RE: how do I figure out my goal weight? (long)
I have a book called Protein Power and it helped give me a range to figure out my REALISTIC ideal body weight. Calculate your lean body weight (using monitor, caliper, mathematical formula down below, etc). Find your ideal body fat range for your age and sex. Step 1: Subtract each of these percentages from 100 Step 2: Divide your lean body weight by each of the numbers from step one. Step 3: Multiply each of these answers from step 2 by 100.
Remember you are not out to lose weight, but to develop a properly composed body- one supported by a lean healthy muscle mass, strong and vigorous, with enough fat for good health.
Determining your body composition if you do not have a monitor/instrument (I am sure it is not exactly accurate, but it will probably give you a good estimate.... maybe someone can test it out.....I do not have a monitor/instrument):
Women - calculating body fat %:
1 measure height in inches without shoes
2. Record height, waist, and hip measurements(widest area)
3. I have a conversion constants chart for women in the book. You will record the constants from the chart (for hips-constant A, for abdomen-constant B, and for height-constant C). These constants have been derived experimentally and allow you to convert your measurements into a form that can be used to compute your body fat percentage. If you tell me the measurements for the three parts in inches, I'll give you the constants from the book to predict % of body fat for women. My e-mail address is
[email protected]
Formula:
Constant A (hips) + constant B (abdomen)= (total) - constant C (height)= your percentage of body fat
For men it is different.
Calculating your lean body weight:
Use your body fat percentage to compute your lean body weight. If you know how much you weigh and what percentage of your weight is fat, you can determine how much your lean tissue weighs.
total weight x % body fat (written as a decimal)= weight of fat in pounds
Once you know the weight of your body fat, you can subtract it from total weight to get your lean body weight.
total weight - fat weight= lean body weight
This allows you to create a realistic goal weight for yourself!!!!
I had an ideal weight in my head that I wanted to reach and maintain, but that is NOT an attainable weight for me based on how many pounds of lean body tissue I have. I am not going to sacrifice lean muscle weight to reach that "ideal" weight in my head. You may find that you have an unrealistically low target weight in mind.
You want to keep every pound of metabolically active lean tissue you have and carry an appropriate amount of body fat for good health. Keep in mind you many want to recalculate every so often as inches goes down and/or you gain more muscle mass and if you want to change your ideal body fat percentages. For example the book for me has that I should have a body fat % of 21-27%. That is what I used for my calculations. I may one day want to have a lower body fat % so I would recalculate to give me a realistic ideal body weight based on my lean muscle mass and % of body fat I would like to have. If you need help making calculations e-mail me or buy the book called Protein Power By Michael and Mary Eades. It is a high protein/low carb diet book.
Alicia
