using the scale for progress?

timpani9

Hi
i am a 27 yo F, 5'6" and 122 lbs this morning. my weight loss has slowed down so much but I feel like I am seeing changes in my body. significant ones. the past week or so I have been doing lots of squats, lunges, weights. could this be having an effect on my weight?

should i keep using the scale? or no?

RockstarWilson

You are at or below your ideal weight, and if you lose any more, you will eventually be underweight. That is the reason, and you should definitely heed it. 122 is pretty petit for your height, so take it for what it is.

http://www.calculator.net/ideal-weight-calculator.html?ctype=standard&cage=27&csex=f&cheightfeet=5&cheightinch=6&cheightmeter=180&printit=0&x=60&y=12

odusgolp

I'd toss the scale out and make sure your jeans make your butt look amazing... but that's just me.

Liftng4Lis

Awesome on the changes, bag the scale.

LumberJacck

RockstarWilson wrote: »

You are at or below your ideal weight, and if you lose any more, you will eventually be underweight. That is the reason, and you should definitely heed it. 122 is pretty petit for your height, so take it for what it is.

http://www.calculator.net/ideal-weight-calculator.html?ctype=standard&cage=27&csex=f&cheightfeet=5&cheightinch=6&cheightmeter=180&printit=0&x=60&y=12

There is no such thing as an ideal body weight for an unknown individual, those calculations mean nothing to me, and they all give a number higher than my goal weight, the Hamwi formula is a whopping 14.5kg higher than my own goal weight. Ironically, the 'normal' BMI range is the most accurate, my goal weight is within that range. Those formulas don't take into variations of muscle or bone weight, as well as personal preference.

Looking at 122/5'6" in mybodygallery.com, I see nothing wrong with the photos I viewed at that setting.

RockstarWilson

LumberJacck wrote: »

RockstarWilson wrote: »

You are at or below your ideal weight, and if you lose any more, you will eventually be underweight. That is the reason, and you should definitely heed it. 122 is pretty petit for your height, so take it for what it is.

http://www.calculator.net/ideal-weight-calculator.html?ctype=standard&cage=27&csex=f&cheightfeet=5&cheightinch=6&cheightmeter=180&printit=0&x=60&y=12

There is no such thing as an ideal body weight for an unknown individual, those calculations mean nothing to me, and they all give a number higher than my goal weight, the Hamwi formula is a whopping 14.5kg higher than my own goal weight. Ironically, the 'normal' BMI range is the most accurate, my goal weight is within that range. Those formulas don't take into variations of muscle or bone weight, as well as personal preference.

Looking at 122/5'6" in mybodygallery.com, I see nothing wrong with the photos I viewed at that setting.

So if you are delving into muscle and bone variations.....what do you think the degree of those variations would be to make the ideal weight calculations wrong? Those calculations for ideal weight take into account a certain fat % and assume that you are not bulking. My ideal weight for my height is about 165. Obviously, if I decided to put on some muscle mass, I would finish heavier, but if I aim for strictly losing weight and maintaining standard muscle mass, I will hit 165 eventually, and that is where I will no longer be able to lose weight without starving myself or using some other unhealthy method.

If you see nothing wrong with that measurement, what are you implying by saying that I am wrong?

LumberJacck

As for the degree of variation of muscle and bone, I have no idea, but I'll show you a photo that may help:



My goal BMI is 19.7, I don't have much muscle, not sure on how much bone I have, but I'm about say 14% fat at goal weight. Another person's BMI at the same fat percentage may be 23, this scatter graph shows that there is a wide variation of muscle/bone at any particular fat percentage. That's why I think it's pointless to pick one particular 'ideal' weight for a person you've (or the calculation) has never seen before.

We don't know OP's ideal body weight because we don't know her body fat percentage at goal weight nor do we know how much her bone/muscle weight is at any particular time. Looking at the photos on mybodygallery.com helps to see what a particular height/weight combination looks like, I don't know about others opinions are, but they don't seem underweight. A woman with a lot of muscle at that weight / height may indeed be underweight (meaning a low fat percentage) but we just don't know OP's muscle mass.

Can't find the female graph sorry but use Google images with bmi vs body fat and you'll get lots of graphs.

timpani9

Thanks for the input everyone!
Based on BMI I know that I still have room to lose a bit more weight. I would guess my BF% is relatively high tbh ... i have quite a bit of belly fat (see attached) so i am working to lose that.

malibu927

You're already at a good weight. I would probably start a body recomp with heavy lifting in order to reduce the fat.