How to calculate your ideal weight and get back in shape
How many times have you said "from Monday I'll go on a diet" but then you didn't? It happens to everyone, but the important thing is not to be overwhelmed by the sense of guilt. If you feel that you are not comfortable with your physical shape and your health is also suffering, it is probably time to take a guided path to find the lost form.
One of the first things to do is to understand, through a comparison between weight and height, how to calculate your ideal weight. We tell you about it below.
But first, did you know that every body can be associated with a shape? In this video we talk about the shapes of the body and how to enhance them.
What is meant by ideal weight?
To find out how to calculate the ideal weight, we must refer to mathematical formulas developed after years of analysis regarding the male and female human body, their weight and height according to age.
These studies have led to the drawing up of a table with values to then verify, once the data has been obtained, if you are in the range of normal weight, underweight or overweight.
Before continuing, we would like to recommend that you do not confuse your ideal weight with a healthy weight. The latter is in fact considered the weight capable of giving the maximum feeling of well-being, but it does not necessarily have to coincide with the ideal weight.
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How to calculate the ideal weight: the formulas
Here is a series of famous formulas to arrive at the calculation of the ideal weight. Keep in mind that these are estimates and therefore you should not take the data as absolute. Only through a visit to the competent doctor, dietician or nutritionist, will you be able to outline together what the ideal weight is for you.
Calculate your ideal weight with one of these formulas.
- Lorenz formula
It is one of the most used but does not take age into account and does not adapt well to skeletal subjects.
Ideal weight Men = height in cm - 100 - (height in cm - 150) / 4
Ideal weight Women = height in cm - 100 - (height in cm - 150) / 2
- Broca's formula
It is one of the simplest but takes into account only the height without relating it to the weight.
Ideal weight for males = height in cm - 100
Ideal weight for females = height in cm - 104
- Wan der Vael formula
Ideal weight Men = (height in cm - 150) x 0.75 + 50
Ideal weight Women = (height in cm - 150) x 0,6 + 50
- Berthean formula
It does not distinguish between man and woman
Ideal weight = 0.8 x (height in cm - 100) + age / 2
- Perrault's formula
It doesn't take gender into account
Ideal weight = Height in cm - 100 + age / 10 x 0.9
- Keys formula
Ideal weight Men = (height in m) ² x 22.1
Women ideal weight = (height in m) ² x 20.6
- Travia's formula
It does not distinguish between male and female sex
Ideal weight = (1.012 x height in cm) - 107.5
- Livi formula
It does not differentiate the male and female sex
Ideal weight = (2.37 x height in m) 3
- Buffon, Roher and Bardeen formula
Ideal weight Men = (1.40 x height in dm3) / 100
Ideal weight Woman = (135 x height in dm3) / 100
Calculation of the BMI
The body mass index (BMI or BMI) is a value that allows you to rank the individual in one of the following bands:
- underweight
- normal weight
- overweight
- obese
- severe obese
Here is the calculation to do to arrive at the BMI value: weight / height x height.
This instead is the table of values where to compare our result.
The ideal weight for the well-being of mind and body
Maintaining a healthy body and taking care of one's physical shape is very important above all to avoid even serious diseases that involve the whole organism: cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, joint diseases.
Being very far from reaching the ideal weight also hurts the psyche with the advent of disorders such as depression and anxiety. Taking care of yourself and seeing results over time increases self-esteem and improves mood, leading us to do better and better.
In the most serious cases, it is good to contact an expert to understand the causes that have led to bodily discomfort and psychological discomfort to coincide.
Achieving and maintaining the ideal weight
After having discovered how to calculate the ideal weight, it is time to reach it and above all maintain it. It is not easy, you have to act immediately on incorrect habits: inadequate nutrition and little or no physical movement.
First of all, based on the calculation you have made, you will be able to tell if your body mass index (indicated with the abbreviations BMI or BMI) is in the underweight, overweight or normal weight range. Based on this, the right strategy can be outlined to increase or decrease the calories ingested as well as accelerate sports activity, or if necessary, completely stop the sport you are practicing (sometimes doing too much sport can harm the body).
It is very important not to become fossilized on the value resulting from the calculation of the ideal weight, it is in fact a number to be taken with due caution, the variations of 2 or 3 kilograms with respect to that number are absolutely normal and very subjective.
Lifestyle and ideal weight
The risk of obesity is what most afflicts the modern world, putting the health of millions of people at risk, and is due to a whole series of bad habits that have taken root more and more over time:
- we prefer the car rather than walking a part of the way
- we have the shopping sent home without having to go to the supermarket
- we spend many hours in front of PCs and smartphones, often in incorrect positions that affect posture and related joint pain
- we often eat fatty, preservative-filled artificial food just because it's ready and we don't have to cook
These are just a few examples, but they irreparably lead to an increase in the risk of obesity in both men and women, compromising their health.
The main thing to do is to intervene on the calories we usually consume during the day as well as on the quality of the foods we buy: this is the only way to reach the ideal weight and then succeed and keep it constant over time.
The human body is composed of both fat mass and lean mass in different percentages. In some subjects lean mass may prevail over fat mass or vice versa, furthermore the body fat that is localized in specific points, following weight gain, can intensify. What to do?
You have to estimate your calorie needs based on your body mass index (BMI or BMI) and also consider the work you do and which therefore takes up most of your day; in the calculation also note the height, age and level of physical activity you perform during the week.
The daily energy requirement represents the daily amount of calories that allows you to gradually reach the ideal weight if your current weight is higher (low-calorie diet) or lower (high-calorie diet).
