WHAT IS MY IDEAL WEIGHT?
One of the most challenging questions a coach gets is “What should my ideal weight be?” It is also one of the most challenging questions we ask ourselves on our journeys. There are many sources out there ready to give you a quick answer, ie. The BMI scale. But as most of us know, the BMI scale is based on insurance statistics and often gives us an answer that seems near impossible make possible. (Check this article for more on this flawed measurement!)There are also a lot of people we see on social media platforms that are of similar age to ourselves that we fall into the comparison trap with way too often. “Oh, that dude is in his 40s too and he’s 170 pounds, maybe I should be there too??” This is a muck and mire I want to encourage you to step out of as quickly as you can! Because there is truly only one source that will answer this question for you… it’s YOU!!!
Hear me out, I want you to be empowered and feel that in the end you are indeed the only authority you need to answer this question, and in this blog I want to share some thoughts on how you can work through it for yourself. Now understand, I am not at all implying it’s just fine to say “Welp, if I decide on what’s ideal for my body I am just going to decide the status quo is ideal so my work is done!” Instead I want you to broaden your perspective on what it even means to discover your “Ideal Weight.”
First, put the concept of weight itself into perspective. It is a number that reflects the gravitational pull on your body at the moment you step on the scale. It can be an important metric but it is also just one metric, not the only yardstick you should be using to measure your progress and not the only goal to set. I’d rather you consider all of the following:
Weight - Yes, measuring your weight can be important. The number gives us an indication of where you are at right now when you look at in perspective with the other factors here.
Clothes - How do your clothes fit? Are they getting looser even though the scale isn’t moving? What size are you hoping to wear?
Exercise/Movement - How is your body moving? Can you hit your intentional activity goals aka exercise goals? Is your soreness and pain changing when you do get out there and move? Are you setting new activity goals to reach for? Have you hit any new PRs (Personal Records) in the gym?
NSVs - What are the Non-Scale Victories you have seen already? What are the ones you are looking forward to that will reflect progress? For many significantly overweight people thinking about things like plane seats, roller coasters, fitting in chairs, walking with freedom, etc. are major victories that reinforce the success we are having!
Relationship with Food - This is a whopper! Are you working on your habits and choices in ways that help you gain greater perspective on food? If food was an obsession, are you feeling that change and grow? What do you want your relationship with food to look like and how close to or far from that are you now?
Mindset and Goals - This one is important. What does success on this journey look like to you? Do you have goals beyond the scale that reflect this? What is your plan to continue developing your growth and goals when you do start checking them off your list as completed?
So clearly, the idea that we can just set an “Ideal Weight” as the end all be all metric for our journeys is not accurate. There are so many other factors that are affected by the choices we make to work on our health. I want to encourage you to move away from just simply looking for one number to define your success and instead build a more comprehensive plan that considers all of these questions above.
As always if you are feeling overwhelmed trying to answer these questions alone and you feel some support and accountability could help, both Jon and I are more than willing to discuss how coaching could help, click here for info!
