Sensible Weight Management
Dieting is closely associated with self image for many of us. The thought is perhaps that if we could be slimmer we would be more attractive, more confident and more in control of our future.
This may or may not be the case. Whilst taking a degree of pride in your appearance and showing respect for you body is generally a healthy thing, if your self-belief and self-respect is based too much on how you think you look, then you could be vulnerable to:
- mood swings and self doubt if you find it difficult to gain control of your weight or if others are critical of your weight
- an inability to fulfil your potential in relationships or other areas because of your preoccupation with how you appear physically to others.
Weight Management - A Practical Approach
The approach that I generally advocate towards weight management or weight loss is a practical approach - this is not about you getting super thin or about a miracle diet. It is about understanding why maintaining a healthy weight and a balanced diet is important and implementing sensible weight loss strategies for the benefits of your health if you are overweight.
Whilst this information is aimed mainly at people who are overweight, some of it may also be relevant to people who are underweight - if that applies to you then you may want to create strategies to increase your weight to a healthy level following a healthy balanced diet rather than to reduce it as the rest of us may be trying to do.
What is a Healthy Weight for You?
How you feel about your appearance is not necessarily an good guide to whether your weight is healthy, since you may have an inaccurate perception through either:
- Imagining that you have a worse weight problem than you do or alternatively
- Minimising or not acknowledging a weight problem that you have.
If you find that you can only wear extra large size clothes or if you find yourself getting out of breath walking up the stairs then yes this may indicate that you are overweight (although there could be other explanations for getting out of breath, so visit your doctor if in doubt).
One way of checking whether you fall within what is a healthy weight range for someone of your age, sex and height is simply to use a BMI (Body Mass Index) calculator to check this. You can do this at the NHS website via the link below:
However, for some people (for example those who have a lot of muscle) BMI may not on its own be the best indicator of what would be a sensible weight. You may want also to look at other measures such as waist measurement and waist-hip ratio. You can find more information about this topic at:
Waist Measurement and Waist-Hip Ratio
Setting a Target Weight
If you decide to go on a diet to try to lose weight, then use the information gleaned from your BMI measurement in conjunction with looking at your waist measurement and waist-hip ratio to help you set a reasonable ultimate target weight to aim to achieve. If in doubt, seek advice from your doctor.
If you are currently a long way from your ultimate weight target, then you may want to break your weight goal down into interim targets - remember that if you are, for example, 3 stone overweight, then losing 1 stone will be a significant improvement (and may well bring health benefits) even if it is not the full success that you ultimately are hoping for.
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