Ideal weight

EdwardMH2
EdwardMH2 Posts: 65 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Looking for information on Ideal weight online is confusing. I am a 5' 10" Male and on one site it says 156.5 and on others it is 155.0, 160.9, 165.3, and another says between 128.9 - 174.2 pounds, But when I get around 180-185 pounds my body looks smaller (Sadly still have a bit of belly fat I just can not seem to be rid of) but my face starts to get that starved sunken cheeks look and to me not appealing. Should I be trying to look good or go for the lower weights for health no matter how I look?

Replies

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited December 2016
    There is no ideal weight as it will depend on your frame, musculature and genetic lottery on how you carry excess fat

    It will also depend on your self perception

    The BMI range is a decent enough one to aim for and is true of the vast majority in terms of safest for health risks. I doubt you are a professional athlete / bodybuilder so it is doubtful that even if you consider yourself well muscled you would fall outside the range.

    You seem to think your best weight is 10lbs above maximum BMI for your height (174lb) ..I think you're probably mistaken

    Where you lose weight from first is also determined genetically

    It also takes the head a while to adjust to a new view in the mirror. I'd suggest you stick at 180-184 for a few months then reassess
  • EdwardMH2
    EdwardMH2 Posts: 65 Member
    TY
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    Forget the scale and go by where you feel is best for you. Lifting weights will help with your body composition as well.

    I am obese according to the BMI scale, overweight by many "ideal weight calculators", am considered "lean" by bodyfat percentage but personally I am still nowhere near my goal.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    trigden1991 wrote: »
    Forget the scale and go by where you feel is best for you. Lifting weights will help with your body composition as well.

    I am obese according to the BMI scale, overweight by many "ideal weight calculators", am considered "lean" by bodyfat percentage but personally I am still nowhere near my goal.

    You're a bodybuilder though and have significantly more muscle mass than most people who say BMI isn't relevant to them
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    Now that I'm older, my face does look a little better when I'm a little chubby, but I'm not going to stay chubby just to have a prettier face.

    If you are unsure of the BMI scale you can get your body fat tested (although this isn't always accurate) or just ask your doctor his opinion at your next physical.
  • EdwardMH2
    EdwardMH2 Posts: 65 Member
    I am 214 pound (obese) according to my scale 31 BMI online says I should be between 7-13 BMI.
    I am STRONGLY considering buying a Total Gym FIT for exercises I do not have a lot of space. And a pair of adjustable weight dumbbells. I have access to gym equipment at local family centers but have social anxiety. Took me 3 weeks to work up the nerve to use the pool once. I also need to adjust my eating as now I eat 1-2 meals a day mostly eating out, or packaged food at home, my NutriBullet and Ninja have gone unused for almost a year, they helped me loose weight but tasted aweful.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    edited December 2016
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    trigden1991 wrote: »
    Forget the scale and go by where you feel is best for you. Lifting weights will help with your body composition as well.

    I am obese according to the BMI scale, overweight by many "ideal weight calculators", am considered "lean" by bodyfat percentage but personally I am still nowhere near my goal.

    You're a bodybuilder though and have significantly more muscle mass than most people who say BMI isn't relevant to them

    My point was that just because a scale or system tells you that you should be a certain weight, doesn't mean that you need to aim for that. If you're not obese then your goal weight is what you feel best and what you can maintain.

    Also by no means am I a bodybuilder. Just someone who likes to pick things up and put them down ;)
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    EdwardMH2 wrote: »
    I am 214 pound (obese) according to my scale 31 BMI online says I should be between 7-13 BMI.
    I am STRONGLY considering buying a Total Gym FIT for exercises I do not have a lot of space. And a pair of adjustable weight dumbbells. I have access to gym equipment at local family centers but have social anxiety. Took me 3 weeks to work up the nerve to use the pool once. I also need to adjust my eating as now I eat 1-2 meals a day mostly eating out, or packaged food at home, my NutriBullet and Ninja have gone unused for almost a year, they helped me loose weight but tasted aweful.

    I think you're talking about body fat BF and not body mass index BMI

    And scales do not measure BF anywhere near accurately

    Calorie defecit to lose weight ..it's all you need
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    trigden1991 wrote: »
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    trigden1991 wrote: »
    Forget the scale and go by where you feel is best for you. Lifting weights will help with your body composition as well.

    I am obese according to the BMI scale, overweight by many "ideal weight calculators", am considered "lean" by bodyfat percentage but personally I am still nowhere near my goal.

    You're a bodybuilder though and have significantly more muscle mass than most people who say BMI isn't relevant to them

    My point was that just because a scale or system tells you that you should be a certain weight, doesn't mean that you need to aim for that. If you're not obese then your goal weight is what you feel best and what you can maintain.

    Also by no means am I a bodybuilder. Just someone who likes to pick things up and put them down ;)

    If you're confused then the BMI range is a decent enough goal for a weight range for the vast majority

    And have you told the man in your avatar that you're not a bodybuilder ;)
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    edited December 2016
    There isn't one ideal weight, I've had several...

    154lbs when I wanted to be light when racing motorbikes, 182lbs when playing rugby, now in my 50's I'm in the middle at 168lbs. (ETA - at 5'9 that's right at the top of the BMI healthy range.)

    Weight is only part of health.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    edited December 2016
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    trigden1991 wrote: »
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    trigden1991 wrote: »
    Forget the scale and go by where you feel is best for you. Lifting weights will help with your body composition as well.

    I am obese according to the BMI scale, overweight by many "ideal weight calculators", am considered "lean" by bodyfat percentage but personally I am still nowhere near my goal.

    You're a bodybuilder though and have significantly more muscle mass than most people who say BMI isn't relevant to them

    My point was that just because a scale or system tells you that you should be a certain weight, doesn't mean that you need to aim for that. If you're not obese then your goal weight is what you feel best and what you can maintain.

