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What is a healthy weight?
A healthy weight is the weight your body naturally settles
into when you consistently eat a nutritious diet, are
physically active, and balance the calories you eat with the
physical activity you do. Reaching a specific weight is not
as important as the lifestyle changes you make to become
healthy.
Why is a healthy weight important?
Being at a healthy weight can reduce your risk of
weight-related diseases, such as coronary artery disease,
sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and
stroke. But weight is only one part of health. Even if you
carry some extra weight, by eating healthfully and getting
plenty of physical activity, you will feel better and have
more energy. In fact, you may be healthier than a thin
person who eats poorly and isn't physically active.1
Why is losing weight so hard?
Although a weight-loss diet may help you lose a few
pounds quickly, following a restrictive diet long-term is
unrealistic and requires extraordinary commitment. Once
you stop dieting and exercising, the weight comes back.
Some people fall into an unhealthy cycle of losing and
gaining weight, which may be harder on the body than just
being overweight.
It may be difficult to overcome the roadblocks to weight
loss: lack of time for exercise, family and work
commitments, easy access to less-healthy foods, and
illness or injury.
Research shows that people who are most successful in
improving their health have made the broader and more
significant shift to a healthier lifestyle rather than targeting
weight loss alone. A lifestyle of healthy eating and regular
physical activity will improve your health and quality of life,
no matter what you weigh.
How do I change my lifestyle?
First you'll need to learn the skills to make lifelong changes
and find the support you need to create a healthy lifestyle
that's right for you. Look for balanced, realistic, and
enjoyable ways to fit healthful changes into your life.
Making small changes, such as being aware of your portion
sizes, eating more fruits and vegetables, and adding more
physical activity to your daily routine, can add up to
significant improvements in your health.
Walking is an activity that most people can do safely and
routinely with family members, friends, coworkers, or pets.
Keep track of the number of steps you take with a step
counter or pedometer, which you can buy at a sporting
goods store. If you have a desk job, you'll see how little
you actually move in a typical day. Wearing the step
counter may motivate you to accumulate more steps during
the day.
To be successful in making lifestyle changes:
Don't diet. Abandon the idea that you'll go on a diet and
quickly lose a certain amount of weight. This approach
almost always fails. Instead, try to make healthy eating
choices that work for you.
Think about your relationship with food. Do you eat when
you are bored, stressed, or sad? Do you use food as a
reward? Try making a list of other ways you can comfort
or reward yourself that don't involve food.
Slowly change your eating habits. If you are ready to
improve your nutrition, you may be tempted to do a diet
overhaul and change everything about the way you eat. But
you will be more successful at staying with the changes
you make if you pick just one eating habit at a time to work
on.
Establish goals you can reach. Set small goals. Your goals
should be specific, within your reach, and flexible. A goal to
simply exercise more is too general. Instead, make a
specific plan to be active for a certain amount of time each
week. For example, start with a goal to walk for 15
minutes 3 times a week, and then slowly increase it to 20
minutes 4 times a week. When you reach this goal and it
has become routine, set a new one. But realize you may
have setbacks now and then; it doesn't mean you've failed.
Make daily physical activity a part of your routine. Identify
what keeps you from being active or exercising. Are you
juggling a demanding job with raising kids? Maybe you can
start a walking group at work during lunchtime. Arrange for
someone else to pick up the kids from day care or soccer
practice 1 day a week so you can make time for physical
activity. Or pick an activity that your family can do together,
such as taking a bike ride or playing Frisbee.
How can I fit physical activity into my busy day?
Try to make physical activity a regular and essential part of
your day, just like brushing your teeth or going to work.
Start slowly and be sure to consult your doctor first if you
aren't active at all. Consider scheduling your activity in the
morning if you tend to talk yourself out of it later in the day.
Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park far away and
walk to your office or the grocery store. Make a plan to
ride your bike to work once a week. Instead of e-mailing a
coworker, get up and walk to his or her desk. If you don't
have time to take one 30-minute walk, break it up into
three 10-minute walks.
If you want a more structured way to get exercise,
consider joining a health club or community center that
offers fitness activities. Find an activity that you enjoy and
feel you can stick with, and then vary it with other activities
so you don't get bored. For example, 3 days a week, take
a brisk 30-minute walk with a friend and then lift some
weights together. On other days, take a water aerobics
class, ride a bike, or take the dog for a hike. Join a
softball, volleyball, or basketball league. The more you can
find activities you like, the greater your chances for
success.
