Is 5’7 160 too skinny?!

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  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    NOT too skinny!

    Makes me wonder about your doctor's judgment, though...He thinks you're better at 190 at 5'7"? Wow. My husband is 6' and 190, and his doctor doesn't want him any higher.
  • SuziQ113
    SuziQ113 Posts: 1,520 Member
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    From your pictures you do not look frail. That said, you stated you are afraid of maintenance and you have had rapid weight loss which could equal an eating disorder in the near future. If you have been with your doctor for a long period of time, he may just be expressing a concern and does not have a good bedside manner.

    Question, did your doctor draw blood and complete a full panel to make sure your vitamin, mineral, body functions, etc. are in proper order? If not you may want to either ask for full blood panel and/or get a second opinion.

    What I have done in the past to determine my "maintenance" caloric intake is I added 100-200 calories to my daily calories. I ate that amount of calories every day for a week. I checked my weight at the end of 7 days. If I was still losing I did the same the following week. I continued the process until I stopped losing and hovered around 2 pounds over/under my goal weight. It is a process. Example: Current calories 1200/day. Week 1 - 1300 calories per day; week 2 - 1400 calories per day, etc. Since all of us have different bodies and activity levels this is a personal measurement.

    Do not be afraid of maintenance! You have worked hard to get to this point in time.
  • Tic78
    Tic78 Posts: 232 Member
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    Well done on the weight loss. I agree with the others that your doctor is in the wrong. It's likely he's a little heavy himself. Other thought is perhaps he was concerned with your calorie intake or speed of weight loss. Maybe he thought you were too fixated on low calories?

    I know we are all different with different goals but I am 5'10 when I weigh 160lbs I am around/sub 10% body fat. I wear mainly large t shirts but I can fit into some mediums if they are loose fit but I dont look to skinny imo. Calorie wise I cut on 2100-2300 and maintain about 1000 calories higher. I would recommend lifting weights for body recomp if that's something your interested in. If not I'd be tempted to aim for a bmi of 22.5-23.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
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    Great job! I'm thinking you might "look frail" because of loose skin and lack of muscle. Start lifting! Bump your calories by 100 or so a day per week until you find maintenance. Your skin will continue to tighten over time. You might also want to find a new doctor, but it is also possible that he is just surprised at the quick change in your appearance.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,977 Member
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    OP: Based on the photos you posted, you are still overweight and are definitely NOT "thin or frail" as is confirmed by your BMI.

    Your photos also confirm the presence of excess BF and a lack of muscular definition. So, you would definitely benefit from a wt lifting program as I suggested previously.

    Your goal of 155 is a good stating point for this effort but I think, as happened for me after I made progress, that you may want to lower your goal wt later.

    When I started my wt loss and stength development efforts at 196 down to 160, I've was losing wt on 1800 cals/day but as I lost fat and became more fit my cal consumption has dropped to an ave of about a 1600 cal/day at my current wt of 150 w/o any medical or physical issues arising as a result.

    However, everyone's cal intake needs differ and I'm not saying that you will be able to lose/maintain your wt at the same levels.

    What I am saying is that your cal intake needs will chg and vary depending on the chg in your wt and physique and will require constant adjustment as you progress.

    Just keep this in mind. Nothing in a wt loss/body building effort remains static.

    Good luck!
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,596 Member
    edited October 2019
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    Skin will tighten (to a degree) and things will redistribute (slightly) over time. Whether you maintain for a bit or a longer length of time you can evaluate once you start maintaining and strength training. You can then see how you feel and decide where to go from there.

    Weight fluctuations happen, especially when you introduce more food and different training. Don't go in a panic because of a single weight reading. Understand your weight trend and that when you're strength training you're carrying some extra non fat weight.

    While 100 Cal increases each week may be appropriate in some cases where you're seeking maintenance, if you were going from 1500 to an expected 2500+ you're looking at 10+ weeks, so it would not be appropriate. I would start with ~500 and then 200 a week till you hit 2400-2500 and then evaluate again whether to stay put or go up or down by 100s or 200s
  • slbbw
    slbbw Posts: 329 Member
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    I think you got great advice. My husband is your height and weight with a bit more muscle and is definitely not too thin, but on the small side for a guy. Are you currenty using a strength program. You may find doing a recomp or a very slight deficit with weight training might be a good way to ease into maintenance.
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
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    I don't think you look too thin or frail...I like muscular guys, so would love to see you more muscular, but that's only necessary if you want to be more muscular...though it does build bone density and other fun stuff.

    That being said - here's a height/weight chart based on frame size and might help you determine where you want to be with your weight:

    https://thefreewindows.com/normal-weight/
  • unstableunicorn
    unstableunicorn Posts: 216 Member
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    Very curious response from your doctor. Maybe he has very few patients who are at or under healthy bmi? Or he’s misinterpreting composition changes (I’m freaked out by my collar bone & pectorals even though I have 80-100lbs to go)? It could even be he’s concerned at the speed it was lost (which is understandable). In any case, NHLBI considers 160lbs @ 5’7” bordering on overweight (heck, I’m a 5’7” woman and my doc was thrilled when I told her my goal range caps at 170), and frankly you look fine weight-wise. I would recommend learning more about your individual needs and behaviours, and sit down and talk to him about *why* he thinks your weight is too low.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    I'd say it's a pretty interesting response from your doctor. Honestly, it's hard to say and can be very individualized. I'm 5'7" and 160 was far too low for me. I got to 162-163 and was finding myself far too skinny and worked back up to about 167, where I did a recomp and landed comfortably at 172ish.
  • threewins
    threewins Posts: 1,455 Member
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    Maybe he was in a grumpy mood, and said the wrong thing? It happens to all of us, even doctors.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
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    I don't know if anyone has mentioned this but I have a few thoughts/questions. Have you been able to ask your doctor for clarification - either the day of or after the fact? Given your rapid weight loss, it isn't out of the realm of logic to be concerned, but the way at which he went about expressing that seems a bit unwieldy at best. Secondly, have you gotten a second opinion by another doctor about this?

