Goal Weight

 Many people ask me how much they should weigh.  Most people know if they are overweight or thin.  But it is much harder to know the difference between being a little overweight and very overweight.

 Taller people can weigh more without causing health problems.  Shorter people should weigh less than tall people.   Tall or short however your waist should be about the same.  So women should have a waist smaller than 35 inches.  A man should have a waist smaller than 40 inches.  People with larger waists are much more likely to have heart problems.

Another rough guide is that people that weigh 200 pounds should be at least 6 feet 3 inches tall to be considered to have an ideal weight.    If you are shorter than this, you weigh too much.

 If you weigh 250 pounds or more you really should be at least 7 feet tall to be considered to have an ideal weight.

 These numbers are based on a number called “BMI”, which calculates your best weight for your height. A person with a BMI of 25 or lower will have the fewest health problems.  You can go to this website to calculate your BMI.

http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi

 Studies have shown that even small amounts of weight loss can improve a person’s health.  A loss of 10% is a good goal.  So if you weigh 250 pounds, losing just 25 pounds can truly improve your health and reduce your risk for health problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, strokes and heart attacks.  You should lose this weight slowly.  People that lose quickly tend to regain the weight.  The goal should be to lose this much weight over 3 to 6 months.

 How do people lose weight and keep if off?

• 95% use both diet and exercise.
• 4% use diet alone.
• 1% use exercise alone.

 Diet with exercise, over months works the best.

 So how much should you weigh?  If you weigh too much your goal should be to lose 10% of your weight slowly.  Losing more weight by making good changes in your life has even more benefits.