A 56 BMI woman doing some stretches

After getting a health checkup, you may be given some dietary advice or referred to a nutritionist. Either way, you’ll need to cut your calories if you want to shed your excess body fat and reduce your 56 BMI.

By how much should you reduce your calorie intake?

Generally, the more obese you are, the more you need to cut your calories. 

This is because when you’re suffering from severe obesity, the number one goal is to get your body weight out of the danger zone, and the best way to do this is by employing a large calorie deficit, often around 40%.

Of course, aggressive calorie deficits can be hard to stick to, but they certainly help that initial excess weight to come off. 

If you have good adherence and can stick to a given calorie intake, then a larger deficit is better. On the other hand, if you have a poor relationship with food, then you might want to go with a more moderate deficit so that you’re not as hungry.

How long does it take to reduce a 56 BMI?

A 56 BMI man working out in the park

It depends on your diet and exercise routine. You can start to lower your 56 BMI right away by reducing your calorie intake and increasing your activity level.

As for how long substantial results will take, I’d say a couple of months.

Since a person with a BMI of 56 naturally has a lot of weight to lose, results can come pretty quickly once they sort their nutrition out.

After all, if your body is in an energy deficit, then the weight has no choice but to come off, which hopefully leads to lasting change after you establish good dietary and exercise habits.

Conclusion

We hear successful weight loss stories all the time but often think that such a transformation isn’t possible for us. 

Yet, the people who lost loads of weight probably had the same lack of belief initially.

So it just goes to show that with the right help, you can reduce your 56 BMI and create positive eating and exercise habits that will last a lifetime.

With a BMI of 56, your first priority should be to lose an initial bulk of weight so that you can get your weight under control. This will then make it easier to perform more vigorous activities, which can increase your calorie burn and improve your body composition.