    I will admit that I probably wouldn't seek a second opinion if I were in your shoes. Rather I'd ask for clarification either online or over the phone with the doctor and then potentially drop them as a doctor and find a new one. That said, I also have a therapist so if I had any fears about maintenance that could contribute or lead to an eating disorder, those would be addressed/by someone who his more knowledgeable about the mental health piece than my GP.

    For what it's worth, I did once scare the crap out of my GP after he looked at the depression screening. That said, while his response was inappropriate in my opinion (given his amount of worry, he should have asked if I would sign a release so he could talk to my therapist), I ended up keeping him as a doctor and he has yet to have a similar response.
  • jakersneed1770
    jakersneed1770 Posts: 12 Member
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    Thanks for all the comments!
    My doctor is 5’5 200 pounds. So I’m starting to think he is a bit bias. I’m seeing a nutritionist on Monday (next week) to get some advice.

    I’m not too concerned with the loose skin. It doesn’t actually bother me at all honestly... shocking I know. I think I look great in clothing which is what really mattered the most to me. For sure I will need to get into the gym at some point (2020 goal!).

    Perhaps it’s fair he was concerned with the rapid weight loss. I do weigh myself pretty much daily and have had a lot of trouble breaking past the 160 mark. I’ve floated at 160 for about two weeks @1300 calories a day.
  • jakersneed1770
    jakersneed1770 Posts: 12 Member
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    sgt1372 wrote: »
    OP: Based on the photos you posted, you are still overweight and are definitely NOT "thin or frail" as is confirmed by your BMI.

    Your photos also confirm the presence of excess BF and a lack of muscular definition. So, you would definitely benefit from a wt lifting program as I suggested previously.

    Your goal of 155 is a good stating point for this effort but I think, as happened for me after I made progress, that you may want to lower your goal wt later.

    When I started my wt loss and stength development efforts at 196 down to 160, I've was losing wt on 1800 cals/day but as I lost fat and became more fit my cal consumption has dropped to an ave of about a 1600 cal/day at my current wt of 150 w/o any medical or physical issues arising as a result.

    However, everyone's cal intake needs differ and I'm not saying that you will be able to lose/maintain your wt at the same levels.

    What I am saying is that your cal intake needs will chg and vary depending on the chg in your wt and physique and will require constant adjustment as you progress.

    Just keep this in mind. Nothing in a wt loss/body building effort remains static.

    Good luck!
    Thanks! I’m more concerned with how I look in clothes. I’m more confused because at my weight I fit into small clothing, which my friends say is just strange for someone at my weight.

    I think 150 would be a good spot for me. Any lower than that and I might snap. While the weight loss has been great overall I really want to get back to eating normally at some point...
  • jakersneed1770
    jakersneed1770 Posts: 12 Member
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    sijomial wrote: »
    Regarding your fear of gaining on 2000 cals which is a huge issue which perhaps prompted your Doctor to say something which in isolation sounds dumb.

    I'm 59 YO, 5'9", 165lbs and usually maintain on 3,000 - 3,500 cals depending on my exercise volume.

    2000 is often stated as an average maintenance calories for a mythical average female and 2500 for a mythical average male.

    My suggestion would be to focus on what really is an irrational (but understandable) fear of regaining weight on a very small allowance and work up your calories steadily, ignoring fluctuations, and learn what your true maintenance calories are over a period of months. After a very rapid loss of weight you might be surprised how high your maintenance calories end up.

    Meanwhile get yourself to the gym and lift some weights.

    At your young age you have a whole load of long term options open to you - don't think what you do now commits you for life.

    Thanks. After reading through the comments it seems I have a borderline eating disorder. I think most of it is due to losing 40 pounds and putting it on, and now I’ve convinced myself a few pounds could be the difference in my appearance.


    I suppose my doctor had a valid reason to be concerned, however I think his advice about gaining 10 was ill advised.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    jakersneed1770 wrote: »
    Thanks for all the comments!
    My doctor is 5’5 200 pounds. So I’m starting to think he is a bit bias. I’m seeing a nutritionist on Monday (next week) to get some advice.

    I’m not too concerned with the loose skin. It doesn’t actually bother me at all honestly... shocking I know. I think I look great in clothing which is what really mattered the most to me. For sure I will need to get into the gym at some point (2020 goal!).

    Perhaps it’s fair he was concerned with the rapid weight loss. I do weigh myself pretty much daily and have had a lot of trouble breaking past the 160 mark. I’ve floated at 160 for about two weeks @ 1300 calories a day.

    What's stopping you from getting in the gym now? At this point, I think recomposition is a better goal than losing more weight.

    While your doctor may indeed be biased, the fact that you 1. lost a lot of weight rapidly 2. are continuing to undereat (1300 calories) and 3. have other red flag thinking is a legit cause for concern.

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