How and why calculate your ideal weight?
How to know your ideal weight?
The morphology of the body is different for each person. Muscular and fat masses are different depending on whether you are a man or a woman. There are also differences according to age.
So, how can we get an idea?
There are two indicators that can help us! They allow us to verify if our weight is within a normal (healthy) curve compared to undernutrition or overweight. In other words, they allow you to calculate your healthy weight!
Don’t worry, they are relatively easy to calculate. They are the body mass index and the fat mass index. If the results are interpreted using ranges, it gives a good indication of where you stand in relation to your weight, height, gender and age.
Calculating and interpreting the Body Mass Index, BMI?
The BMI (Body Mass Index) indicator allows you to check if your weight is adapted to your height. It has been validated by the World Health Organization (WHO) for people between 18 and 65 years old. For children, there is a growth curve that gives a better indication. For athletes who have developed muscle mass or pregnant women they can not use this indicator to establish their ideal weight.
Here is how to calculate your BMI:
Simply divide your current weight by the square of your height:
BMI = Weight/(height x height)
Here is an example: Weight = 69 Kg; height = 1.77
BMI = 69/(1.77 x 1.77)
BMI = 22.02
Once you have calculated your BMI, you can interpret your result using this list:
16.5 = starvation
16.5 to 18.5 = thin
18.5 to 25 = normal weight (our example)
25 to 30 = overweight
30 to 35 = moderate obesity
35 to 40 = severe obesity
40+ = morbidly obese
Calculating and interpreting your Body fat percentage?
If the BMI gives some indication of your ideal weight in relation to your height, it is not precise enough if we know that men and women have a very different morphology and that, depending on age, there are also a number of differences. To have a little more precision, after calculating your BMI, you can calculate the fat mass indexI. This index is expressed as a percentage and shows the difference between body fat and body muscle mass.
Here is how to calculate your Body fat percentage:
The formula to calculate the IMG, takes into account the BMI, your age (in years) and your gender (0= female and 1= male), the numbers are constant values:
Body fat percentage = (1.2 x BMI) + (0.23 x age) – (10.83 x Gender) – 5.4
Here is an example: BMI from the previous example = 22.02; for a woman (=0); 34 years old.
= (1.2 x 22.02) + (0.23 x 34) – (10.83 x 0)- 5.4
= 26,424 + 7,82 – 0 – 5,4
= 28,844
Once you have calculated your body fat index, you can interpret your result with this list:
For a woman:
– 25% = too skinny
25% to 30% = normal (our example)
+ 30 % or more = too much fat
For a man:
– 15% = too skinny
15% to 20% = normal
+ more than 20% = too fat
Why use these indices as references?
These two easy-to-calculate indices give an interesting indication of your healthy weight! where you stand in relation to your weight, height, age and gender.
While they give a good indication, they do not reflect the different body types and anatomy of everyone. That’s why the most athletic people could easily fall into the obesity category! This is simply because the muscle mass weighs heavily and is important.
Similarly, some people have bones that weigh more than others, or have more or less muscle. This is why, as we said above, it is recommended not to use it for children, athletes, pregnant women and the elderly, because it does not correctly reflect reality.
If, for example, you are in the normal weight range that corresponds to a healthy weight, but you still want to lose a few pounds or gain some. You must make sure that you do not change your weight category drastically. For the vast majority of people, these indicators are effective.
A little tip: you can use these indicators in different ways! For example, by calculating your BMI and Body fat percentage with your desired weight to ensure that your expectations are realistic in terms of health.
How to reach my ideal weight?
When it comes to dieting, nothing is better than the help of professionals in the field! If you need help in your weight loss journey, come and discover the different solutions offered by the slimming motivation clinic! Whether it be through audio guides for weight loss, books or through our incredible pro coaching. Motivation brings you all the help you need to reach your goals!
