Everywhere you turn there's this continuous chatter, going on, about the "ideal weight" for a woman. Some claim to know, or have, the solution, but, what does that mean?
Technically, if the chart is your measuring stick, you can be overweight, and look gorgeous rocking your curves, or you can be just a smidge above your ideal weight, and spread like a sack of potatoes. If that's the case, then ladies what does it really mean to be the correct, or ideal, weight?
There are several factors to take into account when determining what weight you should be:
1. The correct weight for height.
This is an easy one. Someone who is 5'9" is going to carry 163 pounds—the average weight for women in America—much better than someone who is only 4'11". Simple logic, of course, yet, so many women strive to attain to a certain number on the scale, ignoring this simple truth.
At 5'3" and 163 pounds, the average woman could stand to lose about 30-ish pounds; the target weight is 128 pounds for that height.
2. The correct weight for your frame.
Even formal weight charts for men and women split ideal weights into not only height, but small, medium and large frame sizes. This is the difference that people usually refer to as "petite" or "big-boned". Women are built differently, and you have to take into account, realistically, how you're built when considering your ideal weight.
Again taking the average height for women, a small frame should be 111 to 124 pounds; medium frame: 121 to 135 pounds; and a large frame: 131 to 147 pounds.
3. The correct weight per your body mass index (BMI).
Your BMI helps you to weigh the health risk factor in your height/weight ratio. Again, it's important to also look in the mirror and figure in your body frame as well.
But more often these days' doctors and health experts are using BMI to help people take the scale's numbers out of the equation, and, instead, focus on the health aspect that's often forgotten when setting weight loss goals.
There are four BMI categories:
• A BMI if less than 19 means you're underweight.
• A BMI of 19-25 is the range you want to be in for normal weight.
• If your BMI is between 25 and 30, you're considered overweight.
• More than 30 BMI is in the obese range, where you are at the greatest risk for weight-related health problems.
The average woman, being 5'3" and 163 pounds, has a BMI of 28.9, and, because of that, is on the high end of overweight—leaning toward obesity.
There are a variety of ways to determine what the correct weight for height is; they all do a good job of pointing toward the same basic result, which tells you if weight loss is necessary. However, the most important thing to take into account is how you feel about your body, and how you are going to go about achieving the happiness that you deserve.