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A healthy weight is a weight that lowers your risk for health problems. For most people,
But reaching a healthy weight isn't just about reaching a certain number on the scale or a certain BMI. Having healthy eating and exercise habits is very important.
If you want to get to a healthy weight and stay there, healthy lifestyle changes will work better than dieting. Reaching a certain number on the scale is not as important as having a healthy lifestyle.
Staying at a healthy weight is one of the best things you can do for your health. It can help prevent serious health problems, including:
But weight is only one part of your health. Even if you carry some extra weight, eating healthy foods and being more active can help you feel better, have more energy, and lower your risk for disease.
In today's society, there is a lot of pressure to be thin. But being thin has very little to do with good health. Many of us long to be thin, even though we're already at a healthy weight. So we get desperate, and we turn to diets for help.
If you decide that you do need to make some changes, here are the three steps to reaching a healthy weight:
![]() One Woman's Story: "The biggest key to my success is knowing that this is a process. It's not 'all or nothing at all.' It's a matter of making choices every day. One day I might decide to eat more than another day, and that's okay, as long as I'm paying attention. I finally realized it wasn't a time-limited thing. It became much more of a lifestyle change than a temporary diet. The idea that somehow I could go back to my old ways was just not there anymore."— Maggie
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Health Tools help you make wise health decisions or take action to improve your health.
Your first step to find out if you are at a healthy weight is to find out what your
A healthy weight is one that is right for your body type and height and is based on your body mass index (BMI) and the size of your waist (
If you are Asian, your recommended weight range may be lower. Talk to your doctor.
It's important to remember that your BMI is only one measure of your health. A person who is not at a "normal" weight according to BMI charts may be healthy if he or she has healthy eating habits and exercises regularly. People who are thin but don't exercise or eat nutritious foods aren't necessarily healthy just because they are thin.
After you know your BMI, it's time to look at your waist size.
Measuring your waist can help you find out how much fat you have stored around your belly. People who are
Measure your
For most people, the goal for a healthy waist is:
If you are Asian, the goal for a healthy waist is:
If you are ... |
Then ... |
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In the underweight range on the BMI chart: |
See your doctor to find out if you have a medical problem that is causing your low weight. |
Within the recommended BMI range and your waist size is within the recommendations: |
Your weight is not a problem for your health.
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At or above the recommended BMI range and your waist size is higher than recommended: |
See your doctor to find out if you have health problems that might be related to your weight. You may need to change your eating habits and get more active.
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In the overweight category on the BMI chart but your waist size is within the recommendations: |
Your weight may be right for you. But you need to see your doctor to find out if you have health problems that might be related to your weight.
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In the obese category on the BMI chart, no matter what your waist measurement is: |
You may need to lose weight to be healthier, as well as change your eating and activity habits.
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Your doctor may want to take another measurement, called a waist-to-hip ratio. This measurement is a comparison of your waist size to your hip size. A higher waist-to-hip ratio means that you are more "apple-shaped" than "pear-shaped" and therefore at a higher risk for weight-related disease.
If you are in the overweight or obese category and your waist size is too high, it's important to talk to your doctor about weight-related health problems you may have, including:
If you have two or more of these health problems, your doctor may advise you to make some lifestyle changes and/or lose weight. He or she may also refer you to a
If you're at a healthy weight but are still unhappy with your weight, you're not alone. Lots of people are.
It can be hard to be satisfied with how you look when TV and magazines show unrealistic images of what it means to be thin. Here are some things to think about:
When we say "genetic makeup," we're talking about everything you inherited from your ancestors, from the color of your eyes or the shape of your toes to the way your brain works and the way your body stores fat.
Your genetic makeup has a very big effect on your weight. It affects:
The
It can be hard to make healthy food choices:
For more information, see the topic
Being physically active is an important part of staying at a healthy weight.
A healthy lifestyle means:
Becoming more active and improving your eating habits are the two main ways to reach a healthy weight.
![]() One Woman's Story: "I see it as a whole life change. I actually get mad at people when they say, 'You've been on a diet.' I'm not on a diet. I've never been on a diet. I just changed the way I eat. I changed the way I live."— Jaci
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If you need to make some lifestyle changes to get to a healthy weight, you'll have more success if you first change the way you think about certain things:
For more on how positive thinking can help you, see:
![]() One Woman's Story: "I finally realized it wasn't a time-limited thing. It wasn't like, 'Well, I'm going to be really good and stay on this food plan now until I get the weight off.' It was more a realization that, 'You know, at 62, if I want to weigh 130 to 135 pounds, then I have to do these things.' I can't stop doing them just because I lose the weight. So it became much more of a lifestyle change than a temporary diet. The idea that somehow I could go back to my old ways was just not there anymore."— Maggie
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Making any kind of change in the way you live your daily life is like being on a path. The path leads to success. Here are the
1. Have your own reasons for making a change
2. Set goals you can reach
3. Measure how your health has improved
Before you make lifestyle changes, ask your doctor to check your cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and blood sugar. Your doctor can help you know your risk for heart attack and stroke.
