Are you fit? If your weight falls in the ideal category, that’s great news but the scale may not tell the full story! 
Here are a few numbers that matter more than your weight on the scale:

Waist size: 

As a general rule, if your waist measures more than 40 inches (35 inches for women who aren’t pregnant), you probably have extra fat around your heart, liver, kidneys, and other organs. 

Blood pressure:

Ideally, you want your upper, or “systolic,” number to be below 120, and your lower “diastolic” number to be below 80. Once the numbers are 130 and 80, or higher, you have high blood pressure. You may not have any symptoms, yet it can damage your heart and blood vessels.

Blood Sugar levels:

When you’re healthy, it should be under 100 mg/dL before you eat and less than 140 mg/dL a couple of hours later. Higher glucose levels can lead to long-term damage of your heart, blood vessels, and kidneys.

Lipid profile:

The general rule of thumb is that your total cholesterol score should be less than 200 mg/dL. You want your HDL to be 60 mg/dL or more and your triglycerides below 150 mg/dL. Unhealthy levels could lead to narrow or blocked arteries, heart attack, and stroke.

Daily Steps:

To improve your health and your mood, 10,000 every day is the number you’ll hear a lot. But there’s nothing magical about it. Anywhere between 4,000 and 18,000 may be good for you. The types of steps you take are important, too. 

Sleep:

Adults usually need 7 to 9 hours a night. Our bodies use that time to fix tissue, make hormones, and grow muscle. Our brains use it to process the information and learning of the day into memories. Not enough sleep can make you hungrier and crave for junk food. 

Water:

To set a baseline, drink at least 2 glasses of water before each meal. You may need more if it’s hot or dry outside, or when you’re pregnant. Drink before you work out too. 
It will help settle untimely hunger pangs. 

Make sure that all these numbers fall in the ideal range so you can look and feel fit and have a healthy balanced life !

Written By: Sadia Salman. Sadia is the CEO of Diet by Design. She is a well known nutritionist and has helped so many people by customized diet and meal plans.