
How to know what your ideal weight is and how to maintain it
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Beyond looking good, maintaining a healthy body weight helps you significantly reduce the chances of developing diseases such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high levels of bad cholesterol or triglycerides.
Excess body fat disrupts your endocrine system, i.e. your hormones; it hampers the proper functioning of your body's organs and triggers a number of physiological changes, laying the groundwork for chronic diseases.
Find out my reasons for convincing you to learn and incorporate lifestyle habits that will bring you closer to your ideal weight.
Reasons to reach your ideal weight
- Improve your everyday physical mobility
The human body is designed for physical activity. During activity, your muscles are activated, transporting oxygen and nutrients to the body while strengthening and maintaining your good posture and full range of motion and body plasticity.
People who gain weight lose mobility and become more sedentary, which leads to further weight gain.
- Protect you from age-related diseases
Knowing your ideal weight and maintaining it, or at least being close to it, protects you from chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, but also from others such as chronic inflammation, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, cognitive decline and cellular damage.
- Improve your sleep quality
Excess fat, especially in the abdominal area, prevents the lungs from expanding fully. This prevents you from breathing deeply, reducing your chances of getting a restful night's sleep. Being overweight also increases your risk of obstructive sleep apnea, which is when you stop breathing several times while you sleep.
- Being at your ideal weight motivates you to exercise to stay in shape.
Adults who maintain a healthy body mass index (BMI) are more likely to want to stay healthy by exercising and participating in physical activities that appeal to them or are easy for them.
- Improve and maintain good mental health
Inflammatory chemicals produced by excess body fat not only interfere with the substances that make us feel good, but they also increase stress-related hormones.
On the other hand, the feeling of well-being and tranquility has a biological basis and it is that the body produces chemical substances or hormones that help it to better cope with stress, stimulate good feelings and optimism.
It is not surprising then that obesity increases the risk of depression. It has been found that more than 40% of adults with depression are obese, so staying close to your ideal weight is as important for your emotional health as it is for your physical health.
- Improves libido
Excess weight appears to be inversely proportional to sexual desire. A high body mass index (BMI) has been found to reduce sexual appetite. Sexual health, among other factors, depends on balanced hormonal patterns and if hormones are unbalanced, it is very likely that sexual desire will be lethargic.
- Better sexual performance
Being overweight is a factor that can affect sexual relations and your performance during them. In men, obesity is an independent risk factor for erectile dysfunction (ED), a condition that interferes with the ability to develop and maintain an erection.
Obese men are much more likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction than men with a healthy BMI.
- More energy and better sports performance
Being overweight is simply an extra burden that makes it difficult for the body to perform and use energy efficiently. Just carrying a few shopping bags makes it difficult to move around smoothly, now imagine the stress that comes with carrying a few extra kilos everywhere.
Decreased energy levels make it difficult to feel good and exercise, and lack of exercise leads to further weight gain making it a vicious cycle that is increasingly difficult to break out of.
How to calculate your ideal weight
When calculating your ideal weight, you will notice that it is not an exact number, but rather falls within a range. This is because your ideal weight depends on several factors that must be taken into account, such as age, sex, body constitution (thin, medium or wide bones), genetics, medical history and lifestyle habits, mainly.
Body mass index (BMI) measures weight standardized for height, and although it does not directly measure body fat or composition, research has shown that BMI measurement is closely related to other methods that directly measure body fat.
In this link you will find a calculator for your ideal weight according to various methods used over the last 50 years. However, I recommend that you follow the BMI method, as it is the most up-to-date and takes into account the range I am talking about, which exists between people with thin, medium and thick bones, making the calculation more precise.
https://calculator-online.net/es/ideal-weight-calculator/
How to lose weight safely
The process must be slow but constant. According to Harvard Health Magazine, people who lose about 2 pounds per week are more successful at maintaining their ideal weight. This allows the body to adjust to the change and may reduce the risk of developing strong cravings and feelings of deprivation that often accompany more rapid weight loss.
Permanent monitoring and personal management. This refers to setting achievable goals for yourself each day or week through journaling or meal planning that provide you with insight and accountability for your eating behaviors. This category also includes problem-solving, such as having a plan for "slippage" if you gain weight due to stressful life changes, vacations, or work demands.
Create a support system . Research suggests that keeping in frequent contact with others for support (e.g., a trusted family member or friend, a doctor, a health coach, a registered dietitian) can help give you the encouragement and strength to take on your challenge.
