We have been stressing the importance of diet and exercise for a long time now. But do you really know what your ideal weight is? Your ideal isn’t your target weight. It is simply the weight that is recommended to you by health experts, and it is determined according to your height, age, and body condition. It is your healthy body weight, so to speak, and it will serve as a good basis for deciding what weight range should be your target.

To know your ideal weight, you have to first know what your height is. Unlike weight, your height is generally constant after the puberty stage, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to remember and you shouldn’t be measuring it too often. Adult Filipinos tend to belong to a height range of 4’10” to 6’4”, give or take. So let’s see how much you must weigh given your height. Check out the table below.

Height (in ft & in)     Normal Weight (in lbs)     Overweight (in lbs)     Obese (in lbs)
4′ 10″                                91 to 118                            119 to 142               143 to 186
4′ 11″                                94 to 123                            124 to 147               148 to 193
5′                                       97 to 127                            128 to 152               153 to 199
5′ 1″                                100 to 131                            132 to 157               158 to 206
5′ 2″                                104 to 135                            136 to 163               164 to 213
5′ 3″                                107 to 140                            141 to 168               169 to 220
5′ 4″                                110 to 144                            145 to 173               174 to 227
5′ 5″                                114 to 149                            150 to 179               180 to 234
5′ 6″                                118 to 154                            155 to 185               186 to 241
5′ 7″                                121 to 158                            159 to 190               191 to 249
5′ 8″                                125 to 163                            164 to 196               197 to 256
5′ 9″                                128 to 168                            169 to 202               203 to 263
5′ 10″                              132 to 173                            174 to 208               209 to 271
5′ 11″                              136 to 178                            179 to 214               215 to 279
6′                                     140 to 183                            184 to 220               221 to 287
6′ 1″                                144 to 188                            189 to 226               227 to 295
6′ 2″                                148 to 193                            194 to 232               233 to 303
6′ 3″                                152 to 199                            200 to 239               240 to 311
6′ 4″                                156 to 204                            205 to 245               246 to 320
BMI                                   19 to 24                                 25 to 29                   30 to 39

Now the chart above is just a reference. There are a lot of other things that have to be considered like your bone, fat, and muscle mass. While only a qualified health practitioner can provide you with such info, you may still use the data above as a crude reference of what your ideal weight should be. Just don’t be too strict on yourself. As long as you fall within the boundaries, there shouldn’t be any need to panic.

Another way to know if you’re well within the ideal weight is by calculating your Body Mass Index. As rule of thumb, a BMI that is higher than 24.9 is considered overweight. But then again, these are also approximate values and not in any way a strict yardstick to measure obesity. To know what your BMI is, you need to have an accurate record of your weight and height. There are many BMI calculators online that you can use or you can simply go to a health center and ask about it.

How to Keep Your Weight within the Ideal Range

Staying well within your ideal weight zone is very important because it lessens the risk of diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes, among many others. Obesity is a creeping disease in the Philippines these days, with more and more people crossing the overweight line and getting into the obesity range. This is because, for the last few decades, our lives are becoming fast-paced, although still not as fast as those who live in the Western world.

We now have easy access to pre-made meals and fast food. Fewer families are cooking their meals the traditional way. Many are merely relying on deliveries, drive-ins, and take-out counters. Even the way we cook the food is fast-paced, with pre-made sauces, powders, and seasoning mindlessly added into the casserole.

We also tend to deprive ourselves of sleep. If you are a part of the call center industry, which is the job of a majority of Filipino millennials nowadays, then most likely, your body is not getting enough rest. Rest is crucial so that your body recuperates and replenishes as it should. Sleep is sleep. There is no substitute. Without adequate rest, the body’s metabolism gets awry and your weight looks nasty.

These small things that we do almost every day add up to the reasons why more and more Filipinos are getting overweight and eventually become obese if they don’t watch their weight. There are many instances wherein individuals who are slim and sexy in their 20s become obese when they get to 40s. While this can be caused by a lot of factors, it has a lot to do with the unhealthy changes incorporated into one’s lifestyle.

Doing a lifestyle change is going to be a tall order for many. But it is the only thing that has to be done. You don’t have to change your ways overnight. Lifestyle changes simply don’t happen that way. Start with eating a healthy breakfast, getting at least six hours of sleep, and doing a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise every other day.

Once your body gets used to healthy eating, sufficient rest, and regular exercising, reaching to your ideal weight and maintaining it becomes easier. Infusing healthy habits into your lifestyle is the key to staying slim, strong, fit, and toned. It will take time but you’ll eventually get there.

Just commit to these healthy changes even if you don’t see any noticeable results from what you’re doing. Don’t look for results just yet. Your body needs time to adjust to the changes. The results may not be as fast on you as it is on others. Don’t compare yourself to others and just keep your eyes on your goal. You’ll get there soon. We’ll just be here to help and guide you.