Ideal Body Weight
A person’s ideal body weight can be viewed in a number of different ways. A group of people may view it as the weight that is in direct proportion to a person’s height. This way, no one will be either short and chubby or tall but too lean. Another yet improved way to view a person’s ideal body weight is as the “healthy” weight for their age and height using their body mass index. Then again, there are many factors that are considered when determining if someone is “healthy” and body mass index is just one of several.
You can dramatically reduce your risk for a number of diseases and medical conditions that includes heart disease, diabetes and depression by maintaining a healthy body weight. A healthy body weight has been accepted as a contributing factor to your overall quality of life. So then, what would be the desirable body weight for you? Your desirable body weight depends on our gender, height and body frame size.
Being male or female does not exempt you from wanting to be thin, looking good and looking the best. Let’s face it, no Victoria’s Secret model in the right frame of mind will swoon over a 300 lb. man weighing over 300 lb who is 5’8″ tall and morbidly obese. To look good and attractive is the main reason why many of us work hard to maintain our ideal body weight.
Women in particular, have an enormous gap between what their ideal body weight is and what the Doctor says. When dieting, women would think that the Doctor recommended ideal body weight is too high and would aim for a lower weight. There is a huge difference between the weight that would make you look good in a dress than what is good for health and prolonged existence.
There are numerous charts online that gives some idea of what your ideal body weight would be. Some are as simple as putting your height and age in a box and the result will easily pop up. Yet, the number that comes out is higher than what I think I need to be. I feel really good at about 10% lower and as long as my Doctor does not object, I won’t lose sleep over it.
However, what exactly is a healthy body weight? Most of the research studies in medical journals refer to the body mass index, BMI and it is calculated by dividing a person’s weight (in kg) by the square of their height (in meters). Further, the best way to achieve this ideal body is through diet and exercise. This combination provides great benefits to your health when maintained for at least a year after the weight loss. It is therefore very important, especially for women, to keep the proper perspective on the whole issue of weight and determine what is healthiest for each individual.
Now, it is a different situation when it comes to men. Men tend to prefer to have more muscle than body fat. For example, a 31 year old male with a medium frame and stands at 6’1″ has a 10% body fat. He is 175 lbs in weight. Note that there are more things factored in like bone frame, age, height and percent body fat. Without one of these, people can be thrown off. To many, this would be considered ok. To men, having around 5% more of lean muscle would make them look better and more “manly”.
It does not mean that you must lose weight when your vision of your ideal body weight does not match what you feel it should be. When you try to lose thirty or more pounds to look good in a dress or to have more muscle may not necessarily be healthy and can lead to eating disorder or some type of compulsive behavior.
The major issues when determining an ideal body weight for you are muscles and fat. What you should aim for is a percentage of your body to be fat. Too much fat is not good and results to obesity and heart disease. Even when men have more muscle tissue than women, their body fat should be lower. Meanwhile, women are allowed to have a higher percentage of body fat compared to men. For men who are avid weightlifters and are stacked with lean muscle, the standard body weight charts will be way off. The best thing they can do is to go by their appearance and how clothes will fit them.
You should keep in mind that your ideal body weight need more to do with health than anything else. This means that the weight that is ideal for you is what is good for your heart and your long term health. No matter how good you will look in a swimwear, it is more important that you look better on your ideal body weight. You need not have to be in perfect shape but to know that you are within your ideal body weight will help make sure that you are around to watch your children and grandchildren grow up in the future.
ican Body is aspirational and inclusive for anyone who wants to be empowered to change and improve the way they look and feel. It makes no difference if your goal is to lose 200 pounds or 20 pounds or if you want washboard abs or a super lean hard body. icanBody.com is your best body achieved.