My insurance uses the words "ideal body weight" as the qualifying terms. That seems very open to interpretation. Is there a generally accepted standard. I have seen the MET Life tables and also the BMI charts. I have no clue as to which one is correct. Both have a wide range of possibilities.

Generally a healthy body weight for insurance standards is whatever weight will get you to a BMI of 23-25. There's no question that every person's healthy body weight is different, but the insurance industry loves standards and statistics. So use whatever figure they want for their purposes, and then think realistically and logically about yourself when calculating goals for you.

My point is that what the insurance industry thinks is an ideal body weight may not be, for you.

My docotrs office told me that I could not expect to be at 138 which is what weight watchers says is the high side of what I should weigh. She said I should shoot for 160 at first. She said that once you have been overweight for awhile your body builds bone and muscle to support your heavier frame. It makes sense to me. I think the insurance will take whatever your doctor says is healthy!

There's some truth to this - I'm now at 78kg and I feel great, there is still more that I could lose as I tend to feel/look better at the lower end of my healthy weight range. But there is no doubt that I am way thinner at 39 years old and 78kg than I was when I was in my late 20's and 78kg. I'm definitely got less fat and more lean body mass now than I did back then - both as a result of having been 113kg for a while and as a result of all the running I do now.

The charts give you a range to aim for, however the correct body weight for you is where your body fat percentage is in a healthy range and that may not correspond to the charts. Even that's not really right since the right weight for you to SOME degree has to be where you feel most comfortable. Its not all about physicality, there's a mental element to it as well.