Ideal weight range for 60+

Mindfullyjo

Hi, I'm 5ft 5 inches, female, age 63. Really happy to have lost 20 lbs and now weigh 9 stone 7lb.
I'm having difficulty finding a reliable weight guide based on age - any recommendations? I know we're all different and so it can only be a rough guide. I think I'm probably about the midpoint and would like to aim closer to 9 stone. Would love to hear from you!

JaneKnoll1

I am your height and just a year younger. My doctor told me to stop when I got to 145 lbs. He said in the next decade it is better to have some extra body fat...I was kinda shocked but hey I will take it. Just reached 144. Feels fine on my frame and I don't think it will be too difficult to maintain. Hope that helps. That was right from my doctor's mouth and he is brand new and up on the latest.

lorrpb

The standard bmi chart is not age adjusted but should be. Here's a group that has done the age adjustment. The calculations are the same, but the healthy range etc is adjusted.
http://www.smartbmicalculator.com/

middlehaitch

Oh @lorrpb I've just tried that calculator and it said I was a little light for my age!

I did like that it took age into account. And I already knew that I am considered a little light.

I am going to have to do a heck of a lot of lifting to gain 5-8 lbs of muscle, I most certainly don't want it as fat. Permanent recomp in my future.


Cheers, h.

robininfl

I would like to be ten stone-five when I am 65 & up, that's the weight I want when older. I'm 5'9". Would like to maintain all my muscle and would expect to add a little fat, and would like to avoid being as skinny as my grandma was because she broke a lot, I'm built like her so consider too light to be a risk factor personally (even though I love being skinny I do not want to be frail).

My mom is 5'4" and 75 years old, reasonably fit for age and looks great at about 135lb. You do carry more fat when older, boobs get bigger and so on. It's not all visible fat. I think your goal of 9 stone is good.

veggiecanner

that would mean I am done at 147. I'll ask my dr. COOL!

fiddletime

I'm 5'2" and 123. 61 years old. My BMI on that calculator is 22.5. Good enough for me. My goal is to stay between 120 and 125. I had more muscle in my youth, and might have worked out a little harder here and there over the years.

I'd be happy to stay here, but it isn't easy. There are so many opportunities to eat and drink yummy and fattening food, and less and less leeway to get away with it.

Mindfullyjo

This is all so helpful. Thank you so much everyone for your contributions and advice.

lohlgren

lorrpb wrote: »

The standard bmi chart is not age adjusted but should be. Here's a group that has done the age adjustment. The calculations are the same, but the healthy range etc is adjusted.
http://www.smartbmicalculator.com/

Very cool. It said I was in the healthy range and 'no health benefits by losing more weight'. Guess the next few pounds are just for me! Do you think the body fat estimates are accurate? I've seen everything from 23%-29% for me. I'm 56, 5'7" 150 lbs. goal is 146.

Mindfullyjo

I'm happy with the weight I am now and very glad I'm right in the mid-range for what's healthy according to BMI. When the weather gets a bit warmer I may drop another pound or two, but what really matters now is to maintain a healthy diet and not to let those calories creep up!

lorrpb

lohlgren wrote: »

lorrpb wrote: »

The standard bmi chart is not age adjusted but should be. Here's a group that has done the age adjustment. The calculations are the same, but the healthy range etc is adjusted.
http://www.smartbmicalculator.com/

Very cool. It said I was in the healthy range and 'no health benefits by losing more weight'. Guess the next few pounds are just for me! Do you think the body fat estimates are accurate? I've seen everything from 23%-29% for me. I'm 56, 5'7" 150 lbs. goal is 146.

The chart shows me in the normal range too, although the usual chart has me still in overweight got 8 more lbs.

I have no basis to know if the bf% site correct. I think they are averages and it seems like a credible site, so hopefully the bingo is good. I like their numbers, got sure!

Orphia

Here's an Ideal Weight Calculator that also takes age into account, and gives calculations based on various formulae.

http://www.calculator.net/ideal-weight-calculator.html

SingingSingleTracker

HappyCampr1 wrote: »

Orphia wrote: »

Here's an Ideal Weight Calculator that also takes age into account, and gives calculations based on various formulae.

http://www.calculator.net/ideal-weight-calculator.html

Ugh. I don't like that one. It says that even though I'm normal BMI, my ideal weight is twenty pounds less than what I weigh. I don't think so. Not when I'm almost 50.

Which one of those formulas do you not like? There are 5 formulas listed at the Calorie.Net site that will show up once you plug in your gender/weight/height/age:

Based on the Robinson formula (1983), your ideal weight is...
Based on the Miller formula (1983), your ideal weight is...
Based on the Devine formula (1974), your ideal weight is...
Based on the Hamwi formula (1964), your ideal weight is...
Based on the healthy BMI recommendation, your recommended weight is...

If I plug my wife's information into it, they all (except BMI) show higher weights by 10-20 pounds than she weighs (she's 105 at 5'3") and age 58...

robininfl

HappyCampr1 wrote: »

I guess it's the word "ideal" that's bothering me when I think about it. It makes me feel that anything other than that particular number is inadequate. At least BMI gives a range for various body types.

My doctor told me I should stop losing weight when I was at 156. She said I'd lost enough and was at a good weight for me. I maintained in the low 150's for over a year before deciding to get to normal BMI, which for my height starts at 148. I'm currently 147 and maintaining there.

Maybe it's because I strength train, I don't know. But, I can't imagine losing another 20 pounds and being happy with myself. Every one of those formulas gave me an "ideal" weight of at least twenty pounds less. The highest (other than BMI) was Miller (1983), which gave me 130.6. The others were 122-123 pounds. 123 pounds puts me at a BMI of less than 21, which may be fine for some people. Not for me.

Last time I had my bodyfat checked, I had 106 pounds of lean mass. In order to get to 123 pounds, I would either need to be 14% bodyfat or lose some muscle. Neither of which I want to do.

i am running into a similar problem. I REALLY like being slender, and would like to maintain at under 130lb for now. But I was 20% bodyfat at 123lb, and am 20% bodyfat at 135lb (after a couple of years of yoga and jogging vs jazzercise - I was aiming to gain some muscle) and am much stronger now, and I am not sure that trying to drop under 20% bodyfat is productive or healthy, and might take some kind of life commitment i am not prepared to maintain. So I have a mental problem with being ten stone at this age, and I am close to that, but still very lean, and feel kind of stuck in a corner.

The way I am managing my anxiety about this is by measuring inches, instead of weighing a lot. My waist is about the same size as when I was 123lb, so this gives me mental ease that the weight gain is not unhealthy, and my legs are bigger but feel very lean, not squishy. I don't actually care if I put fat on my butt but it's not that much bigger in inches, either. Arms more toned, I didn't measure them, but they look like fit lady arms now and are bigger, there is also more muscle in my back, it was bony before; bust measurement increased 1" but I think it's lats not boobs.

I am still well inside BMI guidelines as I was underweight to start (I am tall), but it's the same basic idea - if your doctor says your weight is healthy, and you are active and eating well and not too much, it really seems like your body will be the correct weight for your health.

Yi5hedr3

BMI charts are highly inaccurate because they do not take into account your Body Fat Percentage, which is a far better indicator of health.