by Hannah Rice Myers

Created on: August 25, 2008

Attempting to determine what your ideal weight should be can be almost as intimidating as choosing the right diet that will help you achieve your goal. Your doctor tells you one thing while the svelte Hollywood starlets who are plastered over our televisions are telling us another. It truly isn't that difficult though, and once you have a firm committment in place to change your eating habits and your health, the following guides are quite helpful when it comes to setting your goals.

We'll start first with the traditional method of determing your ideal weight; the method that has been used before science became too involved. We've all seen it (sometimes to our chagrin) when we've stepped into our doctor's office. It is "The Chart." This chart that I am referring to is the grandiose poster which has height listed vertically and the ideal weight for each height listed horizontally. Back in the day it held some pretty unrealistic numbers, leaving little room for water weight gain or holiday hog-outs. I am 5'2" and I nearly keeled over when I read that I wasn't supposed to weigh more than 115 pounds. I've always wanted to be thin, but I surely did not want to resemble a match stick. My doctor quickly came to my rescue and explained that "The Chart" has been updated; my new ideal weight can range from 108-136 pounds. So while this can be a good starting point, make sure you go by the updated version to avoid anorexia.

The next measure of health and ideal weight is the BMI or Body Mass Index. This is a bit more complex if you are trying to do the configuration on your own. It is basically a formula that again, takes into consideration your height and weight and tells you whether or not you are obese. If your BMI is under 25 then you're considered in a normal weight range. A BMI between 25 and 30 and your doctor will tell you you have a weight problem. If it's over 30, then you will hear the word obese in combination with your name. There is a glitch with this formula though. It does not take into account the muscle mass a person has. So you can be thin, tight and toned with a BMI that shows you are overweight. You know whether you've been pumping iron or not though.

While we are talking about measuring, another great way to set goals is to measure your waist. You must remember that it's not just the number on the scales that matter when trying to lose weight. You must also keep in mind that while you will be losing pounds, at some point you will be losing inches as

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