Reaching the lowest weight you've ever been - Question for those who are thin for the first time

thecubanskiier

Hi Everyone!

I wanted to ask the community at large a question about going below the lowest weight you've ever been. I've been overweight my entire adult life, basically since childhood. I've fluctuated between being "overweight" (at 160) and just being on the heavier side of normal for my height (140 - which looks pretty heavy on me), but I've never actually managed to be THIN. Now, I'm aiming for a UGW of 125, which seems somewhat daunting and impossible. Right now, my life is more stable than it's ever been, I love my job and my relationships and my housing situation, so I've never been better situated to tackle this lofty goal, but I'm having trouble wrapping my brain around that number, having always thought of myself as "big boned" and "hefty". Sometimes I wonder if my body can even GET to 125, having been at least 15 pounds above that basically forever.

So tell me, have any of you out there lost weight to the point that you were the lowest you've ever been? What did you do to break through that "set point"? I'm especially asking ladies in their late 20's/early 30's.

Also, feel free to add me! I'm always looking for more friends.

pariskathryn

I once got down to 155...I've been 170 or higher since I started weighing myself at 14. Getting there was much easier than staying there, honestly, because what I was doing (watching my calories) was working. I was so excited and decided have a cheat meal or two to celebrate it and before I knew it-- six months of cheat meals later-- I was almost back to my starting weight. This time I'm aiming for 130 and also can't quite imagine it, so I'm curious what others have to say.

DezYaoified

The lowest i remember being since i got to 5'3" was when i was 15yo i am now 29yo. I was 125 pounds size 9 pants and my hip bones pocked out. Dunno if i want to, or even could, get to that weight again but i sure want to try lol. I would love to be able to say i am the same size i was a 15 by the time im 30

KatyBell164

I got smaller than my high school weight - my motivation was I luckily have a mom who keeps everything and she had my prom dresses and I used them at motivation - working to get back there after 2 babies now!

bnovak226

We're in a similar situation:
I'm 5'3 SW was 172 (after my second baby) most of my life I have been in the 150's as long as I can remember. Before the holidays I hit my lowest ever 142!!! I have put back on 3lb

ladyreva78

I'm 3kg away from the thinnest I've ever been as an adult and even that is still solidly in the 'overweight' range. I'm aiming for solidly in the 'normal' range.

I used to believe the stories about me being big-boned and large framed and that I simply would never be 'thin'. It wasn't genetically possible for me.

Let's put that into a bit of perspective. Last year I bought a Fitbit. I measured my wrist and came up with a solid 20cm. See. Proves it. I'm big-boned. 20kg lost later I had to buy a new Fitbit. So I went to measure my wrist again. 16cm. My thumb and index now overlap when I hold my wrist. They used to be oceans away from meeting. So I guess... I'm not big-boned after all.

Oddly enough, last time I was that thin, my wrists also looked impossibly big (I didn't take measurements back then so I don't know, but I couldn't wear most bracelets comfortable. This makes me think... I still own one of the ones from back then. I'll put it on and check tonight if that impression is correct).

That 65kg I'm aiming for used to look so impossible. Now. Now it looks like a simple matter of regularly and consistently eating less than my body needs to sustain itself. I don't mean by a large amount even 100cals per day works. I don't care if it takes 1 month, 1 year or 10 years to reach that weight. But I know that with persistence I'll make it.

thecubanskiier

Thank you all for your responses, you're all totally awesome! Obviously, I believe I can do it (It's all CICO, amiright?) but I have this sinking feeling that weight loss is going to get SO much harder now that I'm pushing past my body's "set point". :P No more lazy half-assing things.....

PaulaS1220

I have been plugging away at finally losing all the weight I wanted for over a year now (400 something day streak on MFP). I hit my lowest ever adult weight right before Christmas and have maintained since. I'd like to drop a few more, but I'm still thrilled to be where I am now. It's taken commitment and a new found love of running helped, too. I know everyone says this, but honestly, if I can do it, anyone can do!

