How Muchshould You Weigh???

NJChick · July 18, 2006

I'm 5'10" my doc says I should weigh around 170 and thats where I'd like to be. I am not big boned at all, more like medium (my ring size is a 5 - 6).

Everyone is different, my DH and his brother are both the same height but my BIL is 180 lbs and looks good at that. 180 lbs on my DH would make him over weight... different structures thats for sure.

rachele · July 19, 2006

That's what my doctor said to me, so I am using that as my goal weight. (170). Our ring sizes and height are the same, too.

We are going to look awesome at 170!

vinesqueen · July 19, 2006

I chose my goal range based on my FFM and and 25-35% bodyfat, so that would put me anywhere between 175 and 190.

When I was 18 I weighed 190, I was a size 11, and I worked out 5 days a week, 4-5 hours a day doing judo and tae kwon do. Now I understand that I wasn't fat, it was all muscle and boobage, but I had a doctor want to put me on a 350 calorie a day diet because I was too fat. ...

According to that caluclator, I should weigh 110 pounds. No frickin' way, unless I'm just bone.

jojo41 · July 20, 2006

I also went to a nutritionist who ran an electrical current through my body (it didn't hurt) and from that she calculated what my bones, organs, fat and lean muscle mass were.

She explained that I should have 25% fat and 75% muscle, bone and organs etc.

I have a high lean muscle mass so my target weight is higher than most people my height. Im 5ft7in and target weight is 190lbs.

At first I thought this was way too high because before I became obese I was 160lbs. The nutritionist explained that since I have been carrying around this extra weight for the last 8 years I have built up alot of lean muscle (apparently carrying this extra weight is like weight training 24/7) so in order to have 25% fat and 75% muscle, bone & organs 190lbs is perfect for me.

Paulax · July 20, 2006

Life is like a long walk up a steep slope. The less baggage you have to carry, the further up that slope you'll make it.

:clap2:

I love this quote...can I quote you DonnaB?

Jachut · July 20, 2006

What I dont understand about that theory is that you will lose lean muscle mass as you lose weight - no matter what you do, you will lose some. Nobody loses 100% fat. So when you get to 190lb your body composition will be different to what it is now.

Bettina · July 20, 2006

I would just go with what makes you feel comfortable. When I did Phen-Phen I stopped at 143 lbs...the doc whipped out a chart (which was by the way written by an insurance company not by a doctor!) and told me I could go down to 123. Okay at 5'6" 123 would be totally yucky. I was 143...and my size 8 jeans were falling off...everyone asked me if I was "sick" my clothes were size "medium". According to that chart "link" it says I should weigh 163...and don't get me wrong 163 is sure gonna look and feel way better than 238....but yikes that is a little high for my height. And going down to 123 as suggested by the life insurance companies is out of the question. I will know how much I want to weigh when i get there. I will be the only one who will know how much I weigh and I am the only one I have to please (just like we ALL do!!) lol...getting off my soap box now...

NewSho · July 20, 2006

By popular urging, Vines, I got brave enough to ask about my Body Fat Percentage.

As I've been telling you for months, my Body Fat Percentage is stuck on FLUFFY.

Apparently it was about 42%-43% just 6 months ago, but it's now somewhere in the Upper 30s.

I know, it's horrifying to fathom but true...those numbers shouldn't be that high, I've actually been trying to burn more calories, more steadily but there is no need for me to torture myself if my body is just not going to ever be 'truly lean' like some people's bodies are. :phanvan

So what's the point if I'm losing Water and lean muscle?

Basically, although I have all this fat to burn, my body is choosing to burn lean muscle mass (my lean muscle mass should be increasing a lot faster as I exert myself more.) Seeing this incremental progress (or lack thereof) does not exactly encourage me to hit the Exercise Trail harder. If any thing it's quite discouraging.

:faint:

So where does that leave me in terms of where I'd prefer to aim for goal weight?

So far I'm about 5# or-6# away from my doctor's laughably conservative goal, and at least 14# to15# to get to my own "Wait and See If My Body Allows Me To Get There, And What I Look Like" goal.)

Wish me luck - I'm still plugging at it, but the odds have NOT been on my side, especially when I'm a teensy bit underfilled right now...Grrrrr!

I chose my goal range based on my FFM and and 25-35% bodyfat, so that would put me anywhere between 175 and 190.
When I was 18 I weighed 190, I was a size 11, and I worked out 5 days a week, 4-5 hours a day doing judo and tae kwon do. Now I understand that I wasn't fat, it was all muscle and boobage, but I had a doctor want to put me on a 350 calorie a day diet because I was too fat. ...

According to that caluclator, I should weigh 110 pounds. No frickin' way, unless I'm just bone.

Jachut · July 20, 2006

I'm a bit the same NewSho, I have a relatively small lean body mass despite always having been pretty active and being pretty darn fit now. I've always loved cardio and never seriously stuck at strength training for any length of time though, so that really is my current focus.

Its why I believe that even though i fell within a healthy weight range for many of my teen and early adult years, I was most definitely overweight and always destined to become obese. And its why I know that really, I do need to be aiming for the low end of that healthy weight range even 20 years later.

Veritas · July 20, 2006

Ok, I have to be honest that I'm starting to question myself on this topic.

I am 5'8 and currently weigh in at 342lbs. I cannot remember ever being under 200 although obviously at some point in time i must have been. When I talked with my nutritionist about what would be a good "goal" for me she did some calculations and came in with the weight of 211 pounds. However, the height/weight charts I see say I should be anywhere between 135 and 150.

I honestly cannot even fathom being that thin. And I really don't want to be. Is that wrong do you think? I personally will be thrilled to get under 250 and if I get within 10 pounds of 200 I'm pretty sure I would be thrilled to stay there. My husband loves my curves and I am really scared to lose them!

One thing I've always considered is that all my extra weight is very evenly distributed on my body. When my husband found out that I weighed 372 pounds (before surgery) he was truly shocked. He said I did not look that big at all. I've always been told that I "carry my weight well" so I'm hoping that if I reach 200 maybe I will "look" like I'm only 160-170? I don't really know what that weight will be like but I'm hopeful I can make it!

Chickie · July 20, 2006

Well. According to that calculator, my medically ideal body weight, is 56kg/123lbs. My "normal weight for height and age" is 66 kg /144 lbs.

So, I am either 1.5 kg/3.3 lbs underweight, or 8.5kg/18.7 overweight.

I can't win, lol.

Monica S · July 20, 2006

At 5'3", my "medically ideal" body weight is 116 lbs. Yeah, right! I haven't weighed that since I was 10. My "normal" weight would be 142, which would be absolutely ideal for me. When I was in high school and college I was an athlete and was at 180, was in great shape, and looked fantastic (if I do say so myself). The best I ever looked was a fit 165lbs, and a size 8/10.

So I have set incremental goals for myself. First, I want to get under 200 (I'm at 244) by 2007. Then I want to reach 180 again. Then I'll aim for 165. If I reach 165 and plateau, I will increase the exercise, but will be healthy and will feel great. I'll do my best to reach 145, but will be very happy to be between 145-165.

The thing is, I have known people my height who are much bigger than I am at 180. It's not just big bones, it's body density. I had 25% body fat (healthy) at 165 lbs. (obese). So you can't just rely on the charts. You have to know your body.