At some point in our lives we all struggle with our weight. Whether we’re underweight or overweight, it’s always important to know what our ideal weight should be. To calculate our ideal weight we need to consider that a healthy weight can vary greatly depending on a couple of different factors. Age, gender, height, health, bone structure, body fat, muscle mass are all important elements that can’t be neglected. They all play an important role in determining our ideal weight.
This ideal weight calculator is designed for healthy adult women and its purpose is to serve as a motivation to help you achieve your goals. Knowing your ideal weight is the first step in any weight loss journey and having a real goal helps you stay focused and motivated. Before you use the ideal weight calculator you need to determine your body mass index, waist to hip ratio and body frame size. So let’s start!
BODY MASS INDEX (BMI) CALCULATOR
The BMI is a measure of body fat that is used by healthcare professionals around the world to help determine whether someone is underweight, thin, normal, overweight or obese. Having excess weight or being underweight can be a health concern, so it’s important to know your BMI. Use the calculator below to find out your body mass index.
If you use the imperial system (height in ft and in and weight in lbs) you need to first convert your height to inches (in). If you use the metric system (height in cm and weight in kg) you can skip this conversion.
feet to inches conversion
bmi calculator
These are the World Health Organization guidelines for the body mass index for women:
BMI less than 18 = underweight
BMI 18 – 18.4 = thin
BMI 18.5 – 24.9 = normal, healthy weight
BMI 25 – 29.9 = overweight
BMI over 30 = obese
WAIST TO HIP RATIO (WHR) CALCULATOR
The BMI doesn’t distinguish between lean body mass and fat mass, so it’s very important to know your waist to hip ratio. Athletes can have a high BMI without having a high percentage of body fat. On the other hand, someone with a normal BMI can have a low percentage of muscle mass. You don’t need the WHR for the ideal weight calculator, but it’s crucial that you keep your waist to hip ratio below 0.80. Abdominal or visceral fat has been linked to several dangerous health problems and having a WHR over 0.85 puts you at a high health risk. Combining your BMI with your WHR, gives you a more accurate knowledge of your body fat percentage. Use the calculator below to find out your waist to hip ratio.
WHR calculator
These are the World Health Organization guidelines for the waist to hip ratio for women:
WHR less than 0.80 = low health risk
WHR 0.81 – 0.85 = moderate health risk
WHR over 0.85 = high health risk
BODY FRAME SIZE
Your body frame size also plays an important role in determining your ideal body weight. There are three body frame size categories: small, medium and large. To choose your goal BMI, required for the ideal weight calculator, you need to take into account your bone structure. Larger bones are heavier and therefore you should aim for a BMI closer to 24.9. If you have a small body frame, your goal BMI should be closer to 18.5. Measure your wrist circumference and check the chart below to determine your body frame category.
| height | small body frame |
medium body frame |
large body frame |
|---|---|---|---|
| below 5’2” (157cm) | <5.5in (13.9cm) | 5.5in (13.9cm) – 5.75in (14.6cm) | >5.75in (14.6cm) |
| 5’2” (157cm ) – 5’5” (165cm) | <6in (15.2cm) | 6in (15.2cm) – 6.25in (15.8cm) | >6.25in (15.8cm) |
| over 5’5” (165cm) | <6.25in (15.8cm) | 6.25in (15.8cm) – 6.5in (16.5cm) | >6.5in (16.5cm) |
IDEAL WEIGHT CALCULATOR
Now that you know your body mass index, your waist to hip ratio and your body frame size you can finally use the ideal weight calculator to determine your healthy weight. Choose your goal BMI (between 18.5 and 24.9), taking into account what you’ve learned so far, and calculate your ideal weight.
ideal weight calculator
Write down all your measurements on our free printable and start making a plan today!
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