If stats matter, I'm 47 years old, 5'3" and 121 lbs.

tracypreiss

When I was at my lowest years ago it was very hard to maintain so now I am getting to a weight that I feel comfortable and can maintain long term. I believe we all have that ideal weight that our bodies feel and look good at. Doesn't matter about charts etc.

maybe1pe

I'm at around the lowest I've been since I was 19/20.

I definitely want to lose more (I still weigh 193) but even in high school when I was very active and very strong I was 175... so I am definitely starting to get apprehensive about being able to push lower than that point... I have a "goal weight" but I think I'm going to aim for more of a size and body comfort... I don't want to push myself too low and have it be unsustainable. I'd honestly rather weigh more and be stronger like I was in high school... so we will see how it goes in the next couple of months.

bbell1985

I don't know if I really believe in "set points", maybe a range that a particular body is comfortable in-for whatever reason.

Anyway, I was overweight my whole life. I wanted to get down to 125-128 to get lean enough to bulk (put some muscle on properly!). I'll be honest...I could barely make it. It hurt. My fat intake was low, I lost my libido. But I was very lean and lifting heavy. I am more informed now and would do it differently.

Once I got that small I thought I was still fat. It wasn't until I gained the weight back and looked at the pictures of when I was 127/128 I saw how thin I was. When I bulked my body just wanted to put that fat back on so badly. I've never been able to get thin again...I got a taste of being very slim too, so this has been difficult.

cwolfman13

thecubanskiier wrote: »

Thank you all for your responses, you're all totally awesome! Obviously, I believe I can do it (It's all CICO, amiright?) but I have this sinking feeling that weight loss is going to get SO much harder now that I'm pushing past my body's "set point". :P No more lazy half-assing things.....

I think you just need to evaluate as you go along and take into account BF%, muscle mass, etc...not just weight.

My lowest adult weight was 140 Lbs and I was stick thin. I ultimately got to 220 Lbs at my highest weight. When I started losing I figured 155-160 would probably be good as I remember being in that range when I was in my 20s and being pretty happy with it.

Turns out that while I was getting fat, I was also putting on some muscle mass. As I cut, I pretty soon realized that 155-160 wasn't really realistic without burning muscle mass in addition to fat.

<<<180ish in that pic and around 12% BF...I could go lower, but that's a pretty comfortable place to be. I've gotten down to 175 and I was very lean and it was difficult to maintain that level of leanness...much below that and I'm looking at sub 8% and at 42, maintaining that would be a ridiculous amount of work and a nazi diet, so it isn't happening. And like I said...155-160 I would have to burn up quite a bit of muscle mass...and I'm not huge by any standard.

scjl132

I am a little older than the age group you are targeting, I am 62. However, I am at the lowest weight I have ever been in my adult life. I am 5'4" and weigh between 117-119. I started at 201. I think I last weighed that in junior high. So yes, it is possible no matter what your age.

STEVE142142

Started this journey January 1st 2016. My weight was 288 pounds my current weight is approximately 208 pounds. I'm a male 6 foot 4.
I set a crazy goal of losing 30 pounds by March 31st period hit 250 that seems so easy to do I said another crazier goal I said what happens if I hit 2:30 I used to weigh that in high school. Set that goal for August and I actually hit it somewhere around June. Had an even crazier idea what would happen if I hit 2:20 I said let me try it may take a couple months I actually hit that goal. At that point I was totally happy where I was and I started maintenance totally screwed maintenance up lost another 12 pounds.

I was one of those people who always said I got to slow metabolism a big boned blah blah blah blah blah blah. It's just a mental Journey you're going on period once you make the decision it's probably one of the easiest things you do if you approach this like an education. Educate yourself about food and nutrition and your body. There is no such thing as a set point period it's a simple matter of eating less calories than your body Burns it may take longer for some people than others but as long as you keep up the process it will work and you will hit your goal no matter how crazy that goal is.

