As soon as the Autumn Equinox arrives, the weather cools down quickly, and your appetite goes into overdrive. On social media, people are either showing off hairy crabs or mooncakes with all kinds of fillings, and with the old saying "put on autumn weight" egging you on, many people just can't stop their chopsticks. But have you ever thought that while your mouth is enjoying itself, the fat on your body is quietly stepping onto the scale? Today, let's not talk about anything else, just about your BMI, which might be sweeter than Mid-Autumn mooncakes.
BMI, whose full name is Body Mass Index, sounds quite professional, but it's actually dead simple to calculate: weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. For example, if you're 60 kilograms and 1.65 meters tall, that's 60 ÷ (1.65 × 1.65), which is about 22. If this number falls between 18.5 and 24, it means your weight is normal, and you can eat and drink as you like without much problem. But if it exceeds 24, you're considered overweight; if it goes over 28, that's obesity. Don't underestimate these few numbers; they're closely related to annoying indicators like blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood lipids.
So why calculate before putting on autumn weight at the Autumn Equinox? Because autumn is a season when it's especially easy to gain weight. When it gets cold, the body instinctively wants to store some fat to keep warm, and around Mid-Autumn, mooncakes, crabs, and osmanthus cakes take turns showing up. If you're not careful, your pants get tight. Mooncakes, especially those with egg yolk and lotus seed paste, can have as many calories as a whole meal in one piece. If you don't calculate your BMI and have no idea where you stand, then after autumn when you step on the scale, that number might be sweeter than mooncakes—so sweet it makes your heart bitter.
Some people might say, my BMI is normal, so can I just eat freely? Not exactly. A normal BMI doesn't mean your body fat percentage is normal. Some people don't look fat, but when you pinch their belly, there's a handful of fat. This is called hidden obesity. Especially for sedentary office workers, with thin limbs and a big belly, BMI may still be in the normal range, but visceral fat is already excessive. So calculating BMI is a reminder, not a free pass.
So what should you do if it comes out high? Don't rush to diet, and don't believe those lies about losing five pounds in three days. Autumn Equinox health care emphasizes balance; just slightly hold back on your diet. You can eat mooncakes, cut a small piece and share it with family to taste, don't finish a whole one by yourself. Hairy crabs are cold in nature, so eat them with some ginger vinegar, and don't eat too many at once. Mix some coarse grains into your staple food, like sweet potatoes, corn, oats; they're filling and raise blood sugar slowly. Don't eat too late at night; give your stomach and intestines some rest time.
As for exercise, autumn is actually a great time to move. Neither too cold nor too hot, going out for a brisk walk, jog, or bike ride is comfortable. You don't have to run five kilometers right away; a half-hour stroll after meals every day, if you stick with it, works. On weekends, invite friends to climb a mountain; you get to see the red leaves and burn calories, much better than lounging on the sofa scrolling through your phone.
In the end, calculating BMI isn't meant to make you feel bad, but to give you a sense of where you stand. When you know roughly where you are, you can have some moderation when eating. Putting on autumn weight at the Autumn Equinox is an old tradition, but old traditions also depend on the person. People in the past expended a lot in summer, so supplementing in autumn was fine. Now many people spend summer in air conditioning, drinking cold drinks, with no deficit at all, and if they still aggressively put on autumn weight, that's just pure fat gain.
So before the Autumn Equinox arrives and before you open the mooncake box, take a minute to calculate your BMI. If it's normal, congratulations, enjoy the food, just pay a little attention. If it's high, don't be anxious; starting from your next meal, eat a little less, walk a little more, and it will gradually come back. After all, there's still a long life ahead, your body is your own. Being sweeter than mooncakes is fine, but if you're so sweet it's cloying, then you need to take it easy.