Is There Really an Ideal Weight? A Registered Dietitian Explains [VIDEO]

What actually determines a healthy weight for your body, according to a registered dietitian.

How much should I weigh?” It’s one of the questions I get asked the most as a registered dietitian, and honestly, I get why. We’ve all been taught there’s supposed to be one right number. But in my experience working with clients, weight is so much more individual than that, and we actually have a lot less control over it than most people think. So instead of giving you a number, I want to walk through what actually determines a healthy weight for your body, and what to focus on instead of the scale.

Key Takeaways

• There’s no single number that answers “how much should I weigh.” Genetics, sleep, stress, hormones, medications, and age all play a role, so we talk about a personal best weight instead of an ideal weight. 
• Health markers like balanced energy, regulated blood sugar, and quality bloodwork tell you more than the scale does. 
• Nutrition can support your health through consistent habits like eating enough, spacing out protein, and getting enough fibre, without needing to focus on weight at all. 
• Your weight can shift day to day for reasons that have nothing to do with food, including sleep, stress, hormones, and certain medications. 
• Registered dietitians focus on the behaviours you can actually control, like meal planning and understanding your own food personality, rather than a weight target. 

Why doesn’t one “ideal weight” work for everyone? 

So much more goes into weight than we usually give it credit for, and we have a lot less control over it than most people think. Genetics, sleep, stress, fluid shifts, hormones, your nutrition environment, dieting history, medications, and age all play a role. In all honesty, your weight is going to continue to change over the course of your life, and that’s normal. 

For a long time, medical professionals used Body Mass Index (BMI) to define an “ideal” weight range. We no longer rely on it that way, because it isn’t personal or individual enough. Take athletes who carry a higher muscle mass, for example. They rarely fall into that “normal” BMI range, and it has nothing to do with their health. Learn more about BMI, why it’s flawed and the history of its origins. 

Weight isn’t just a number tied to health. It’s individual, based on your lifestyle, your genetics, and where your body wants to land. That’s why we talk about a personal best weight rather than an ideal weight. Best weight is personal.

What health markers matter more than the number on the scale? 

Instead of hyper-focusing on the scale, we like to look at markers like: 

• Balanced energy throughout the day 
• Regulated blood sugars, without obsessing over the exact number, along with bloodwork like average blood sugars, cholesterol, iron levels, or thyroid function 
• Menstrual cycle regularity for menstruating individuals
• The ability to self-regulate emotions and to eat in a way that supports sleep and stress management 
• Food not taking up so much brain space, so you can trust you’re meeting your nutrient needs without constant thought 
• Having the energy to move your body the way you want to, whether that’s a workout or chasing your kids around the yard 

How can nutrition support health without focusing only on weight?

This comes down to diving into how you’re eating in addition to what you’re eating. That includes your food personality profile: some people are snackers who want to eat all day, while others function best on three meals a day. From there, it’s about looking at how often you’re eating, whether it’s enough for your life right now, whether you’re getting enough protein and fat for you and your goals, and whether you’re getting enough fibre for healthy digestion and a healthy gut microbiome, along with carbohydrates spaced through your day and the micronutrients your body needs. 

In practice, this might look like finding vegetables you actually enjoy, spacing protein out through your day, learning to cook, and enjoying meals with others. It also means finding ways to make food easier when real life gets complicated, like packing lunches for a household with a food allergy, an intolerance, and someone who just doesn’t like a particular food. The goal is to feel confident that you’re taking care of yourself nutritionally, without hyper-focusing on weight along the way.

Why can weight change even when eating habits haven’t?

This is such a common question: “I ate the exact same thing, so why did my weight change?” 

The truth is, there are a lot of factors that affect weight that have nothing to do with food: 

• Fluid shifts and hormones can change how your body holds onto water 
• Certain medications affect metabolism, weight, or fluid retention 
• Thyroid function can shift what the scale says 
• A rough night of sleep can move the number, with no connection to nutrition at all 
• Chronic stress can absolutely change what the scale shows 

Nutrition is just one piece of a much bigger picture when it comes to weight.

What do our dietitians focus on instead of weight targets? 

Since weight isn’t something we can fully control, we tend to focus on the behaviours you actually have more say over. Things like: 

• Meal planning, so you’re not grabbing something last minute when you’re already too hungry 
• Learning your own food personality, whether that’s front-loading your day with a big breakfast or eating smaller meals more often 
• Finding the grey zone, where you’re confident you’re meeting your nutrition needs while still having room for fun and social foods 

We build structure that’s flexible enough to work with real life, so you can trust you’re taking good care of your body without chasing perfection.

Looking for more support? 

If you’re looking for a little bit more support around how to understand your weight, and learning how to look at all the other factors we talked about, reach out to us. A Registered Dietitian can definitely help. 

Book a free discovery call with one of our Registered Dietitians or browse our nutrition counselling services to get started. 

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