What is your ideal weight?

48y/o 6’2” 185# average weight, which seems to be my all around ideal. I tend to be about 5# heavier than my average in winter as opposed to about 5# lighter than average in summer (when it is just too hot to eat any, or a lot of, heavy foods). Most weight charts suggests weights for me that I find ludicrously slim. When I graduated from HS I was 6’2” (same as now) and about 175#. I’ve always had a bit of a tummy, but my fly sessions seem to be working on that now. :-o In my 20’s I was a carpenter and the same build as in HS, only a lot stronger, and burning a lot of energy. My carpenter days (which coincided with my hippie daze) were definitely the peak of my health and athletic body type life. Now, despite a chronic and disabling health problem (psoriatic arthritis), as well as the age thingy, I’m actually probably in the best condition of my life. Were it not for the inability to really torque up my shoulders and the nagging constant fatigue brought about by my arthritis I’m sure I’d be a much bigger contender at meets. My personal experience (relative to my condition) with 3 mediocre vs. 5 intense workouts per week is that it does not make a real big difference on my times. But because of my joint problems it is probably not an apples to apples sort of thing (I’m a bit of a lightweight compared to what I see and hear of others my age doing in masters). I agree with the non-official consensus that 3x/wk will maintain, 4x/wk will slowly gain way, 5x/wk will show noticeable results in much less time. I currently swim 4x/wk, 2400yd/day (or almost 5.5mi/wk). This is double the yardage I was doing several years ago, with the double amount now being mostly fly or fly kick drills. I was about the same weight then as now. I’m leaner now, and have more muscle mass (like when I was a carpenter), and my stomach is noticeably flatter now (Hail Butterfly!). I do some Yoga too, and usually go Contra Dancing every week, but other than that I lead a fairly mundane and sedentary life. It seems there are a lot of tall people here, especially (but not limited to) the guys. Thanks for the BMI calculator w/ age correction link... coolbeans. ;-) This has been an interesting post. I was about to blow it off due to the subject line, but the number of replies drew me in for a peek. Body mass definitely seems to be a topic that weighs on people’s minds. I don’t typically focus on my weight, though I’ve definitely noticed that as I get older it is more difficult to peel off. I find that eating well and exercising regularly helps me keep me looking and feeling fit. (I get plenty of attention from the ladies at the dances.) Good food is a big deal for me. If I eat crummy food I feel crummy and don’t perform as well at practice. A right frame of mind is good too. I’m constantly looking for the middle ground in most everything I do. Stress is definitely baddie, and a constant struggle for me. Swimming is by far my best de-stressor. I guess I’m lucky in that I’ve generally had a fairly high metabolism most of my life. No one ever believes me now, but when I was a kid I was called “fatso” and teased unmercifully. Always the last one picked, never got good at sports, which is one of the reasons I’ve always been a swimmer. Swimming was something I could do on my own and enjoy. I think though that bicycling or walking to school from 6th grade on is what really changed me physically. The only regular swimming I did as a kid was some laps on breaks as a lifeguard my last 3 years of HS.

48y/o 6’2” 185# average weight, which seems to be my all around ideal. I tend to be about 5# heavier than my average in winter as opposed to about 5# lighter than average in summer (when it is just too hot to eat any, or a lot of, heavy foods). Most weight charts suggests weights for me that I find ludicrously slim. When I graduated from HS I was 6’2” (same as now) and about 175#. I’ve always had a bit of a tummy, but my fly sessions seem to be working on that now. :-o In my 20’s I was a carpenter and the same build as in HS, only a lot stronger, and burning a lot of energy. My carpenter days (which coincided with my hippie daze) were definitely the peak of my health and athletic body type life. Now, despite a chronic and disabling health problem (psoriatic arthritis), as well as the age thingy, I’m actually probably in the best condition of my life. Were it not for the inability to really torque up my shoulders and the nagging constant fatigue brought about by my arthritis I’m sure I’d be a much bigger contender at meets. My personal experience (relative to my condition) with 3 mediocre vs. 5 intense workouts per week is that it does not make a real big difference on my times. But because of my joint problems it is probably not an apples to apples sort of thing (I’m a bit of a lightweight compared to what I see and hear of others my age doing in masters). I agree with the non-official consensus that 3x/wk will maintain, 4x/wk will slowly gain way, 5x/wk will show noticeable results in much less time. I currently swim 4x/wk, 2400yd/day (or almost 5.5mi/wk). This is double the yardage I was doing several years ago, with the double amount now being mostly fly or fly kick drills. I was about the same weight then as now. I’m leaner now, and have more muscle mass (like when I was a carpenter), and my stomach is noticeably flatter now (Hail Butterfly!). I do some Yoga too, and usually go Contra Dancing every week, but other than that I lead a fairly mundane and sedentary life. It seems there are a lot of tall people here, especially (but not limited to) the guys. Thanks for the BMI calculator w/ age correction link... coolbeans. ;-) This has been an interesting post. I was about to blow it off due to the subject line, but the number of replies drew me in for a peek. Body mass definitely seems to be a topic that weighs on people’s minds. I don’t typically focus on my weight, though I’ve definitely noticed that as I get older it is more difficult to peel off. I find that eating well and exercising regularly helps me keep me looking and feeling fit. (I get plenty of attention from the ladies at the dances.) Good food is a big deal for me. If I eat crummy food I feel crummy and don’t perform as well at practice. A right frame of mind is good too. I’m constantly looking for the middle ground in most everything I do. Stress is definitely baddie, and a constant struggle for me. Swimming is by far my best de-stressor. I guess I’m lucky in that I’ve generally had a fairly high metabolism most of my life. No one ever believes me now, but when I was a kid I was called “fatso” and teased unmercifully. Always the last one picked, never got good at sports, which is one of the reasons I’ve always been a swimmer. Swimming was something I could do on my own and enjoy. I think though that bicycling or walking to school from 6th grade on is what really changed me physically. The only regular swimming I did as a kid was some laps on breaks as a lifeguard my last 3 years of HS.