Keep track of your weight.
Have your cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar checked again after you have lost 5% to 10% of your weight or in 3 to 6 months. You can also check your blood pressure and blood sugar at home.
Another way to measure improvements is to look for changes in your fitness level. For example, are you able to walk longer and on more days than when you started? Can you climb a flight of stairs without getting as tired or out of breath? Do you have better strength and muscle tone? Do you have more energy?
4. Prepare for slip-ups
Here's one person's list of barriers to taking a brisk 30-minute walk every day, along with some possible solutions.
Barriers |
Solutions |
I might be too busy. |
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I might get bored. |
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It might rain. |
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5. Get support
You can use a
Eating a
Dieting may make you feel like a failure if you can't lose weight or stay on your diet. Instead of blaming the diets, people who are overweight tend to blame themselves. You may think, "If I could just stay on that diet, I would be thin." This doesn't take into account that your body has powerful regulators that affect your weight—things you can't do anything about. And if you've dieted again and again without success, you can get into a cycle of negative thinking—and even gain more weight.
When you go on a diet, you deprive yourself of food. For many people, that means being hungry most of the time and not having enough energy. It also can lead you to think about food all the time. So you're much more likely to overeat when you finally give yourself permission to eat. It's important to make
Many different diets and programs promise rapid weight loss but rarely work for the long term. Some might even be dangerous.
But what does healthy eating mean? Everywhere we turn, we get conflicting advice on what foods are good for our health. It can be hard to know where to start after you've decided to make a change.
Know your body signals
Young children are good at paying attention to their
But as we grow older, and fast food, huge portions, and delicious snacks are everywhere, many of us start to ignore our body signals. We eat for other reasons—or sometimes without thinking at all.
You can ignore those body signals for a while, but they are powerful. And if you ignore them for a long time (by dieting, for example) you lose your ability to pay attention to them. You get out of practice.
Know your eating triggers
Common triggers to eating when you're not really hungry are:
Identify your eating triggers by keeping an
After you understand why and how you eat, it's time to look at what and how much you eat.
Many people classify foods as "good" or "bad" based on their calorie or fat content and, sometimes, on how nutritious they are. But a healthy diet has room for all kinds of foods.
A healthy, balanced diet means getting the right amounts of:
Tips for choosing your food sensibly
Just cutting back on
![]() One Woman's Story: "Before I gained the weight, I wish someone said, 'portion sizes.' If you're not thinking about it, you go to a restaurant, you think you're getting a portion size. You're not thinking they're serving you six plates of food." —Jaci
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Physical activity is key to improving your health and preventing serious illness. Experts say to do either of these things to get and stay healthy:
Being active in several blocks of 10-minutes or more throughout the day can count toward these recommendations. You can choose to do one or both types of activity.
If you're not active right now, you don't have to start out at this level. Instead, start small and build up over time. Moderate activity is safe for most people. But it's always a good idea to talk to your doctor before you start an exercise program.
Regular moderate-intensity physical activity lowers your risk of:
Brushing your teeth and getting dressed are regular parts of your day, right? You hardly think about it.
It can be that way with physical activity too. With practice and repetition, you can make activity—whether it's formal exercise or an activity like gardening or walking the dog—so routine that it becomes something you just do because it's part of your day and you enjoy it.
Like any lifestyle change, changing your activity level may be easier if you have a plan. Set small goals. Be creative. For more information, see Getting to a Healthy Weight: Making Lifestyle Changes.
Don't wait until you are "thin" to do the activities you want to do. Just make sure to start slowly. If you aren't active at all, talk to your doctor first.
No matter what you do, the key is making physical activity a regular, fun part of your life. And as soon as you start seeing the results, you'll be even more motivated to keep doing it.
It's best to get some moderate physical activity for at least 2½ hours a week. Brisk walking is one kind of moderate activity.
But if you're not active at all, work up to it. For example, you may want to start by walking around the block every morning, or walking for just 10 minutes. Over time, you can make your walks longer or walk more often throughout your day and week.
Here's how you can tell if an activity or exercise is making you work hard enough:
Walking is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to get moving for most people. Keep track of the number of steps you take each day with a phone app or pedometer. Using it may motivate you to walk more in order to increase your total steps.
There are lots of reasons why you may have trouble getting more active. These are called
These barriers can range from "I don't have time" to "I'm too embarrassed."
Figuring out your barriers and how you will respond to them is a big step in planning the lifestyle changes that will lead you to a healthy weight and help you stay there.
For more information, see the topic
Current as of: December 27, 2021
Author:
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