Fitness and Muscle

A question that I often get asked by new clients is How Much Should I Weigh? or What Is My Ideal Weight?.

The short answer? Your ideal weight is one that you feel comfortable and confident at.  Chances are that if you are at a weight that you feel good about, then you’re probably in good shape!

Calculating your BMI is a more scientific approach when asking yourself how much should I weigh.  Your BMI works out your weight in relation to your height.  To do this click here.

It is regarded that

• A BMI of over 30 is obese
• Between 25 and 30 is overweight
• Between 18.5 and 25 is ideal
• Less than 18.5 is underweight

Personally I find the Body Mass Index to be a flawed approach, as it does not take into account muscle mass. As muscle is heavier than fat, people with a muscular physique will weigh more than the average person and may be classed as overweight in terms of BMI, even if they live a healthy lifestyle!

BMI can overestimate body fat in muscular people, and underestimate it in those who are overweight.

When asking yourself how much should I weigh, I prefer to look at the waist-hip ratio as a more accurate way to workout if you are overweight

Waist -hip ratio is the ratio of the size of your waist in comparison to your hips.

To do this

• measure the circumference of your hips at the widest part of your buttocks.
• Now measure your waist at the smaller circumference of your smaller waist, which is usually above the bellybutton.
• Divide the waist measurement by the hip measurement

• Male WHR
  • Less than 9 – low risk of cardiovascular health problems
  • 0.9 to 0.99 – moderate risk of cardiovascular health problems
  • 1 or over – high risk of cardiovascular problems
• Female WHR
  • Less than 0.8 – low risk of cardiovascular health problems
  • 0.8 to 0.89 – moderate risk of cardiovascular health problems
  • 0.9 or over – high risk of cardiovascular problems

This is a more accurate way to determine how healthy you are, in comparison to BMI.

So really the question you should be asking is not how much should I weigh, but instead how healthy am I.  Health and weight are not always directly correlated.

If you’re overweight then I recommend that you check out my review of The Abs Diet. It has some great information on losing weight and keeping it off.