The Weight Debate

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I struggled with my weight for decades. Then starting about 3 years ago I grew through several significant resources which changed everything. First my perspective was broadened by Dr. Will Clower's Mediterranean Wellness  program. Then in 2012 a business friend bought me Dr. Joel Fuhrman's book, Eat to Live, and my view on food improved further. I realized that I consumed a majority of calories from foods which weren't nutritious, and I actually had an unhealthy relationship with food. Back then my 'target' weight that I struggled to maintain was 185.

Then everything began to change as I ate foods with a higher nutrient density (more nutrition per calorie). My weight started to drop. I even had friends concerned I was sick or something as 20 plus pounds literally fell right off. I continued to seek healthful approaches to a wellness lifestyle and lost another 10 pounds over the next year. So I've landed at 155 as my ideal weight and have hovered at that for well over a year.

Now I'm fascinated that a whole food, plant-based wellness lifestyle got me to this ideal weight. Not a diet, and definitely not 'starving' myself in any way. I'm actually surprised at the volume of food I eat daily; granted much of it is whole foods and easily satisfies my hunger. Now I eat to live instead of living to eat.

There are different perspectives on ideal weight levels and how to reach or maintain them. I definitely subscribe to the view that once we consistently feed our bodies healthful, nutritious foods we will naturally achieve and maintain our ideal weight. 

See Chart here

What is the right weight for each of us? There are a variety of views on what it should be, how to maintain it, and even whether we should weigh ourselves to track it. A popular gauge for healthy weight is the body mass index, or BMI. This is a rudimentary calculation which compares our weight to our height and indicates if we are at a healthy weight, over-weight or under-weight. The goal is for our weight to be between 18.5 and 24.9 on the BMI scale. When I topped out around 220 pounds 17 years ago I was at a BMI of 29.8, just a ten of a point shy of being "obese". (Google 'BMI Calculator' for numerous online calculators).

The BMI scale isn't perfect (it doesn't account for muscle mass, so highly athletic people can tip the charts as overweight or obese when they're healthy), but it makes a great yardstick. As for the bathroom scale, I think it is fine to weight ourselves regularly (like weekly) as it helps maintain perspective. If our food choices are nutritious, our weight will naturally find a healthy level and we won't use the bathroom scale to whip ourselves into diet submission.


So, what's your healthy weight range? Are you in that range or close? If not, are you willing to improve your pantry and increase your activity level? The benefits are significant and may be life-saving. Literally.

By the Way

Dr. Fuhrman shared a quick guide to a healthy target weight in his book Eat to Live, page 24:

For women: approximately 95 pounds for the first 5 feet of height; then 4 pounds for every additional inch
For men: approximately 105 pounds for the first 5 feet of height; then 5 pounds for every additional inch

An example:

• A 5 ' 6" woman would have a target weight of 116 pounds (95 + 24)
• A 5' 10" man would have a target weight of 155 (105 + 50)