I found an article in the September 2010 edition of Canada's FLARE magazine that I thought was very interesting. The article was called, "Best Weight" and Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, Director of the Bariatric Medical Institute in Ottawa was giving some of his thoughts on weight management. Freedhoff "apreciates the fact that indeed there can be people healthy at any size".
Now I've heard of the "Set Point" theory, where we all have a given weight that our bodies tend to stay at (much like our height) but I like what Freedhoff says about "Best Weight":
"Your best weight is whatever you reach when you're living the healthiest life you can honestly ENJOY. That's when you are eating the least amount of calories you need to enjoy your day, and when your working out as much as you can enjoy. Because if you can't happily eat any less, you won't eat any less. If you can't happily exercise any more, you won't exercise any more. That's the number you can realistically sustain even if it's not your dream goal of squeezing into a size zero". (Freedhoff).
The article refers to the fact that carrying around an extra 10 pounds is just "small potatoes". That's when we start thinking about the way we look and self-esteem rather than our health. Most women would say they want to lose 10 pounds because of how they look (I'm one of them). When it's cause for concern is when the excess amount is 35-40 pounds (or more). This is when cholesterol and blood pressure and other health ailments become a concern.
Eating better and getting active will ultimately result in a healthier and leaner body. The good news is that as we get older (over 65 years of age), it is a good thing to have some extra weight on us. This additional weight offers a "metabolic cushion, an energy reserve to weather a storm medically" (Freedhoff).
It's all good!
Have a great day!
~ Angela Gentile
You may also like:
Celebrities with Curves:
http://www.flare.com/curvy?p=7
A Case for Those Extra 10 pounds: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704464704575208082569868428.html
Dr. Yoni Freedhoff: http://www.weightymatters.ca/
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