    Also by no means am I a bodybuilder. Just someone who likes to pick things up and put them down ;)

    If you're confused then the BMI range is a decent enough goal for a weight range for the vast majority

    And have you told the man in your avatar that you're not a bodybuilder ;)

    I must confess i have just realised I misread the OP and thought he was within the healthy range but I see he is above it.

    My avatar physique is just a side effect of an office job, sufficient protein and intense yoga.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    trigden1991 wrote: »
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    trigden1991 wrote: »
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    trigden1991 wrote: »
    Forget the scale and go by where you feel is best for you. Lifting weights will help with your body composition as well.

    I am obese according to the BMI scale, overweight by many "ideal weight calculators", am considered "lean" by bodyfat percentage but personally I am still nowhere near my goal.

    You're a bodybuilder though and have significantly more muscle mass than most people who say BMI isn't relevant to them

    My point was that just because a scale or system tells you that you should be a certain weight, doesn't mean that you need to aim for that. If you're not obese then your goal weight is what you feel best and what you can maintain.

    Also by no means am I a bodybuilder. Just someone who likes to pick things up and put them down ;)

    If you're confused then the BMI range is a decent enough goal for a weight range for the vast majority

    And have you told the man in your avatar that you're not a bodybuilder ;)

    I must confess i have just realised I misread the OP and thought he was within the healthy range but I see he is above it.

    My avatar physique is just a side effect of an office job, sufficient protein and intense yoga.

    @trigden1991
    And Zumba of course. :smiley:
  • EdwardMH2
    EdwardMH2 Posts: 65 Member
    I mainly want to be healthy and nimble for pickleball and change diet as I am borderline diabetic.
  • mila_lova
    mila_lova Posts: 163 Member
    EdwardMH2 wrote: »
    Looking for information on Ideal weight online is confusing. I am a 5' 10" Male and on one site it says 156.5 and on others it is 155.0, 160.9, 165.3, and another says between 128.9 - 174.2 pounds, But when I get around 180-185 pounds my body looks smaller (Sadly still have a bit of belly fat I just can not seem to be rid of) but my face starts to get that starved sunken cheeks look and to me not appealing. Should I be trying to look good or go for the lower weights for health no matter how I look?

    Don't worry too much about your cheeks getting that sunken look. I have super high cheek bones and I know my face gets that when I'm at a low weight, so when I get to my goal I'm just going to have some fillers like Juvederm put in my cheeks. I love that stuff- it's amazing what professionals can do with it. If you don't like the way your face looks when you're at a healthy weight, maybe consider that. Don't let the fear of sunken cheeks keep you from getting to a healthy weight.

    Also, before you spend money on equipment, try pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone and go to the gym, at least once. I had awful social anxiety when I was younger, and I think you need to be around other people to get through it. Mine was so bad that I couldn't even talk. But in grad school, after forcing myself to come out of my shell and be around other people, I became SUPER outgoing.

    Isolation is bad for you. I think it's better to get out there around others trying to become healthier. My first time at the gym was miserable, my face was burning from embarrassment and I kept my eyes on the floor. Now I love the gym. I feel really comfortable and happy there. Just seeing other people and being around them is important for your brain health, even if you don't talk to them.
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,110 Member
    My doctor assigned my "ideal" or healthy weight range for me. There are too many individual factors that play in for there to be a single number assigned to everyone of a certain gender for each height.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 33,718 Member
    EdwardMH2 wrote: »
    Looking for information on Ideal weight online is confusing. I am a 5' 10" Male and on one site it says 156.5 and on others it is 155.0, 160.9, 165.3, and another says between 128.9 - 174.2 pounds, But when I get around 180-185 pounds my body looks smaller (Sadly still have a bit of belly fat I just can not seem to be rid of) but my face starts to get that starved sunken cheeks look and to me not appealing. Should I be trying to look good or go for the lower weights for health no matter how I look?

    I'd also say not to worry about the face part too much, but not because I think you would want to have an invasive cosmetic procedure to fix it (that's a "yikes" in my world, but of course everyone's choice about that is his/her own).

    I'm 61 now, 59/60 when I lost around 1/3 of my bodyweight (180 => 120). At first, my face looked drawn/sunken and generally not good - to me, and at least one friend commented (in a kind way) on it, too.

    But once I'd been in maintenance for a while (few months), it seemed that some of the loose skin shrunk back a bit, and maybe some other recovery factors kicked in (glycogen replenishment? dunno.). In any case, the general appearance improved significantly. And it goes beyond adjusted self-perception - I've gotten feedback from others.

    I'm in no danger of being tapped as a supermodel, but I never was. Nonetheless, my face looks better/healthier now after a few months in maintenance than it did right at first, for whatever reason. (I suspect exercise may be helpful in tightening things up relatively more quickly, but have no proof.)
  • ShammersPink
    ShammersPink Posts: 215 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    At first, my face looked drawn/sunken and generally not good [...]
    But once I'd been in maintenance for a while[...] the general appearance improved significantly.

    I see this a lot when people lose weight. The face can look gaunt, scraggy and unhealthy for a while, but then I think the body redistributes the fat a bit, the skin continues regenerating, and they start to look younger and healthier again. I think the exception is when people go too far, so that they are super-skinny. That can be quite an aging look.

    Also, of course, they and their friends just get used to their new appearance.

    So maybe the OP just needs to give it some time maintaining at a lower weight, nearer to the guidelines, to see whether his face rights itself over time, and indeed, how the rest of his body shapes up, and how well he feels.

  • EdwardMH2
    EdwardMH2 Posts: 65 Member
    Thanks this gives me hope. Now I need someone to photograph me as I am now, and take some measurements to compare for later.

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