Understanding Healthy Weight, Body Shape, and Adopting a Healthy Lifestyle

The secret to losing weight boils down to two main principles – consuming fewer calories and increasing your level of physical activity.

A Healthy Way to Lose Weight

If you’re looking to shed those excess pounds that have slowly crept on over the years, a good target is to reduce your daily calorie intake by 500. This approach, while gradual, can be very effective. To help keep track of your progress, consider keeping a food diary to identify your eating patterns.

Adopting a Healthy Lifestyle

Here are a few tips to get you started on your journey to a healthier lifestyle. Aim to incorporate one new habit each week, and soon you’ll have a complete lifestyle change under your belt.

·  Limit your alcohol intake to no more than two drinks a day.

·  Quit smoking.

·  Engage in moderate physical activity, like brisk walking, for about 30 minutes on most days. Choose an activity you enjoy, and set realistic goals.

·  Learn simple techniques to manage stress and make time for relaxation.

‍

The Right Weight for Your Body

Your body weight shouldn’t be too low or too high. While we’re aware that overeating can lead to obesity and health issues like heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes, undereating can also have adverse effects. However, in the UK, the predominant issue is the growing number of overweight individuals.

Why Are More People Becoming Overweight?

For most, the increase in weight can be attributed to a reduction in physical activity. We’re walking less, often opting to drive. Many have sedentary jobs, and we’re spending more free time watching TV or sitting in front of computers. Coupled with a shift towards unhealthy eating in recent years.

How Easy Is It to Become Overweight?

Gaining excess weight is surprisingly easy. If you consume more calories than you burn through daily activities and bodily functions, the extra energy is stored as fat. Just eating an extra 50 calories a day – equivalent to half a biscuit – could result in a weight gain of 1 to 2 kilos per year.

How to Lose Weight

Before you start making changes, ask yourself if you’re genuinely motivated to lose weight. Whatever your reasons are, they should be personal to you, and you’re likely to be more successful if you’re in a relatively calm period of your life. You’ll need to be positive and ready for the challenge.

To lose weight and maintain it, you’ll need to make permanent changes to your diet and physical activity patterns. Set achievable goals over a realistic timeframe, like aiming to lose 5-10% of your current weight over the next six months. It’s better to lose weight slowly until you reach your goal, aiming for a loss of 0.5 to 1 kg (1-2 lbs) a week. Take it one day at a time, and remember, even maintaining your current weight is an achievement.

For exercise, aim for 150 minutes each week, broken into 3-5 sessions where you’re slightly out of breath. Consider adding strength training, like weights, cycling, or HIIT.

Why Is Weight So Important?

Being at the right weight can positively impact both your wellbeing and health. However, due to the combination of factors determining our weight, it’s difficult to set an exact ideal weight for everyone. It depends on:

·  Family medical history

·  Genes

·  Smoking habits

·  Diet

·  Physical activity

‍

It’s important to remember that the ideal body weight falls within a range. Aim to stay within this range rather than fixating on a specific number. Don’t rely solely on the mirror to assess your weight.

Keeping your weight within a healthy range can significantly reduce your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, painful joints, back pain, and osteoarthritis.

The Good News

Even small amounts of weight loss can have a positive impact on your health. Losing just 5-10% of your body weight can help reduce blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and decrease your risk of developing diabetes.

Finding Your Healthy Weight Range

Worldwide, healthcare professionals use the Body Mass Index (BMI) to determine if someone is overweight or clinically obese relative to their height. You can calculate your BMI using the chart above by plotting your weight against your height. If you’re within the healthy weight category, you have a healthy weight for your height. However, these rules may not apply to pregnant women, frail individuals, very athletic or muscular people, and children. Still, as a general measurement, it’s a helpful guide.

According to statistics, there’s a strong relationship between BMI and disease. Those with a BMI of less than 25 have a low-average risk of disease, while those with a BMI over 40 have a higher risk.

Waist Circumference

Waist circumference is also a good indicator of weight-related health risks. If your waist size exceeds 80cm (32in) for women and 94cm (37in) for men, your risk of cardiovascular diseases increases.

Know Your Healthy Shape

Body fat is typically stored around the hips and thighs (‘pear shape’) or around the middle (‘apple shape’ or ‘beer belly’). Research has shown that carrying extra weight around the middle (central obesity) poses greater health risks than extra weight around the hips or thighs. That’s why measuring your waist is a good health indicator!

To measure your waist, place a tape measure around the narrowest point of your waist, between your lower ribs and hips, about an inch above or below your navel. Breathe out and measure the circumference.

Keep your waist measurement below:

·  Women: 80cm (32in)

·  White men: 94cm (37in)

·  BAME men: 90cm (35.5in)

You need to lose weight if your waist measurement is above:

·  Women: 88cm (35in)

·  Men: 102cm (40in)