Finding your Ideal Body Weight

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Your Ideal Body Weight is that weight at which your body is functioning at its best, and you are suffering from no illnesses. Therefore, being skinny or being within the healthy weight range does not mean you are healthy, just as being overweight does not mean you are unhealthy. 

"A combination of factors determines our weight, and that's why it's difficult to set an exact ideal weight that applies to everyone. It's important to remember there's a range of healthy body weights. Aiming to keep within this means an end to aspiring to one magic weight you think you should be.

Many people have a distorted perception of what constitutes a healthy body weight. We're surrounded by images of celebrities, many of whom are underweight. Comparing yourself with these images isn't helpful. But comparing yourself to friends and family isn't that useful either, because as obesity becomes more common our perception of 'average' weight may in fact be too heavy.

It's important to make an objective assessment of your size. Looking at yourself in the mirror isn't a good way to assess whether you're a healthy weight."  Dr. Susan Jebb at BBC Health  

Your Ideal Body Weight is dependent on you. Speaking to a professional is your best bet to determine what this means to you personally. From my point of view, if you have no illnesses nor complications, the most you should aim for is to remain active and fit and maintain this status through proper nutrition. 

Weight loss and Weight gain are usually recommended to individuals who are suffering from health-related complications. It is for this very reason that experimenting with your weight on your own, or for aesthetic reasons is not recommended. Losing too much weight at a time and gaining too much weight have the same outcome on the body. A negative one.

Question: When last did you have a medical check-up? Were your blood cholesterol, iron, and sugar levels within the normal range? How did you feel in general? Are there members in your family who have Hypertension, Diabetes, Kidney problems, or Cancer? These are some of the more pertinent issues that need to be addressed before one decides to lose weight.

Do you agree with my definition of the Ideal Body Weight? Feel free to comment below.