How to accurately figure out your ideal weight

chloerebecca0809

According to the nhs calculator my ideal weight for 5.4 is anywhere between 7st10 and 10st6 but when I was in the 10s I was still obese and I could imagine the 7s being to skinny. How do you accurately figure out what weight is safe and healthy and a good goal to aim for.

AnnPT77

You start losing weight and stop when you're happy.

BTW: The weight goal you put into MFP has literally no affect on the number of calories it estimates for you. That entry is just used for some "you've lost X of Y pounds!" sort of motivational messages. It works fine to put in a guess, and change it later.

Best wishes!

CarvedTones

I would aim to get in the range and then re-evaluate based on how you look at feel.

cmriverside

I aimed for the top end of my healthy BMI. When I got there I still needed to lose more. I am now almost exactly dead-center in the range, and that's where I've been for years.

Just start. You'll know.

Seffell

Why not just go by the mirror?

amberellen12

I put my stats into a BMR calculator and chose a number in the middle, 140. When I get close I’ll let the mirror tell me if I need to lose more or I’m good.

Running2Fit

Seffell wrote: »

Why not just go by the mirror?

Because for some people it's more motivating/helpful to have a specific goal to work toward. Also, many people who are losing weight have trouble seeing their progress in the mirror. I've lost 40 lbs since my highest weight and a lot of the time when I look in the mirror I just don't see the difference. Of course before and after pictures help but so does the scale and taking measurements.

I picked the last weight I remember being in the healthy BMI range (120). I also found this website to be helpful: https://www.mybodygallery.com/ since I could look at how different amounts of weight look on someone my height and figure out what I might be happy with for myself. And you can always reassess your goal if you get close or reach it and decide that it's not quite what you wanted (either too high or too low).

apullum

I picked a goal weight that was roughly in the middle of my optimal BMI range.

The only thing I would really caution against is feeling like you must hit the lower end of your ideal BMI range. We see some folks here whose goal weights would make them very close to being underweight, and they keep trying to lose fat even though they are at healthy weights. I generally recommend that people focus on fat loss if they are above a healthy weight range, ideally while also doing strength training to preserve muscle mass. However, after reaching a healthy BMI range, I think it's best to switch to recomp (building muscle while reducing fat) if you are still not happy with how your body looks.

workinonit1956

Seffell wrote: »

Why not just go by the mirror?

I went by the mirror for years and years. At 5’2.5” I thought I looked perfectly fine at 150 and strove to weigh around that number. I wear clothes well, and was under the delusion that with my “large frame” (hogwash) and long waist I was good.

When my weight crept up to the point where my doctor mentioned it (31 BMI) I plugged my numbers into a BMI calculator and saw that 150 was overweight for me. It was a real eye opener.

10 months later, eating the correct amount of calories, I am for the first time within a “normal” weight/BMI range and I look very different than I thought I was supposed to.

Just my two cents.

CarvedTones

Seffell wrote: »

Why not just go by the mirror?

I had to use an objective measure first and then subjective. I would settle for too high a weight just based on the mirror. I did carry the weight better than some people. It was still unhealthy.

Lounmoun

For me as an adult I have weighed anywhere from 100 lbs to about 180 lbs at 5'4".
The healthy weight range for my heaght is 107-145 lbs I think. Obese starts around 175 lbs.
Based on my experience I think it is an accurate healthy weight range to shoot for. I felt pretty *kitten* physically at 179 lbs, not bad at 150 lbs, really good at 125 lbs, and pretty *kitten* closer to 100 lbs. I think I probably looked my best around 125 lbs. So 125-145 lbs is the area I am looking to get to.

If you have never been a healthy weight as an adult, I'd say aim for your healthy weight range and evaluate how you feel as you go. You have to figure out your own happy place.

fishgutzy

Everyone is different.
My wife is 5'10".
When I met her she weighed 125# but was not skinny.
36/25/32.
Government always demands a one size fits all solution for everything without regard for humanity's uniqueness.

CarvedTones

fishgutzy wrote: »

Everyone is different.
My wife is 5'10".
When I met her she weighed 125# but was not skinny.
36/25/32.
Government always demands a one size fits all solution for everything without regard for humanity's uniqueness.

One size? Normal BMI is ~130 to ~160 for me, and that's ignoring the low end, below a BMI of 20. That's a lot of sizes for a lot of unique people. Normal BMI range is a good place to start. The vast majority of people I know who say they are healthy with an above normal BMI are deluded. There are some exceptions, but they aren't common. Your wife's measurements and weight are unusual. A 25" waist and 32" hips is pretty skinny for 5'10", but it is still surprising that she is below the healthy BMI range.

Anyway, my suggestion with regard to BMI was and is to get into the healthy range and then re-evaluate .

cmriverside

I think people who say they carry their weight well when they are really overweight might be a bit on the deluded side as well. I used to think that way until I was at this weight for a while (21-22 BMI). When I was 15 pounds heavier I was still comfortably within the healthy BMI range for my height, and I looked fine. This weight now is better in every way. It feels right.

I mean yeah, I can hide extra weight under clothing, but if I'm always wearing elastic or always wearing loose fitting clothes (which is what I tend to do when heavier) then that's kind of cheating. Elastic is not my friend.

I think once I got to this weight I really finally realized what I was supposed to look like and how much I am supposed to eat and exercise. My body is a miraculous machine when it works as designed.

BrettWithPKU

chloerebecca0809 wrote: »

According to the nhs calculator my ideal weight for 5.4 is anywhere between 7st10 and 10st6 but when I was in the 10s I was still obese and I could imagine the 7s being to skinny. How do you accurately figure out what weight is safe and healthy and a good goal to aim for.

I'm basing my weight goal on 27 BMI which, though generally regarded as 'overweight', recent studies have found that 27 might be the ideal BMI for longevity in men. (Yes, I understand that a plethora of other studies might have had different conclusions.) 27 BMI also represents my weight in college, during which time (as many college students do) I felt invincible.

So I guess I have that to offer. If during a time in your adult life you weighed a certain number and felt exceptionally healthy, I'd set that as an initial goal.

EDIT: Preempting those who'd ask me to cite my source, one such study is at the following address:
http://www.berkeleywellness.com/healthy-eating/diet-weight-loss/article/overweight-new-normal

CarvedTones

I carry weight reasonably well; a little over 10 pounds into the overweight range I felt good about how I looked, but it was because most of the remaining fat was fairly evenly distributed.

SVZee

You'll mostly change your goal weight as you go along, so don't worry about it too much. Chose a number that's a healthy weight for your height and as you get further along into the process you can tweak things. Also, you'll most likely adjust that number after you transition into maintenance as well as your goals, age etc change.

Runaroundafieldx2

I'm the same height and I like to be between 118 and 123 most of the year then I go 5lbs higher over winter as I feel the cold terrible.

You'll know when you're happy