My one last suggestion to you is don't be focused so much on a number but more how you feel or look. If you do any kind of strength training which in my opinion is very important you could hit 135 or even 140 and still look better then you do at 120 without any strength training

there are plenty of posts on the success story and Fitness and exercise boards where you see girls who are heavier than you think but they look a lot thinner due to strength training

hollyberry6182

I always look at the number 120-140 and think "wow! That's really small!" My lowest last year was 154lbs and at that point, you could see my ribs and my hip bones were sticking out. I don't think I was very comfortable looking like that.
I'm female, 5'7" and broad framed. My friends thought I was looking around 130lbs at that point and couldn't believe I was much heavier. They all weigh about 130lbs and so they were just using their own image.

I put on a load of weight again and I'm now sitting at 166lbs. Ideally I think I should be at around 160lbs to feel good about myself again, but I'm not really looking at a number. I'm looking at how my clothes fit and how I feel about myself when I look in a mirror. X

LEAS86

I am currently the lightest I have been for 9 years at 153lbs - I am finally back to my pre 1st baby weight (I was 22 at the time!). Part of me thought I'd never do it, part of me still isn't totally sure how maintainable it is...but I'm here and actually, having found a way of eating that works for me, it hasn't been too difficult. Who knew?!

My initial GW was 156, UGW for now is 150, I'm 5'10" ish and broad, and I'll see how I feel when I get there. I need to work on adding some muscle and losing some flab, but that will be a longer term plan.

The key for me was working out the best foods to eat to keep me feeling full, while staying within my calorie range. I set my initial goal weight thinking I'd never do better, that I was just made to be in the 11stone bracket. The big game changer was reaching that goal without fighting myself and feeling like I was permanently on a diet. Now I try not to get too tied up with what the scale says, if it goes up by an lb here or there, I trust the process and keep going.

Best of luck to you

Barbonica

Six years ago I was 224, having been between 190+ for most of my adult life. My goal was 180. Didn't really think I would hit it. Changed my eating drastically, but didn't count calories. Just started eating things that were actively good for me all the time, but things I also liked. Dropped to 195 in about 9 months. Hung out there for a while, then reduced intake a little, and dropped to 180. Hung out there for a while then found mfp and dropped to 160. Been between 160-170 for a couple of years. BMI normal for me would be 153, but I am a power lifter and haven't focused on dropping to that weight. Maybe this coming year. I exercised the whole time, but have been lifting heavy for only about 4 years, an about to do my third pl meet. When I was stable weight, I was practicing maintenance. I stopped losing weight when CICO met each other...that is, my intake was going down as my body weight decreased. That is important to remember...you can not go back to eating like you did at a much heavier wright. You can do it!

katharmonic

I've been thinking a lot about this because I have now reached my goal weight, and it's lower than anything in recorded history Well, my recorded history does not exist as I always avoided weighing myself but I'm pretty sure I haven't weighed this since pre-teen/early teen years. I remember a couple of times when I was dieting or very active (was on a tennis kick for a while) when I got down to a pretty good weight but it never lasted.

I'm 5'10" and 48 years old. May 2015 I was my highest weight ever at 212 (BMI 30) and that finally horrified me into trying to make major changes (not just go on a diet). I set my expectations low - I definitely bought into being a big-boned person who could never be thin. OK, then forget being thin or any goal weight, I just want to be fitter. So I bought a Fitbit, started tracking everything I did - what I ate, how much I exercised in minutes and miles - and joined challenges. When I started making some progress I got more enthused and added other workouts, eventually starting running and joining a running group.

Now I'm at 155 and my BMI is 22 and I'm in maintenance mode. I'm objectively "thin" - which is crazy to me. I sit and feel my ribs all the time, like have these always been here? This week at work someone told me that I've now gone "right past into skinny". Not sure that was positive but again, it's a whole world view away from where I've always been.

And I know I need to keep up the work that I've been doing, I can't go back to the way I was living. I run 6 days a week and that gives me a lot more calories to play with so I feel really satisfied. I also take way more enjoyment in doing active things and seek them out. I have practiced being a better cook and making things that are tasty and fit within my goals for the most part - but I'm also big into having a treat every day and making sure that I still get the things I really love once in a while like pizza and margaritas and chocolate. For me I enjoy the data of it all and consider myself a single subject longitudinal research design.