A healthy weight is the weight your body naturally settles
into when you consistently eat a nutritious diet, are
physically active, and balance the calories you eat with the
physical activity you do. Reaching a specific weight is not
as important as the lifestyle changes you make to become
healthy.
Why is a healthy weight important?
Being at a healthy weight can reduce your risk of
weight-related diseases, such as coronary artery disease,
sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and
stroke. But weight is only one part of health. Even if you
carry some extra weight, by eating healthfully and getting
plenty of physical activity, you will feel better and have
more energy. In fact, you may be healthier than a thin
person who eats poorly and isn't physically active.1
Why is losing weight so hard?
Although a weight-loss diet may help you lose a few
pounds quickly, following a restrictive diet long-term is
unrealistic and requires extraordinary commitment. Once
you stop dieting and exercising, the weight comes back.
Some people fall into an unhealthy cycle of losing and
gaining weight, which may be harder on the body than just
being overweight.
It may be difficult to overcome the roadblocks to weight
loss: lack of time for exercise, family and work
commitments, easy access to less-healthy foods, and
illness or injury.
Research shows that people who are most successful in
improving their health have made the broader and more
significant shift to a healthier lifestyle rather than targeting
weight loss alone. A lifestyle of healthy eating and regular
physical activity will improve your health and quality of life,
no matter what you weigh.
How do I change my lifestyle?
First you'll need to learn the skills to make lifelong changes
and find the support you need to create a healthy lifestyle
that's right for you. Look for balanced, realistic, and
enjoyable ways to fit healthful changes into your life.
Making small changes, such as being aware of your portion
sizes, eating more fruits and vegetables, and adding more
physical activity to your daily routine, can add up to
significant improvements in your health.
Walking is an activity that most people can do safely and
routinely with family members, friends, coworkers, or pets.
Keep track of the number of steps you take with a step
counter or pedometer, which you can buy at a sporting
goods store. If you have a desk job, you'll see how little
you actually move in a typical day. Wearing the step
counter may motivate you to accumulate more steps during
the day.
To be successful in making lifestyle changes:
Don't diet. Abandon the idea that you'll go on a diet and
quickly lose a certain amount of weight. This approach
almost always fails. Instead, try to make healthy eating
choices that work for you.
Think about your relationship with food. Do you eat when
you are bored, stressed, or sad? Do you use food as a
reward? Try making a list of other ways you can comfort
or reward yourself that don't involve food.
Slowly change your eating habits. If you are ready to
improve your nutrition, you may be tempted to do a diet
overhaul and change everything about the way you eat. But
you will be more successful at staying with the changes
you make if you pick just one eating habit at a time to work
on.
Establish goals you can reach. Set small goals. Your goals
should be specific, within your reach, and flexible. A goal to
simply exercise more is too general. Instead, make a
specific plan to be active for a certain amount of time each
week. For example, start with a goal to walk for 15
minutes 3 times a week, and then slowly increase it to 20
minutes 4 times a week. When you reach this goal and it
has become routine, set a new one. But realize you may
have setbacks now and then; it doesn't mean you've failed.
Make daily physical activity a part of your routine. Identify
what keeps you from being active or exercising. Are you
juggling a demanding job with raising kids? Maybe you can
start a walking group at work during lunchtime. Arrange for
someone else to pick up the kids from day care or soccer
practice 1 day a week so you can make time for physical
activity. Or pick an activity that your family can do together,
such as taking a bike ride or playing Frisbee.
How can I fit physical activity into my busy day?
Try to make physical activity a regular and essential part of
your day, just like brushing your teeth or going to work.
Start slowly and be sure to consult your doctor first if you
aren't active at all. Consider scheduling your activity in the
morning if you tend to talk yourself out of it later in the day.
Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park far away and
walk to your office or the grocery store. Make a plan to
ride your bike to work once a week. Instead of e-mailing a
coworker, get up and walk to his or her desk. If you don't
have time to take one 30-minute walk, break it up into
three 10-minute walks.
If you want a more structured way to get exercise,
consider joining a health club or community center that
offers fitness activities. Find an activity that you enjoy and
feel you can stick with, and then vary it with other activities
so you don't get bored. For example, 3 days a week, take
a brisk 30-minute walk with a friend and then lift some
weights together. On other days, take a water aerobics
class, ride a bike, or take the dog for a hike. Join a
softball, volleyball, or basketball league. The more you can
find activities you like, the greater your chances for
success.
| What Is A Healthy Weight? |
| Use this interactive tool to find out how many calories are burned during various activities: |