28 January 2008 -  Jacksonville, Florida USA                                        

 

What’s Your  Ideal Weight?

This post was inspired by Geri who inquired about my target weight. Well, my ideal weight goal may not be same as yours even though we are basically on the same gender. There is no such thing as preset weight for all women because each woman is different in terms of body-build, body frame and height. Ideal weight is a term used by doctors and health professionals that refers to how much you should weigh based on your height, gender, and age.

With my current weight (114.5 lbs = 52.045 kilos), everybody at work except my fitness buddies thinks I am obsessed for turning myself into a gym fanatic but sh*t when you are 40, whilst signs of early perimenopause—the beginning of hormonal change, is starting to hit on you, you’ve got to do what you need to do to stay fit. I tell you, 40 isn’t too bad right now as I muddle-through this life’s reality well enough to look like I am still in early 30’s, at least people I know thought so ;-)

Alright, I am not trying to lose weight to be skinny. On the contrary, never did I consider Angelina Jolie as sexy nor I envision myself to be as skinny as most fashion models. If truth to be told, skeletal women with no butt look so sick to me! Skinny women don’t appeal to me as much as the meaty yet toned body like JeLo's contour.

Nonetheless, with the body built, frame and height like mine (I am only 4 feet and 10 inches with broad shoulder, boney and a little muscled) The doctor as well as DH and I are in consensus that the ideal weight for me is between 105 lbs (47 kilos) to 108 lbs (49 kilos). I am actually very fond of my body when I weight 108 lbs at the most. So there I am only 8 lbs away to hit my weight goal :-)

But DH and I were really crazy and bad this weekend.  We dined out 2 days in a row. Saturday we took MIL to Ruby Tuesday and then Sunday we rode our motorcycle to St Augustine, FL at 41°F  (so I froze my butt off) and had lunch at Bono's BBQ.  As expected, this morning, I gained a whopping 1.5 lbs!!!

According to this source,

Ideal Weight Chart for Women
Weight in pounds, based on ages 25-59 with the lowest mortality rate
Click here to calculate frame size

Height	Small Frame	Medium Frame	Large Frame
4'10"	102-111	109-121	118-131
4'11"	103-113	111-123	120-134
5'0"	104-115	113-126	122-137
5'1"	106-118	115-129	125-140
5'2"	108-121	118-132	128-143
5'3"	111-124	121-135	131-147
5'4"	114-127	124-138	134-151
5'5"	117-130	127-141	137-155
5'6"	120-133	130-144	140-159
5'7"	123-136	133-147	143-163
5'8"	126-139	136-150	146-167
5'9"	129-142	139-153	149-170
5'10"	132-145	142-156	152-173
5'11"	135-148	145-159	155-176
6'0"	138-151	148-162	158-179

 

Here are some bits and pieces that we all need to be aware of.  Knowing these numbers — and whether they need to go up or down — could save your life.

The main components health experts considered to be the crucial numbers are:
 

1. Body Mass Index (BMI)
   
   BMI is a number calculated from your height and weight and represents what you should weigh based on how tall you are. A healthy BMI for an adult generally falls between 18.5 to 24.9; 25 to 29.9 is overweight and 30 or higher is considered obese.
   
   HOWEVER, BMI is not always an accurate way to determine whether a person is overweight since muscle weighs more than fat, so people who are unusually muscular and lift weights regularly may have a high BMI yet they are very healthy.
   
   For gray folks older than 65, a slightly higher BMI may help protect them from osteoporosis thus it is often better to have a BMI between 25 and 27, rather than under 25.
   
   Use this calculator you find out your BMI:
   
   Here’s the calculator to find out the recommended calorie intake for each individual:
   
    

2. Blood Pressure
   
   115/75 mm Hg is ideal
   120/80 mm Hg is normal
   140/90 mm Hg or above is high
   
    

3. Cholesterol: Total cholesterol should be less than 200 mg/dL
   
   HDL levels at 60 mg/dL or above are ideal and can even reduce heart-disease risk;  Levels below 40 mg/dL can increase risk.
   LDL levels should be below 160 mg/dL
   Triglycerides should be below 150.
   
    

4. Blood Sugar
   
   This is a measure of how much sugar (glucose) is in your blood. High blood sugar can signal diabetes. Levels below 100 mg/dL are healthy; levels between 100 mg/dL and 126 mg/dL are considered pre-diabetes and need to be lowered; and levels of 126 mg/dL or higher typically results in a diabetes diagnosis.
   
    

5. Waist Line - the measurement of waist circumference, and your waist-to-hip ratio.
   
   It's the number of inches around your unclothed abdomen, just above your hip bone. Larger waistlines have been linked to higher risk of diseases because of the fat's proximity to your organs. You want a measurement of 35 inches or below; any higher puts you at greater risk for myriad diseases, including heart disease.

That's all for today.  Next post: What's in your kitchen?