So I don't believe in any set point, I think it's our habits and lifestyle we need to break through. Best of luck to you OP in reaching your goals and gaining health.

scjl132

I am quite a bit older than your target age group, I am 62. However, I am at my lowest adult weight. From 201 to 117. I am 5'4". I think I weighed this in about 7th grade. So far not been difficult to maintain. Just goes to show that you're never too old.

geminiswede

I'm 5'11, 29, and all through high school and college my real lowest weight was about 240. I've pretty much never been a normal weight other than maybe when I was a small child. After gaining all the way up to 320, I got back down to that range and I broke through it the same way I do with any "plateau", by tightening up my logging and trying to cut an extra 100-200 calories per day if the tightening logging doesn't work. I'm currently down to 210 and still have to get to 179 before I'm at a "normal" weight. I've pretty much never been a normal weight other than maybe when I was a small child.

ElvenToad

34, Female, 5'4, and morbidly obese since childhood. Matter of fact I believe when I looked up my BMI for the first time it was off the charts into super morbidly obese range. I started on mfp 3 years ago weighing 268lbs and hit my goal weight about 8 months ago and have been maintaining ever since. Well actually losing very slowly still trying to get my maintenance calories right, currently 125lbs. Definitely the lowest weight I have ever been in my adult life.

I never hit any plateaus or set points along the way, but I also was very accurate with my intake and logging. I would suggest you use a TDEE calculator to get an idea how many calories you would need to maintain at your goal weight of 15lbs less and see if that is a number you are willing to live with. I currently am still losing at 1700 cals per day after losing 143lbs. I'm not willing to eat any less so for me this is the lowest weight I will go. Hope that helps!

everher

There's no set point your body wants to weigh, but the thing is the closer you get to your goal weight the more meticulous you often have to be because you're working with a smaller deficit usually so being a hundred calories off a day even could seriously stall weight loss.

I think a lot of people also make a goal weight without realizing how they would have to eat and/or exercise to maintain that goal weight. It's still CICO. I haven't broken a new low yet, but I have to eat less than I did when I was this size years ago. I'm not nearly as active. I went from a highly active job to a desk job. I work out 5 times a week, but have moderate calorie burns. I could work out harder or longer to eat more, but I'm not really willing to.

Same thing with my goal weight. I just want to be within the normal BMI range and then I will reevaluate whether I can go lower based upon how many calories I could eat at my current activity level because I foresee myself having a desk job for the foreseeable future.

ashcky

I am so unsure about a "goal" weight. Right now I just want to get to a healthy BMI. I've always been overweight and right now I'm at my lowest weight ever. However, I get so confused about my body sometimes. Lol I am in a size Medium now and when I look in the mirror I'm like "how can I wear such a small size when I still have such a big stomach?" It's weird. I'm short too so that probably affects it too but I am always surprised that the scale keeps going down. I keep expecting it to stop or go back up no matter how diligent I am about my eating and exercise.

Mini_Medic

Set point isn't a real thing. Set point behavior develops because you stay a weight for awhile and eat the same foods and do the same exercise so you think your stuck but really you are not, you are just maintaining!

26 here, 5'3 female.
18yo I was 140lbs and size 8 pants, medium tops.
I gained from 18-21yo and maxed at 168lbs, I was size 12 and stuffing into medium shirts.
I lost down to 130lbs in 2012 at age 22, didn't learn the new healthy maintenance at all and went back to old habits.
I regained and maxed out at 175lbs at 23yo.
I have since lost it all again last year and hit 130 and maintained at 25yo until now, 130-135lbs.
Maintenance is way harder than losing, but worth it!
Currently I'm the lowest I've ever been at 128lbs and dropping. I've never been this thin as an adult and it is incredible! I love my new body and am challenging myself with new fitness goals every day. I'm still losing because for the last year of maintaining I've wanted to see what 120 feels and looks like. I have a petite frame but never saw it due to being overweight. I think it will stick this time because I have gotten over my binge eating and been able to enjoy food without being controlling and hoarding to overeat. I can comfortably say no to sweets and put them off for weeks until I have enough extra calories to really enjoy it. Then I can go right back to eating well and not blink. That to me is the thin mentality, something I could never quite grasp before and why I failed at weight loss the first time.

bbell1985

ElvenToad wrote: »

34, Female, 5'4, and morbidly obese since childhood. Matter of fact I believe when I looked up my BMI for the first time it was off the charts into super morbidly obese range. I started on mfp 3 years ago weighing 268lbs and hit my goal weight about 8 months ago and have been maintaining ever since. Well actually losing very slowly still trying to get my maintenance calories right, currently 125lbs. Definitely the lowest weight I have ever been in my adult life.

