The question of how to calculate your ideal weight is interesting, and often stirs debate.  There is no clear cut agreement on the answer to this question.  The package answer is to look at your body mass index, or BMI as it is more commonly known.

BMI is a calculated value, derived from the relationship between your weight and your height.  If you’re interested in the formula, here it is:

BMI = (Weight * 704.5) / (Height)^2

Weight is entered in pounds, and height is in inches.  If you don’t want to do the calculation, there are a number of BMI calculators available online, and you can find a link to one in the Resources section on this page.  BMI values are divided into ranges, as follows:

• <20 - Underweight
• 20-26 - Normal weight
• 26-28 - Slightly overweight
• 28-31 - Mildly overweight
• >36 - Obese

At its core, BMI is intended to provide information on how much weight your heart can support, based on the size of your frame.  Having a high BMI does not mean a person is fat, because extra mass can be achieved through muscle as well.  This is why BMI doesn’t work for body builders.  Although body builders may have a high BMI due to higher than average muscle mass, the need to support that extra muscle mass still places a greater demand on the heart.

Personally, I find BMI to be a good guide for most people, but I like to couple that information with your percentage body fat.  Percentage body fat measures the fraction of fat to total body weight.  There are a number of ways to determine this value, and the results can vary depending upon the measurement method.  The simplest approach is to buy a digital scale capable of determining the value.  These are readily available at many big box retailers.  Guidelines from the American Council on Exercise are as follows:

Its valuable to have tools available to set realistic targets, but the most important thing is to pick a target and take action.