What is the Ideal Weight for Men?

There is no definitive ideal weight for men; a man's weight is influenced by a number of factors, including his height, frame, and degree of musculature. Therefore each man has his own individual ideal weight.

Ideal weight and BMI

A crude estimate of the ideal weight for men can be obtained by using the body mass index (BMI) scale. A man's BMI is the ratio of his weight in kilograms to the square of his height in meters. You can use an online calculator to help you to calculate your BMI; the calculator will do the math for you and give you the result. According to the world health organization (WHO), a healthy BMI is between 18.5 and 25. A BMI of less than 18.5 means that you are underweight and a BMI of more than 25 means that you are overweight; over 30 is classed as obese. The ideal weight for men is roughly in the middle of the BMI range, at around 22.5.

Why care about your BMI?

Men who fall outside of the healthy BMI range (18.5 - 25) are at increased risk of health problems. Being underweight carries a higher risk of heart failure and can also lead to tiredness due to a lack of reserves to draw on for energy. Meanwhile, being overweight or obese leads to heart disease, strokes, diabetes, sleep apnea, and a whole range of other conditions. Obesity related diseases are the leading cause of death in the USA.

Frame size and BMI

Although the BMI scale is a useful guide to ideal body weight, it is a crude measure of fatness or thinness. It does not take into account differences in frame size between individuals. A man with a small frame should deduct 10% from his ideal body weight as calculated using the ideal BMI of 22.5 to find his true ideal body weight. Similarly, a large framed man should add 10%. Frame size refers to the size of your skeleton compared to that of the average man. Race has a big influence on frame size: Asian men usually have smaller frames and therefore should aim to maintain a lower BMI (the Japanese and Singaporeans define a healthy BMI as anywhere between 18.5 and 23).

Muscle mass and BMI

The BMI scale is notorious for giving unrealistic results for some groups of people. Athletes in particular often have BMIs which put them in the obese category. This is because muscle weighs much more than fat, so if you do a lot of exercise, you may find that you are above the ideal weight for men of your height. If this is the case for you, and you have no visible fat deposits, you might find it more helpful to forget about trying to shrink down to the ideal weight for men and instead focus on keeping your body toned.

Ideal body weight formulas

There are alternative ways of calculating the ideal weight for men besides the BMI scale. These include the Devine formula, which says that the ideal weight for men is 50 + 2.3 kg per inch in height over 5 feet. For comparison, the ideal weight for women is 45.5 + 2.3 kg per inch in height over 5 feet. Unlike BMI, the Devine formula takes into account the fact that men are usually heavier than women. This is because men naturally have more muscle and less fat than women, and muscle weighs more than fat. However, the Devine formula has been criticized for setting unrealistically low ideal body weights for short men.

Reaching your ideal body weight

Nearly 60% of American men weigh more than the ideal weight for men, having BMIs of 25 or more. If you are one of these men, there are some simple steps you can take to move closer to your ideal weight. Try eating five small meals a day rather than three large ones, and make sure that your meals are high in protein and fiber. This will help you to stay full and avoid high-fat and high-sugar snacks. Exercise is also important in burning excess calories. Although the resulting weight loss will probably be modest, since fat is replaced with heavier muscle, exercise has enormous benefits for the health of your heart and lungs. People who lose weight through exercise also find it easier to keep weight off than people who lose it through a strict diet; this could be because exercise raises the metabolism, so that the body burns calories faster. On the other hand, if you are underweight and need to gain in order to reach the ideal body weight for men, then combining a high-protein, high-fat diet with regular weight-bearing exercise, such as yoga or weight lifting, could help you to build muscle and put on a few pounds.

You and your body weight

Whatever your body weight, the most important things to remember are to eat a healthy diet containing plenty of fruit and vegetables, take regular exercise, and not worry too much about your weight. Some people naturally weigh slightly more or less than others, so don't obsess over getting to or staying exactly at the ideal body weight for men. Instead, focus on building fitness and stamina through sustained cardiovascular exercise, such as running or swimming, as well as developing your muscle tone through strengthening exercises.

References

BMI calculator: http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

Ideal weight formulas: http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/devine.htm

Health problems associated with obesity: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/6438.php

Yesterday I started tracking my calories using LoseIt.com. This is pretty cool software, and an excellent alternative to Weight Watchers On LIne, which I consider to be expensive.

As you can see in the attached graphic, it was a weird eating day, but I stayed under my calorie target. You can also see that I have some exercise calories included in my total, thanks to my fitbit. The fitbit links automatically to LoseIt.com. Very cool.

