The Problem with “Ideal” Body Weights
“I often find that, when someone is obsessed with an ‘ideal’ body weight, they fall into disordered eating patterns in an effort to get to that weight,” explains nutritionist Elaina Efird, RDN, CD, CEDRD, CSSD. In a recent YouTube video, she takes a look at a case study that highlights the impact of this problem. She discusses the body composition results of a patient who was focused on reaching a particular weight. She had been this weight at an earlier time in her life and also considered it her goal based on her own online research.
This patient, who was five feet, two inches tall, was focused on reaching an “ideal” body weight of 110 pounds.
In May 2021, she weighed 118.9 pounds. In an effort to lose weight, she tried a slew of disordered eating behaviors, including:
cutting out complete food groups
severely restricting her calorie intake
following a vegan diet *Note that there’s nothing wrong with a vegan diet when followed in a healthy way. Here, the client used it to restrict what foods she was “allowed” to eat.
obsessing over her activity levels
During this initial visit, it was quickly revealed that she was under-eating and overexercising. She was also weighing herself multiple times per day and adjusting her food intake according to the number on the scale. “For example, if she stepped on the scale and saw that it was up a little bit, at lunch, she would choose to either not eat or eat something really light, like salad with no dressing,” Elaina adds.
Now, let’s take a closer look at her body composition.
Her muscle mass was 38.2 pounds. It’s important to note that the normal range here for someone her age and height is 42.9 to 60 pounds. Similarly, her fat mass was below the normal range (31 to 82.2 pounds) at 30.6 pounds. Remember that muscle and fat mass do not add up to be total weight, as there are other things in the body as well.
So what do these results tell us? If this patient were almost nine pounds lighter — what she considered her “ideal” body weight to be — she would lose even more muscle and fat mass, which is problematic. When muscle mass remains too low, it begins to impact your bone density. “Oftentimes, when someone has a low muscle mass, they find themselves struggling with osteopenia and osteoporosis later in life,” shares Elaina.
As you can see, it’s unhealthy to cling to an “ideal” body weight.
There’s sometimes a desire to get back to a certain weight from your past. You have to remember, though, that your body is always changing and aging. This transformation doesn’t always affect your weight, but it certainly can. And that’s okay. Instead of focusing on a goal weight or particular size — especially during a time of year that’s tied to resolutions and self-improvement — try to nourish your body and do movement that brings you joy. Aim for healthy behaviors instead of a number on the scale.
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