Ideal Weight | Healthy Weight | How Much

By Alex Assoune Mar 12, 2018

What is your ideal weight? If you are asking yourself this question, you are not alone! It is not an easy task to find out your healthy weight.

How much should you weigh for your age? For most people, a look at your BMI (Body Mass Index) is a good way to determine a healthy weight.

You can use a BMI calculator or a chart to look at your height and weight. These are good clues to learn how much you should weight.

But this estimation is not the most accurate. Your ideal weight depends on many factors. Your age, gender, size, waist, bone density, frame, fat percentage and distribution.

Many other methods exist to determine your healthy weight. Everybody is unique and no method is valid for everyone. Avoid comparing yourself to others.

Here are a few tips to find out what your ideal weight should be.

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Determining Your BMI To Find Your Ideal Weight.

A great tool to determine your ideal weight is the BMI. Keep in mind that weight is not the most important factor for health. Keep some perspective on your weight.

It is less important to find out how much you should weight. Instead, focus on getting healthy by reducing fat percentage.

Replacing fat with muscle is a great way to boost your metabolism. Your calorie burning rate will increase. It is a major factor that promotes health and weight loss.

Determining how much your should weight depends on a lot more than just height and gender. The BMI is a good approximation but not a perfect measure.

Calculating your BMI is a good way to find out if you are overweight.

If your BMI is less than 18.5, you are underweight. Healthy eating is a great solution.
If your BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9, you are in the recommended weight range.
If your BMI is 25 to 29.9, you are in the overweight category.
If your BMI is 30 or higher, you’re in the obese category.

Diabetes, heart diseases and high blood pressure are common for BMI over 30. You should definitely lose weight to limit health risks.

Other Methods To Find Your Ideal Weight.

Measuring your waist size is another way to find your ideal weight. It helps you count how much fat you stored around your belly.

Fit a tape measure around your waist without pressing into your skin. A healthy waist is for most people:

Less than 88cm for women (35in.).
Less than 102 cm for men (40in.).

BMI does not take your waist into account. It does not use bone density either to determine your ideal weight. BMI is not generally useful to see if you have good health.

You can use the waist-hip ratio (WHR) for more accuracy. Measure the smallest circumference of your waist divided by the circumference of your hip at its widest part.

WHR for males: over 0.9 is considered overweight.
WHR for females: over 0.8 is considered overweight.

The WHR is a much better indicator for ideal weight. To avoid severe health conditions, keep your WHR under the values above.

WHR does not measure body fat percentage or muscle-to-fat ratio. It is the weight of your fat divided by your total weight. This separates essential fat from storage fat.

Every body need essential fat, a certain amount a fat to survive. 10-12% for women, 2-5% for men.

Recommended total fat percentages are 21-24% for women, 14-17% for men.

Fat percentage is the best way to assess your fitness level. It is not 100% accurate but gives a fair estimation.

You can find out your body fat percentages in many gyms and with your doctor.

Self-Acceptance And Happiness.

You are not alone if you have a healthy weight but you are still unhappy. It is now hard to be satisfied about how you look with so many images of unrealistic body goals around.

Remember that there is no ideal weight, shape, size or type. Being skinny is not the norm. Instead, focus on how you feel.

Do you feel good about yourself? Do you have plenty of energy? Are you doing fulfilling activities?

What matters is healthy living. Your weight is just a number on a scale. Extreme dieting and hours spent doing cardioare detrimental and not sustainable.

Yoga teaches acceptance and compassion, for yourself and others. It increases self-awareness and mindfulness.

Regular yoga practice helps you appreciate your life and your body even more. You will get fit, healthy making small lifestyle changes towards the healthiest, happiest you.

Inspirations:

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About the Author: Alex Assoune

Alex Assoune (MS) is a global health and environmental advocate. He founded Panaprium to inspire others with conscious living, ethical, and sustainable fashion. Alex has worked in many countries to address social and environmental issues. He speaks three languages and holds two Master of Science degrees in Engineering from SIGMA and IFPEN schools.

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