Have you been feeling a little chunky lately? Or maybe a little depressed over your "summer body?" How often have you googled "what's a normal weight for my height?" If you're like me, you've scored three out of three.

Probably around the time you were in middle school, you began the health section that explained the Body Mass Index (BMI) and you learned to dread the day of gym that was dedicated to the "Speed and Power Fitness Test." Never has a buzzer been so distressing. In case you were absent for that day of health: The Body Mass Index is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to adult men and women. The exact formula is your weight (in kilograms) divided by your height (in meters), but I've included a table below in case your curiosity is burning.

The chart also includes a handy little key to let you know if your BMI (the number you come up with) puts you within a healthy weight, over weight, or "obese." As of right now as a 5'2" female, I am sorely obese, according to my BMI. I've included a picture of my physique because if you saw me on the street, I'd like to think that obese would not be your first thought. So why does my BMI tell me that I'm obese?

Here's the thing: we've all heard the saying "muscle weighs more than fat" Well that's a bit of a myth, because at the end of the day a pound weighs a pound, HOWEVER, muscle is more dense than weight, i.e. it takes up less space! You see fat more obviously than you see muscle or tone definition. The Body Mass Index has no way to account for what percent of your weight (that isn't accounted for by organs, bones, etc) is fat and what percent of you is muscle. That's something that, personally, I only trust a doctor to determine for me, but you can use other formulas that include your body measurements to determine your fat percentage.

Not convinced? Let's look at some famously fit people. We'll start with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Dwayne's stats (that can currently be googled) are:

Height: 6'5" or 1.95 m

Weight: 262 lbs or 119 kg

Giving him a BMI of 61. Which lands him in the clinically obese category. The Rock is clinically obese? I don't buy it.

So if you're feeling a little down in the dumps about the extra weight you're carrying around your stomach or thighs, or the lack of muscle definition but increase in weight, remember...you're body works in it's own way. Remember that those squats are working, and that the scale may be accurate but it doesn't have a medical degree. If you are overweight or obese and working towards a goal weight, remember not to focus too much on losing weight (starving yourself will deplete the good muscle weight too!), and to focus more on feeling healthier. Set cardio goals for yourself, or goals for your weight and resistance training; let your body tell you what it feels good with, and what it doesn't!