13AreYouReadyforPhaseTwo?
Bynowyou'veprobablyseeydramatigesinyourbodyandarelikelyfeelingeuphoricasitbeginstodawnonyouthatit'swithinyourpowertoachievethealkedaboutinChapter1。Youareprobablynowgglimpsesofthathehorizon—ifnotinyourownmirror。Thatnewyouisthinner,happier,healthierandmoret。
Nowit'stimeforyoutotakeaseriouslookatyourbodyayouwanttodowithitandhowyouwantittolook。Berealistiallprobability,youdoobeanOlympicathleteorafashioheotherhand,youmaybesellibysettinggoalsthataretoomodest。Areyouwilli,pleasinglyplump"?Manyofmypatiehinkingthatsuchgoalswouldbequiteallfight-oreveheydarehopefor。
Frankly,Ithinkyoushouldsetyhtshigher'thanthat。Howaboutaweighttargetbasedht,ageaure?Howaboutexthealthrandvigorthatforsomee?Trustme,that'snotbeiious。That'sbeingtrulyrealistic。
WhatIsYoalWeight?
Askyourselfwheninyourlifedidyoulookandfeelyourverybest?Howmuchdidyouweighthen?fortablyweighthatagain?Whatsizedidyouwearthen?Don'tskipoverthesequestions。AsIalwayssay,yreatestexpertonyourbody。Whateverthatwht—-andsize-was,youalmostlyreachitagain。Wasit120714071707
Mostpeoplehaveaprettygoodseheyheldthatweightfoodpartoftheirfivesandfoundthattheygaionlyafterspets,suchasgettingmarried,havingkids,quittiartingmedionalges。Whynotgoforit?
Oherhand,isthat"perfect"weightuiowthatyou'recoupleofdeenopausalwomenparticularlyofteimestayingasslimastheyoncewere。Soperhapsamorerealisticapproachistoaskwhatistheweightyouwouldbefortablewithtoday。Thetrieupwithafigurethatisattaisettingyourselfupfordisappoi。
TedAshersethimselfagoalweightof170poundswhekins。Atfivefeeteightihis34-yearoldhadreachedamious227pounds。Coulditbehisbachelor'sbreakfastoftwoPop-Tartsithaofsoda?Ahatnutritionalapproachwasghisoalboutsofgastroiinaidistress?OedreadaionofthisbookandstarteddoingAtkins。
&ayedonInduforaonths,andthengraduallymhthestagestowardLifetimeMaioppiof100gramsofcarbs。Hehadlost47poundsbythattime,takenupgolfingandsharedhisdoctor'spleasureathischolesterlycerideiraprovements。Alongtheway,hedecidedhefeltprettygoodat180pounds。Hesayshe'dliketolose10morepoundsbutthinksthey'lleoffwithabitmome。xercise。Ihopehegetsthatexercise,buthe'sfightnottoobsessoverthelast10pounds;helooksandfeelsfine,andhisbloodworkshowstheinsideofhimishyastheoutside。
Ifyoudon'trecalleverbeiyouywith,theBodyMassIndex(BM1)theoppositepageshouldgiveyouaballparkfiguretoaimfor。BeawarethattheBMIisjustaguideline:Ifyouareverymusple,yourBMIwillofteoohigh。
You'llseethattheBMIchartgivesyouhetop。BygyhtabelyeruptheheBMIfiguresare,youwillfindyourBMInumber。Basedonthesefigures,thefederalgoverhasannouhatewdefinitiohyweight—-aBMIofupto24。9。ABMIof25oraboveissideredhtIfyourBMIis26or27,youareapproximatelytweht。IndividualswhofallwithintheBMIrao34。9asizeofoverfortyiney-fiveinenaresideredtobeatespeciallyhighhealthrisk。Formostpeople,thischartishelpfulasageneralguide*liaresideredthenorm—butI*phasizethistly:Thebestweightforyouistheowhichyoufeelfortableandattradjoyyourlife。Italsoobeaweightyoutain。Sayyourbestfriendahesameheightahesamebuild,butshewahin,whileyouarefortable。with10poundsmoreonyourframe—ifitfeelsgoodtoyou,that'swhatember,too,thatifyouarephysicallyadhavealowBMI,youweighmorethanyoursister,whothinksliftingapencilisexercise。This。isn'tgMou;youreachyoalweight。Iknowthatifyou'remetabolicallysimilartothelensofthousandsofmm'weightpatientsI'vetreatedoverthelastfortyyears,youhaveaceofsig。
BodyMassI1920212223242526272829303132333435
&BodyWeight(pounds)
(inches)
58919610010S110115119124129134138143148153158162167
599499104109114119124128133138143148153158163168173
6097102107112118123128133138143148153I58163168174179
61100106111116122127132137143148153158164169174180185
62104109115120126131136142147153158164169175180186191
63107113118124130135141146152158163169175180186191197
64110116122128134140145151157163169174180186192197204
65114120126132138144150156162168174180186192198204210
66118124130136142148155161167173179186192198204210216
67121127134140146153159166172178185191I96204211217223
68125131138144151158164171177184190197203210216223230
69128135142149155162169176182189196203209216223230236
70132139146153160167174181188195202209216222229236243
71136143150157165172179186193200208215222229236243250
72140147154162169177184191199206213221228235242250258