The Secret to Finding Your Healthy Weight
So, that is one of the big secrets—your body knows where it functions best … The secret to losing weight is … remain active and make good food choices. I know that you might be discouraged by that answer, but it is true. One of the reasons why it is meant to be kept a secret is that the dieting and weight loss industry makes more than 33 billion dollars a year on our collective continued failures. If we all succeeded in losing the weight we hoped to lose and keeping it off, the diet industry would go out of business, right? I think that you will agree with me when I say there are more diets than you can list, and you may have tried them all. Of all the diets that you have put your body and mind through, have any of them told you what your healthy weight is? Or is this something that you determined for yourself? Do you know what your healthy weight is? Let’s take time to tell you the truth. The truth is that there is currently no definitive way to assess where your body functions best. There are, however, several ways to assess your weight. One way is by checking your BMI (Body Mass Index).
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) present another way of determining your medically healthy weight. According to the NIH, you can determine your medical health by doing the following: Get a measuring tape. Measure your waist circumference by placing a tape measure around your body at the level of the upper most part of your hipbone (this is usually at the level of your navel). You are at increased risk for health problems if you are:
- A man with a waist measurement greater than 40 inches (101.6 cm).
- A woman with a waist measurement greater than 35 inches (88.9 cm).
The NIH also recommends calculating your waist-to-hip ratio. To accomplish this, use a tape measure to measure your waist at your bellybutton. Next, measure your hips at their widest point (standing with your feet apart, in a relaxed position). Then divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement. Ideally,
- Women want to be at .80 or less.
- Men want to be at .95 or less
These are the medical evaluations used to determine health.