Develop healthy eating patterns . Calorie reduction remains the most effective approach to weight control. Many dietary strategies exist (e.g., high-carb/low-fat vs. low-carb/high-fat vs. intermittent fasting or a Mediterranean diet). Choose the strategy that best suits you or the one that best adapts to you and start your journey towards your ideal weight.
Stay active . Exercise is one component of maintaining a healthy weight and preventing weight gain, but it also plays a key role in well-being and mental health.
Some people need more exercise and others less to maintain their ideal weight. The amount needed will depend on genes and lifestyle. And doing different types of exercise can further broaden the range of benefits.
Mindfulness or conscious eating . Are you the type of person who eats too quickly or while distracted by watching TV or browsing on your phone? Do you eat out of stress or even when you are not hungry?
Mindful eating addresses these behaviors associated with weight gain. Increasing awareness and appreciation of food can provide greater satisfaction, both physically and mentally, which can help reduce overeating.
Prioritize self-care . In a society filled with endless demands and hurries, taking care of our bodies can quickly fall to the bottom of our priority list. Taking time to attend to our emotional, physical, and spiritual needs can support a healthy weight.
Self-care can help improve mood and feelings of well-being, and increase motivation and energy levels. This allows you to accept yourself, understand your mistakes, rethink your food choices and give yourself the strength to continue.
What not to do if you want to reach and maintain your ideal weight
Obesity has been hailed as the true pandemic of the 21st century, and a large part of the blame lies with a sedentary lifestyle. We are all suffering from higher levels of stress than in previous years and we often adopt unhealthy behaviour patterns due to changes in eating habits or other risky behaviours.
In other words, the number of people with metabolic syndrome has increased, with a much greater likelihood of suffering from cardiovascular problems that will shorten their life expectancy.
Wegovy, Rybelsus or Ozempic are prescription drugs for people with a BMI greater than 27%. These drugs have the same ingredient: semaglutide; and with the same purpose: regulating blood sugar and anti-obesity.
There have been some studies done on obese and diabetic people on which they have had a significant effect.
However, you should know that side effects include:
Nausea and vomiting, diarrhea and constipation, abdominal pain, indigestion, headache, fatigue, dizziness, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) in patients with type 2 diabetes, gastroenteritis and flatulence.
Additionally, Wegovy or Ozempic come with other warnings:
Risk of parafollicular thyroid tumors
Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas)
Gallbladder disorders such as stones
Kidney damage
Diabetic retinopathy (damage to the retina of the eye)
Change in heart rate
Suicidal thoughts and behavior
Along with the weekly injection of any of these medications, it is recommended to consume whole, nutrient-rich foods:
Choose minimally processed foods that contain a variety of essential nutrients, vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein. For example, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats.
Stay hydrated because, as the instructions or probably the health provider who prescribed it to you indicate, drinking enough water is essential for the proper functioning of the body. So, in principle, you should try to drink at least eight glasses of water a day and limit the consumption of sugary drinks.
The question is how many people who inject this medication follow that protocol?
According to an article by Dr. Joseph Mercola,
“The crux of the problem is that this drug does nothing to address the cause of obesity. It is simply manipulating brain chemistry to artificially suppress appetite, potentially leading to suicide in the process.
Meanwhile, research has shown that processed foods affect the brain in detrimental ways, leading to anxiety, depression, and cognitive decline. So basically, many are eating processed junk that deregulates their brain, and then they take a drug that just deregulates their brain even more.”
What are considered ultra-processed foods?
Ultra-processed foods include
- Carbonated soft drinks (sodas);
- Packaged sweet or savory snacks;
- Chocolate, candy (confectionery); ice cream;
- Mass-produced packaged breads and pastries;
- Margarines and other spreads;
- Biscuits (cookies), cakes, pies and cake mixes;
- Breakfast cereals;
- Pre-cooked cakes, pastries and pizzas;
- "Breaded" poultry and fish products, sausages, hamburgers, hot dogs and other reconstituted meat products;
- Powdered and packaged "instant" soups, ramen noodles, desserts, and more.
There is also a warning about foods containing vegetable or seed oils, such as corn, sunflower, canola, cottonseed, soybean, grapeseed and safflower oil.
Seed oils are commonly used in cooking, even in home cooking, but if you want to lose weight and improve your health, they should be strictly avoided as they are high in omega-6 linoleic acid, which is increasingly being found to be one of the main causes of chronic diseases.
Your path to achieving your ideal body weight and staying there is based on acquiring good eating habits, choosing above all, healthy and good quality foods, as well as good hydration and exercise. No magic pill or injection can do what only you, with awareness and dedication, can achieve.