Friday, September 12, 2008

Our Happy Weight


I read in Feb issue of the American magazine, Self, that 87% of normal weight women wish they weighed less. I think we should stop obsessing and aiming for unrealistic weight that people in hollywood and the entertainment industries are falsely representing.

The mag recommends a formula to calculate our happy weight, weight that we should be happy with. See below:

Multiply your height in inches by itself (to convert cm to inches, divide by 2.5), then multiply by 0.031. (The answer will be in pounds). This is our weight at a body-mass index of 22, in the middle of the healthy range. But there are many factors that can contribute to our happy weight.

Multiply the number above by 0.95 if you have small frame and by 1.05 if you have big frame.

Add 1 pound if a family member is obese.

Add 2 pounds for each decade you are over 20.

Add 5 pounds if you have had kids.

Subtract 1 pound if you exercise and weight train once a week and subtract 2 pounds if you do so 3 times a week and subtract 3 pounds if you do so 5 or more times a week.

Add 4 pounds if you smoked at least a pack a day for a year or more and have quit.

Add 1 pound if you allow yourself a treat now and then.

Add the numbers to get your happy weight. To get your happy weight in kg, just divide the final number by 2.2.

All this time, I have been beating myself up for being way too fat. Even the doctors advise me to lose weight in order to keep my blood pressure on a healthy level. Although some people told me I look fine for a mother of 2, and my hubby loves me the way I am (and tells me he doesn't like skinny girls), I still get upset every time I step on the scale, thinking that I will never ever get close to my ideal weight. After doing this happy weight formula, I discover that I'm not that far off from my happy weight. I'm happy enough just knowing that it's an achievable goal. This gives me motivation to lose that last few kg. Many women give up because we compare ourselves with celebrities and those women in slimming ads and think 'I will never look like that'. But we don't have to. We lead real, less-than-glamorous lives and we all have different lifestyles. It is good to maintain a good and healthy weight but there is no need to starve ourselves and feel guilty when we gain a little weight. Life is really too short to waste time worrying about a little weight. So, I'm going to continue enjoying my chocolates every now and then and try to hit the gym as often as I can. Bottom line is: Being healthy is more important then being slim.

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