Goal Weight or Ideal Weight

kevinellis

Goal Weight, Ideal Weight

What is your goal weight? How is it defined? Who determines it anyway?
When picking a weight for yourself, checking the federal government's standard guidelines for adults can be helpful. Don't just land on one number; choose a range of three to five pounds. After all, body weights naturally fluctuate, especially among women, and it's unlikely that your weight will stay exactly the same day after day, no matter how diligent you are about your diet and exercise program. There's no point in setting yourself up for psychological disappointment, and if you allow yourself a range of a few pounds, you'll still be able to monitor how you're doing, and catch yourself in plenty of time if your weight starts creeping up past that acceptable limit.
Note that the ranges are for both men and women, with the higher numbers in the range intended for men. Also note that the heights are measured without shoes on and the weights taken without clothes on.
Height Weight
19 to 34 years 35 and older
5'0" 97 - 128 108 - 138
5'1" 101 - 132 111 – 143
5'2" 104 - 137 115 – 148
5'3" 107 - 141 119 – 152
5'4" 111 - 146 122 – 157
5'5" 114 - 150 126 – 162
5'6" 118 - 155 130 – 167
5'7" 121 - 160 134 – 172
5'8" 125 - 164 138 – 178
5'9" 129 - 169 142 – 183
5'10" 132 - 174 146 – 188
5'11" 136 - 179 151 – 194
6'0" 140 - 184 155 – 199
6'1" 144 - 189 159 – 205
6'2" 148 - 195 164 – 210
6'3" 152 - 200 168 – 216
6'4" 156 - 205 173 – 222
6'5" 160 - 211 177 – 228
6'6" 164 - 216 182 – 234

Now looking at that chart above what does that tell you? I believe the message it is conveying is poor at best. I personally don’t believe that there really is an ideal weight or as I stated above a goal weight. I believe that it should be determined by the activity you are taking part in. Now with that said, DON’T USE THAT AS AN EXCUSE TO NOT GET YOURSELF IN BETTER CONDITION! I know some of you will begin to relax and use the fact that you cannot lose weight as your ideal weight even though you are still suffering from overweight related illnesses. So don’t go there.
Depending on the activity we are doing our bodies need to prepare themselves for the load or stress we will be putting on them. As an example take a 6’6” football player who plays the offensive line, do you think that he should be no more than 234 pounds? I would hope not. However the opposing defensive line would love that. What about a 6’3” marathon runner, think they should be 216 pounds? Well if you want to take all day to run the course, why not.

My point is this, we need not to look at the “guide-lines” the federal government puts out because it is just impossible generalize over such a great population of people. However, this is what you need to gage your “ideal weight” with;

1) How are your blood numbers? Cholesterol (HDL, LDL) if your HDL is over 60 then it really doesn’t matter what your total cholesterol is. (THIS IS WITHOUT MEDICATIONS). Medications really doesn’t make you better, it just stabilize you. Your true numbers are those without the drugs in you.
2) Are you physically able to perform the duties you need to on a daily basis and if called upon go above and beyond what you normally do? Conditioning is the key here. Being able to push yourself without feeling as though you are totally fatigued.
3) Can you walk 5 miles in less than seventy five minutes? This is a fifteen minute mile. The average American can walk a 12 minute mile while sipping on a cappuccino and talking on their cell phone.
4) What are your measurements? (Hips, Abdominal, Chest, Neck, Upper Arms, Upper Legs) Very important because if your body is out of proportion you could be doing some damage to your skeletal system. As an example, men with protruding stomachs tend to complain about lower back issues.
5) How are your sleeping patterns? Do you snore so loud that you wake up your neighbors? Do you only get one or two hours a sleep at a time? Do you wake up tired and then can’t shake it throughout the day? Can you get to sleep without medications?
6) How’s your sex drive? Well I won’t go into detail, but studies show that a body that is well taken care of has no problem with response time. (THIS IS WITHOUT MEDICATIONS GUYS)

These are just a few of the questions you need to answer. If all of these questions are answered in the positive then you are in good condition, now just try and constantly improve on it. Soon I will discuss what I mean by that but I will tell you this, by trying to consistently improve on your health, you will slow the aging processes down and you will stay and feel younger longer.

Well enough on that now. Remember get your mind off of what they say YOU should be or look like. If that were the case, I would be considered grade 1 obese.

SheehyCFC

Really like this information you gave out. People get entirely too stuck up on "ideals" instead of "feeling". I'd much rather the government tell me I was obese and have myself feel (psychologically) and look (self-image) great, then the other way around!

The one thing I would note, is that a 12 min mile (5mph pace) is about the limit for some people... I would imagine it's closer to a 14-15 minute mile sipping on that cappuccino and talking on the phone

nukehiker

so i hope i read the chart right, since im over 35 ( i'm 48 ) and i am 5'10" my top weight according to the scale would be 188. well my goal weight is 190. i'm currently 210 and started the year at 222. i'm on my way just 20 more lbs !! can i get a woot woot ?

erickirb

Does this differentiate between men and women? If not, not very reliable as men should weigh more then women of the same height. I like this better
Women at 5' should be 100lbs and add 5 lbs/inch (+/- 10%)
Men at 5' should be 106 and add 6 lbs/inch (+/- 10%)

a 5'10 woman's ideal would be 150 with a range of 135-165
a 5'10 man's ideal would be 166 with a range of 149.5-182.6

SheehyCFC

Does this differentiate between men and women? If not, not very reliable as men should weigh more then women of the same height.

Based on what I read - first set of #'s is for women, 2nd set for men... and the ranges have a lee-way of +-4 lbs from what you wrote... but it's close. I think what he's really trying to say is, make sure you are happy with where you want to end up... don't necessarily just base it on a government guideline.

think48

Does this differentiate between men and women? If not, not very reliable as men should weigh more then women of the same height. I like this better
Women at 5' should be 100lbs and add 5 lbs/inch (+/- 10%)
Men at 5' should be 106 and add 6 lbs/inch (+/- 10%)

a 5'10 woman's ideal would be 150 with a range of 135-165
a 5'10 man's ideal would be 166 with a range of 149.5-182.6

My mom is a dietician (different than nutritionist) and this has always been her golden rule. Stated above is for medium frame (your fingers touch around your wrist). Small frame you start at 95 pounds (fingers overlap around wrist) and large frame you start at 105 pounds (fingers don't touch around wrist.)

This has always been my favorite way of determining weight, but I am also biased towards my awesome mother.

erickirb

I got the happy where you are part. It doesn't differentiate, one set is for under 35 the other 35 and over, I see he said the top end for men lower for women, kind of like BMI though, should separate men and women. Not that the OP created the chart just saying.

SheehyCFC

I got the happy where you are part. It doesn't differentiate, one set is for under 35 the other 35 and over, I see he said the top end for men lower for women, kind of like BMI though, should separate men and women. Not that the OP created the chart just saying.

Whoops. missed that the first time. Good point though. Interesting that it more less (+-3 or 4 lbs either side) matches women vs. men to under 35 vs. over 35