I never hit any plateaus or set points along the way, but I also was very accurate with my intake and logging. I would suggest you use a TDEE calculator to get an idea how many calories you would need to maintain at your goal weight of 15lbs less and see if that is a number you are willing to live with. I currently am still losing at 1700 cals per day after losing 143lbs. I'm not willing to eat any less so for me this is the lowest weight I will go. Hope that helps!

@ElvenToad

Wow..I'm 5'4" and weigh 144 and can't really lose on 1700 I see a lot of women with my stats losing on that much and it makes me sad. I know I shouldn't compare myself but man....Are you very active?

Abraxsis

Im 38 and I recently dropped below 200lbs for the first time since I was ~13. So Im smaller than I have been since I was a teen, possible a pre-teen.

First off ... it's not a "lofty goal" so don't look at it like that. Eat Less. Move More. Rinse and repeat daily. In time you will get there, it's basic physics/biology.

Secondly, throw the idea of a "set point" right out the window. Barring some illness or disease, your metabolic rate will change daily. You can down-regulate your thyroid function by eating less, then up-regulate it by slowly eating more. Basically, metabolic rate can be tied to consumption. Mind you there are upper and lower finite limits to this. Eat too much, and you're going to gain, regardless of metabolism. Eat too low, and you can take your metabolism (metabolic syndrome). So eat enough, stay in a small deficit, and you WILL lose ... no set point to worry about.

As for ladies vs guys. I will admit there is some hormonal hurdles that ladies have versus men, but a hurdle is made to jump over.

I don't put my current weight into MFP until I have stabilized at that weight for a day or two, sometimes I will fluctuate up the next day after a new low. But, with that being said, this morning I weighed in at 196.4 ... that is 211.2lbs lost total (instead of the 209 the ticker shows). No surgery, no supplements, no Dr. Oz nonsense, no medicines, no pills ... just honest hard work and time. Don't question whether you can, instead focus on what you want to do when you DO make it.

ElvenToad

bbell1985 wrote: »

ElvenToad wrote: »

34, Female, 5'4, and morbidly obese since childhood. Matter of fact I believe when I looked up my BMI for the first time it was off the charts into super morbidly obese range. I started on mfp 3 years ago weighing 268lbs and hit my goal weight about 8 months ago and have been maintaining ever since. Well actually losing very slowly still trying to get my maintenance calories right, currently 125lbs. Definitely the lowest weight I have ever been in my adult life.

I never hit any plateaus or set points along the way, but I also was very accurate with my intake and logging. I would suggest you use a TDEE calculator to get an idea how many calories you would need to maintain at your goal weight of 15lbs less and see if that is a number you are willing to live with. I currently am still losing at 1700 cals per day after losing 143lbs. I'm not willing to eat any less so for me this is the lowest weight I will go. Hope that helps!

@ElvenToad

Wow..I'm 5'4" and weigh 144 and can't really lose on 1700 I see a lot of women with my stats losing on that much and it makes me sad. I know I shouldn't compare myself but man....Are you very active?

I jog in place for 35 min twice per day as that is the only exercise that I've found that is sustainable for me. Get my video game time in while burning a few calories

Outside of that I'm fairly sedentary but I *try* not to be.

starfruit132

Mini_Medic wrote: »

Set point isn't a real thing. Set point behavior develops because you stay a weight for awhile and eat the same foods and do the same exercise so you think your stuck but really you are not, you are just maintaining!