So, day one is a success.

On to day 2.

Regards,
Mark

Technorati Tags: loseIt

Well, sometimes you just have to admit that you had a plan and you failed to execute. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that I put this blog up to track my progress. But actually, it was a few months ago.

No progress, and no blog entries for the last 4 months.

No problem, however. Starting anew today.

I’ve done this before. The blog is supposed to help keep me accountable. Will have to redouble my efforts there.

This Time It’s (A Little) Different

This time, I am motivated by two things.

First my friend Lynn Terry. She has started a low carb blog over at TravelingLowCarb.com. I’ve known Lynn for a long time, and I am excited about her project. So excited that I have decided to kickstart my weightloss with a combination of low carb eating and exercise in the month of July.

Second, I have an accountability group over at GSPNCommunity.com. That should help as well.

I have decided to ditch Weight Watchers in favor of LoseIt.com. LoseIt.com is free and tracks calories (not points) which makes more sense to me anyway.

I also plan to start running again using Couch To 5K.

The Simple Weight Loss Plan is still the same:

• Limit calories and carbs
• Increase exercise
• Use cool tools to help

Here I go again. Wish me luck!

Regards,
Mark

I love my FitBit.

Review coming here soon. For now, check out the reviews on Amazon.

I’ve been telling people that I plan to lose 40 pounds, and I usually get a someone who will say something nice like “40 pounds?  You don’t need to lose 40 pounds!”

Well, actually, I need to lose 50 if you believe BMI.

My actual BMI is 31.1 as shown on the right in the Fit Bit software.  As you can see, according to that calculation, I am obese (anything over 30 is defined as obese).

Now, when I think of obese, I think of people on The Biggest Loser TV show.  But the truth is that my weight is not healthy.  Even at my target weight of 190, my BMI will be 25.8, which is still overweight (anything over BMI=25 is overweight).   But, we can worry about that when I get to 190. 

There are certain limitations to the BMI calculations.  The main one is that body type is ignored.  A golfer or soccer forward is on the same table as a wrestler or weight lifter.  Still, big numbers around 30 are bad, and smaller numbers around 25 are good.  So, there is no sense in debating the table until I get close to BMI=25.

You can calculate your own BMI here.

Well, it has been one busy week with Easter and all.  I did manage to get some things accomplished in spite of all the craziness.

• I got going on Weight Watchers online, but did not do a great job of logging information.  Need to kick that up a notch.  Goal for this week is to log everything from Sunday to Sunday (and I am already behind).
• I ordered some gear – a WiFi scale (more on this later) and a Fit Bit (more on this later too).  I am a gadget geek, so I figure that some electronics are in order to help me stay motivated.

Weight for Sunday was 228.5.  That’s down one pound from my previous starting weight of 230, and on plan for 1 pound per week.  Of course, in week one, that is going to be noise, water, etc.  But it is a start, and it is in the right direction.

Big goal for this week is to start Couch To 5K again.

More on this later!

Mark

Technorati Tags: weekly goals, weekly weigh in, weight watchers

Well, not such a bad day for my first day on Weight Watchers.  Tracking my food made me get wheat thins out of the candy machine instead of candy, and it made me order off the Guiltless Grill menu at Chilis.  Still, I was 2 points over my target yesterday (Tuesday).  Not bad for day 1, but I will try to do better today.

Part of my simple diet plan is to limit carbs.  I should have substituted steamed veggies for rice last night at Chilli’s.  But, I had already ordered before I even thought about it.  Limiting carbs will be a new habit that I need to work on.

Here is what the points tracker looked like yesterday

Technorati Tags: Chili’s, limit carbs, low carb diet, weight watchers

This is a brand new blog about Mark's weight loss journey from 230 to 190 pounds in 36 weeks. I'd love for you to follow along and cheer my progress! You can expect regular updates to the blog.

I got weight watchers points tracking up and running today.  I had used it before, but now I have it all reset with today’s food and my current weight.   Here is want the points tracker looks like. 

The goal will be to log everything and stay below my allowed points (currently 46 points) every day.

Wish me luck!

Technorati Tags: food log, weight tracking software, weight watchers

So, part of The Plan is to track my weight and what I eat.  This sort of food journaling is well known to create accountability and help you lose weight.  I have used Weight Watchers in the past, and they have an excellent on-line program.

So, I signed up and entered my starting weight.  It looks like this:

Every Sunday, I plan to weigh on my scale at home and post a report here.

Wish me luck.

Mark

Technorati Tags: weight tracking software, weight watchers