Women's healthy figure

There has never been a unified standard of weight, body fat, and dimensions for a healthy female figure. The core is the unity of "normal physiological functions, a relaxed mental state, and no long-term symptoms of discomfort." It is not necessarily related to the popular aesthetic symbols on the Internet such as A4 waist, comic legs, and right-angled shoulders.

In the three years I have been doing female nutrition consulting, I have met too many girls who measure themselves with the wrong ruler. Last month, two girls came to me. One is 165cm, 120kg, and has a body fat of 24%. She usually climbs mountains three times a week. Her aunt is so accurate that she can use it as a calendar, but she has two layers of soft swimming rings on her waist. She sees the post "165 standard weight 100kg" every day, and is so anxious that she only dares to eat half a corn for dinner. The other one is 163 cm and 92 pounds, with only 17% body fat. Even XS skirts are loose. However, he only visits his aunt once every two or three months. He always catches a cold when the season changes. He is still following the blogger's training to "train the vest line in a week" and says that the flesh on his belly is "too loose".

In fact, there is no completely unified conclusion in the industry regarding the judgment of healthy figure. The most commonly used standards for routine physical examinations are quantitative standards: adult women have a BMI between 18.5-23.9, a body fat rate of 20%-28%, muscle mass reaching the average level for the same age group, and no metabolic problems such as high blood pressure, high blood lipids, and high blood sugar, which is considered a healthy figure. However, in recent years, more and more practitioners of functional medicine do not recognize this "one size fits all" standard. They pay more attention to the individual's body feeling: even if your BMI happens to be stuck at the critical value of 24, you usually climb the third floor without gasping, sleep well and have a stable mood, your aunt reports on time every month, and you have no chronic pain in the shoulders, neck, lower back, then even if your weight is three to five kilograms heavier than the so-called "standard value", you are still considered healthy.

I used to know a sister who competed in women's bodybuilding. During the preparation period, her body fat could be reduced to 15%, and her abdominal muscles were so clear that she could stick a coin. However, she told me that she would last for a month or two at most, and would definitely adjust her body fat back to about 22% at the end of the season. "Long-term low body fat is not a life for people. Hair falls, and mood breaks. Last month, I could argue with my cat for half an hour, and my bone density is still much lower than that of people of the same age. There is no need for ordinary people to suffer this."

To be honest, many people’s misunderstandings about healthy body shape are caused by marketing. If you go to the gym and meet a trainer who measures your body fat right from the start and tells you that you are over the standard and you need to lose weight, they are probably trying to sell you a class. Those who are really knowledgeable will first ask you if you have any old injuries and how many hours you sleep. Your aunt is not normal and will not talk about your two kilograms of fat. Two years ago, in order to fit into a custom-made dress, I starved for half a month and dropped to 98 pounds. At that time, I was 164cm tall and it was really photogenic. However, I was shivering from the cold even wearing three sweaters in the winter. I had a headache when I crouched and stood up. It took me half a year to get back to 106 pounds. Now I can run five kilometers without being out of breath, and I can eat skewers and drink iced Coke in the middle of the night without feeling guilty. I don’t know how much more comfortable it is than then.

Oh, by the way, there are also people who say that "a good girl is only worth a hundred", which is pure nonsense. My mother is 160cm tall, 52 years old, and weighs 110 pounds all year round. She dances for two hours without gasping for breath, and has excellent physical examination indicators. She is much healthier than many little girls who eat boiled vegetables every day and are on a diet. If you have a big frame and high muscle mass, it would be normal for you to be 170cm tall and weigh 130kg. Where is the unified standard?

In fact, in the final analysis, the ruler of a healthy body is never in the hands of others, nor is it on the scale. If you think you look good in a small size skirt for taking photos and are willing to spend time exercising and adjusting your diet, then of course it’s no problem ； If you feel happier eating hot pot and fried chicken, as long as the physical examination is fine and you don't feel uncomfortable at all, the extra kilograms of meat really don't matter. After all, your body is meant to serve your life, not to tie you up with it, right?