What is the ideal weight for your figure

Not a single adult will pretend to grow up to 170 cm if his height is, say, 160. Or reduce his foot size – say, from 40 to 36. However, many people tend to change their weight and volume. Although all efforts may be in vain: “Only 5% of people who have lost weight as a result of a restrictive diet maintain it at this level for at least a year,” says clinical psychologist Natalya Rostova.

“Science has proven that our weight is biologically determined,” explains Italian psychotherapist, nutritional and endocrinologist Riccardo Dalle Grave *. – Our body automatically adjusts the ratio of absorbed and excreted calories – thus, the body independently determines what our “natural” weight, which scientists call “set point”, that is, the stable weight of a person when he eats, obeying the physiological feeling hunger “. However, for some, the weight is set within 50 kg, for others it reaches 60, 70, 80 and more. Why is this happening?

Three categories

“Genome studies have identified 430 genes that increase the risk of being overweight,” says Dalle Grave. “But the tendency to gain weight also depends on the socio-cultural influences of our environment, where the food supply is excessive, intrusive and unbalanced.” Everyone who is concerned about being overweight can be roughly divided into three categories.

“Naturally overweight” are people who have a high set point for genetic reasons, which includes hormonal characteristics. “It is believed that overweight people overeat and have little desire to resist food,” says Dalle Grave. – However, everything is not quite so: every 19 out of 20 respondents show that they eat like everyone else, but their weight remains high. This is a peculiarity of metabolism: it is worth losing the first kilograms, adipose tissues decrease the production of leptin, on which the feeling of satiety depends, and the appetite increases. “

The next group – “unstable”, they are distinguished by significant fluctuations in weight at different stages of life. Stress, fatigue, melancholy, depression lead to weight gain, as people of this type tend to “seize” negative emotions. “They mostly prefer sugary and fatty foods, which have a very real (albeit short-term) sedative effect,” comments Daniela Lucini, physician at the neurovegetative department of the Sacco Clinic in Milan.

“Chronically dissatisfied” – their natural weight is within the normal range, but they still want to lose weight. “A woman, whose set point is 60 kg, is forced to starve herself in order to bring it down to 55 – this can be compared to how if the body had to constantly fight to lower its temperature from 37 to 36,5 degrees.” , Says Dalle Grave. Thus, we are faced with an inevitable choice: every day – until the end of our lives – to fight with our own nature or still bring our ideal closer to reality.

Norm, not dogma

In order to determine your “natural” weight, there are several objective criteria. First, the so-called body mass index: BMI (Body Mass Index), which is calculated by dividing weight by height squared. For example, for a person who is 1,6 m tall and weighs 54 kg, the BMI will be 21,1. BMI below 18,5 (for men below 20) means thinness, while the norm is in the range from 18,5 to 25 (for men between 20,5 and 25). If the index falls between 25 and 30, this signals excess weight. Constitutional features are also of great importance: “According to the Metropolitan Life Insuranse, with a height of 166 cm for a woman of asthenic physique, the ideal weight is 50,8–54,6 kg, for a normosthenic 53,3–59,8 kg, for a hypersthenic 57,3 , 65,1–XNUMX kg, – says Natalya Rostova. – There is a simple method for determining the constitutional type: wrap the left wrist with the thumb and forefinger of the right hand. If the fingers are clearly closed – a normosthenic, if the fingertips do not just touch, but they can also be superimposed on each other – an asthenic, if they do not converge – a hypersthenic. ”

Any person has a certain range of comfortable weight, that is, the weight at which he feels normal. “Plus or minus five kilograms – such a gap between the norm and the subjective feeling of comfort is considered acceptable,” says psychotherapist Alla Kirtoki. – Seasonal fluctuations in weight are also quite natural, and, in general, there is nothing abnormal, painful in a woman’s desire to “lose weight by summer”. But if the gap between dream and reality is more than ten kilograms – most likely, something else is hidden behind the weight claims. “

Desires and restrictions

“Accepting the need to restrict food is like parting with the infant illusion of omnipotence,” says psychotherapist Alla Kirtoki.