26 here, 5'3 female.
18yo I was 140lbs and size 8 pants, medium tops.
I gained from 18-21yo and maxed at 168lbs, I was size 12 and stuffing into medium shirts.
I lost down to 130lbs in 2012 at age 22, didn't learn the new healthy maintenance at all and went back to old habits.
I regained and maxed out at 175lbs at 23yo.
I have since lost it all again last year and hit 130 and maintained at 25yo until now, 130-135lbs.
Maintenance is way harder than losing, but worth it!
Currently I'm the lowest I've ever been at 128lbs and dropping. I've never been this thin as an adult and it is incredible! I love my new body and am challenging myself with new fitness goals every day. I'm still losing because for the last year of maintaining I've wanted to see what 120 feels and looks like. I have a petite frame but never saw it due to being overweight. I think it will stick this time because I have gotten over my binge eating and been able to enjoy food without being controlling and hoarding to overeat. I can comfortably say no to sweets and put them off for weeks until I have enough extra calories to really enjoy it. Then I can go right back to eating well and not blink. That to me is the thin mentality, something I could never quite grasp before and why I failed at weight loss the first time.

That is such an accomplishment. Please tell us how you overcame bing eating? It must be a lot of fun to discover the changes in your new level of loss. Congrats!

youdoyou2016

I am now around 120, with a goal of 105-110. I see 118 sometimes, but bounce up.

As a teenager, I remember being in the high 130s. In my 20's, I was in the mid-120's, but a thinner than I am now (46 yo).

When I started (230s), I thought 170 would be amazing. Then 150 seemed was impossible. Then my goal became 125. It really is a head game, sometimes. I used to think my body just didn't work right, that I'd never be able to get to the weight I wanted -- something I remember believing as a teenager, too.

120 lbs is pretty great now, and it would be easy to just stop here. But, I'm committed to being fit / thin / having the experience of being muscular / toned, which requires continued loss. So, I just keep going. What works for me is continually setting the next mini-goal as I work towards the ultimate one. And, I learned my body is pretty amazing.

bbell1985

ElvenToad wrote: »

bbell1985 wrote: »

ElvenToad wrote: »

34, Female, 5'4, and morbidly obese since childhood. Matter of fact I believe when I looked up my BMI for the first time it was off the charts into super morbidly obese range. I started on mfp 3 years ago weighing 268lbs and hit my goal weight about 8 months ago and have been maintaining ever since. Well actually losing very slowly still trying to get my maintenance calories right, currently 125lbs. Definitely the lowest weight I have ever been in my adult life.

I never hit any plateaus or set points along the way, but I also was very accurate with my intake and logging. I would suggest you use a TDEE calculator to get an idea how many calories you would need to maintain at your goal weight of 15lbs less and see if that is a number you are willing to live with. I currently am still losing at 1700 cals per day after losing 143lbs. I'm not willing to eat any less so for me this is the lowest weight I will go. Hope that helps!

@ElvenToad

Wow..I'm 5'4" and weigh 144 and can't really lose on 1700 I see a lot of women with my stats losing on that much and it makes me sad. I know I shouldn't compare myself but man....Are you very active?

I jog in place for 35 min twice per day as that is the only exercise that I've found that is sustainable for me. Get my video game time in while burning a few calories

Outside of that I'm fairly sedentary but I *try* not to be.

Hm...Guess I just got the crap end of the stick

Lynzdee18

I'm 5'9". 61 so a bit older, but I think my experience might still be relevant.

I went from 204 to 141 from July2015 to October 2016.

I don't remember weighing 141 in my entire adult life.

But it was too low. I was too thin. I began less cardio, but running instead 4 days a week (right now a 5k in about 36 min) and added an average of 25 min of weight training 4 days a week. I also play pickleball, a sort of easy tennis, three or four times a week for 2 -3 hours at a time. The running is new for me and I'm going to focus on farther and faster over the next year.

I've gained about 8 pounds but I look less gaunt and more rounded. I've finally got muscles! My clothes still fit so I'm trying to avoid lamenting about the weight gain. I do monitor regularly because I don't want to be fluffy ever again. I'm hoping my running goal helps with this....