Critical Weight Loss Questions – What Is My Ideal Weight?
What is my ideal weight? This must be the first question you ask of yourself before starting to lose weight.
It is common for people to latch onto one number and aim for that as a goal weight or to just go by their lowest weight in the past. The problem with this is that most will be unable to ever reach a weight they maintained in younger years, or they will reach it but find it impossible to maintain. Your body changes as you age so it’s important to assess a realistic goal for where you stand right now.
The most common tools used to determine your ideal weight at your current age and height are the body mass index (BMI) calculator and the standardized weight chart. Both can be found online for free. Your BMI is actually a number that will place you somewhere along a continuum ranging from underweight to obese.
Looking at a weight chart will show you how far you have to go and your BMI number may be quite depressing at the start. It is still an important step to face how far you have to go and get a general idea of what weight will put you within the healthy range.
Even more accurate than the scale and BMI is your waist to hip ratio. This will give you a general idea of where you stand right now and how far you need to go, without giving you an actual number. Just measure your hips and your waist and then divide the hip measurement by the waist. Ideally, women should strive for around 0.80 and men for around 0.95.
What makes the BMI calculator and weight charts less accurate is that it doesn’t take into consideration how much muscle is in your body. You can be completely healthy at a weight higher than what these resources predict, especially if you are well toned and have a lot of lean muscle mass.
The first question to any weight loss journey must be this: what is my ideal weight? Figure that out and you will have something realistic to work toward.
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