“Modern man exists in the space of desires, which are limited by his capabilities. The meeting of desire and limitations always gives rise to internal conflict. Sometimes the inability to accept restrictions is reproduced in other spheres of life: such people live according to the principle of “all or nothing” and as a result find themselves dissatisfied with life. A mature way to accept limitations is to understand: I am not omnipotent, which is unpleasant, but I am not a nonentity either, I can claim something in this life (for example, a piece of cake). This reasoning creates a corridor of restrictions – not deprivation, but not permissiveness – that make our relationship with food (and their consequences) understandable and predictable. Awareness of the existing rules, that is, their own limitations, leads to the acquisition of the skill to live within the framework of these rules. They cease to cause discomfort at the moment when they become a free expression of will, a choice: “I do this because it is beneficial to me, convenient, will do good.”

Speaking about their own (presumably) excess weight, people tend to swap causes and effects, says Natalya Rostova: “Not extra pounds interfere with our happiness and comfort, but mental discomfort is the reason for the appearance of excess weight”. Including the illusory excess weight, not noticeable to anyone except its owner.

People have many different needs that they try to satisfy with food. “Firstly, it is a source of energy, it helps us satisfy our hunger. Secondly, it is getting pleasure – not only from taste, but also from aesthetics, color, smell, serving, from the company in which we eat, from communication, which is especially pleasant at the table, – explains Alla Kirtoki. – Thirdly, it is a mechanism for relieving anxiety, gaining a sense of comfort and security, which the mother’s breast brought us in infancy. Fourth, it enhances the emotional experience, for example, when we eat and watch TV or read a book at the same time. We really need the last three points, which naturally causes an overload of energy and nutrients. It seems that the only way to get rid of this overkill is to drive yourself into the framework of deprivation. Which brings us face to face with the rigid formula: “If you want to be beautiful, deprive yourself of pleasure.” This creates a deep conflict – who needs a life without pleasure? – and ultimately a person gives up restrictions, but loses respect for himself. ”

About it

Tamaz Mchedlidze “Return to Oneself”

MEDI, 2005.

The author of the book, Doctor of Medical Sciences, talks about his own experience of losing weight – by 74 kilograms – and what events and internal achievements accompanied this. Attached to the book are tables of calorie content and energy consumption.

Life without hardships

“Modern nutritionists view a rigid diet as an eating disorder,” says Alla Kirtoki. – What happens with our body? It is completely bewildered by what is happening, in anticipation of hungry times, it begins to rebuild metabolism, save, save up supplies for a rainy day. ” The only way to avoid this is to abandon the very idea that deprivation will help you rebuild your relationship with your body. “The body should never be kept in an energy deficit,” continues Alla Kirtoki. “On the contrary, he must be absolutely sure that the nutrients will always be supplied in the required amount – this is the key to a stable weight and a good metabolism.”

“A war with oneself is futile and harmful,” says Natalya Rostova. “It’s wiser to work with your body to maintain a moderate, balanced diet.” Is it possible to switch to proper nutrition without depriving yourself of pleasure? How to separate the physiological need for food from our other needs, for the satisfaction of which (perhaps) there will be other ways? To begin with, it is worth asking the question: how much food do I need to support myself – not to lose weight, but also not to gain weight? You can try to keep records – how much and what kind of foods were eaten per day, keep a kind of diary of observations. “It gives a lot of information to think about,” explains Alla Kirtoki. – If a person does not keep these records, then all this information remains hidden from him. First, it allows us to understand how food relates to our desires – whether we wanted to eat at that moment or not, what prompted us to eat. Secondly, once again “contact” with food, remember how tasty (or tasteless) it was, experience pleasure. Thirdly, it gives us practical information about the calories and nutritional value of the foods we ate – all sorts of calorie tables will be very useful here. Fourthly, from this list of food (especially if it turned out to be long, say, after a party), we can isolate something that we are in no way ready to give up, but which we will give up easily. This is much more productive than just saying to yourself: “You shouldn’t have eaten so much,” because next time we just won’t choose what doesn’t bring real pleasure. This brings us closer to knowing our real needs (including pleasure) and to satisfying them as qualitatively as possible. ”

* Academic Supervisor of the Italian Association for Nutrition and Weight (AIDAP).