46 year old female my doctor said (do you believe him)

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  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,272 Member
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    At 5'7" as well, there is no way I would ever contemplate being 120lbs. Seems too low for me! I would rather have a higher weight and be more toned. Honestly, my goal is closer to the 135-140 range.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Well I'm sure you could, with a lot of work, but it would be much harder to maintain 120 lbs at 46 yo than at 19.
  • SuziQGettinFit
    SuziQGettinFit Posts: 28
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    Just remember your skin isn't 19 anymore and your face may not look as attractive at that weight as it did then! I'm 5'2" and think I would look haggard at 120 now that I am 61. My face will tell me when it's enough.

    This is soooooo true. When I was about 40 I lost a ton of weight and was almost to the weight I had been at age 25 and enough people told me how old I looked to make me believe them. At 25 I was 120, had gotten to 125 at 40, now at 58 I would like to be around 145 - 150, seems about right to me.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,659 Member
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    A weight of 120 lbs. is on the very low end of the the BMI for 5'7", around 18-19, near underweight. Your current weight is just slightly overweight. Is there some reason your doctor wants you to drop that much weight -- such as diabetes or a heart condition? You could drop just 10 lbs. and be in the normal range. I'm 5'2" and around 120 lbs., which is normal range for someone my size! I also concur that being that thin might look a little different at 46. My sister is younger than I am but still around what she weighed in college (105-110), but her face looks about 5 years older because she has that gaunt look.
  • PJPrimrose
    PJPrimrose Posts: 916 Member
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    I was 5' 7" and 120 in the 8th grade. It looked pretty good for an eight grader but I'm not thinking so much on a grown woman! You should weigh at least 135 since you have breasts, hips and the body of a grown woman now. I would change doctors if I got that advice. It's too skinny IMHO. I had the same thing happen a long time ago. The nurse, who was surly and rather retarded, managed to measure me as 2" shorter than I was. Then the quack Dr told me I needed "lose a few". *roll eyes* I was 5'9" and 140. They said I was "overweight" at what they measured (derp) of 5' 7" and 140. That is so not overweight by any standard. I asked Nurse snarky pants to use a tape measure to calculate my BMI. 34 C-24- 35. Overweight my butt! I thought nurse snarky was going to have kittens from the look on her face. Not a lot of overweight folks have a 24" waist. Just sayin'.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
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    Depends on your frame size. If you have a very small frame and were fleshed out at 120 it might not be unhealthy. Some members of my family have very, very small frame sizes and genuinely look better at the very low end of the BMI scale.

    But really, OP -- it's not like you're going to shoot past 140 and go straight to 120 overnight. Look at yourself in the mirror, take pictures every 5 lbs or so, and ask a friend. You might find that you're happy at 140 or you might get to 130 and look at yourself and say 'yeah, there's definitely still some pudge I want gone'. You don't need to pick your goal NOW and stick to it.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,741 Member
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    That's pretty thin at your height. Do you really want to be that weight? I think the best goal is to be where you feel strong and healthy and happy.

    +1

    That weight doesn't sound unrealistic but it also isn't something that I think you should try to attain just because. Only do it if that's what feels good for your body. You could lose quite a bit less and still be well within a very healthy and lean range.

    Honestly though, I find it odd that some are saying it's just straight up too skinny, period. I really doubt that.

    Then again, we all have different frames of reference.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
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    I think you can do it.

    But I wouldn't put a time frame on weight loss, unfortunately it doesn't always happen as planned. If you claim to be in it for the long haul, then a time shouldn't matter. Just worry about a healthy lifestyle and you'll do fine
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    Well commenting about whether or not you should drop to 120 pounds aside of course it is completely doable. If anything a 46 year old woman most likely has a lower lean mass than a 19 year old girl so would weigh less with the same bodyfat percentage.

    Of course this is completely dependent on what you were like at 19 and what you did up until the age of 46, of course it is possible to have actually increased your lean mass...I just mean on average the older you get the more lean mass you lose.
  • mycupyourcake
    mycupyourcake Posts: 279 Member
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    Yeah you could get to that weight again but I bet you wouldn't be as small as you were back then. Focus on your body composition, strength and health rather than a number from your teen years. I also think that young girls look great thin, but as we age we need a little more fat on us to keep some fat in our faces.
  • MamaFunky
    MamaFunky Posts: 735 Member
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    That's pretty thin at your height. Do you really want to be that weight? I think the best goal is to be where you feel strong and healthy and happy.

    Agree with this too! I am 40 yrs old, a little over 5'7" and my current weight is 134 with 15.5% BF. I have lost 16 lbs and have increase my muscle tone. I couldn't imagine getting down to 120. For me personally, that would be way to thin with little muscle. I am sure it can vary from person to person depending on body type..but that just my opinion. You have to find that healthy balance of food, exercise and what makes YOU feel good! Plus....I enjoy eating too much to get down that low! :laugh:

    Don't try to be what you were when you were 19...be the best you can be now! You can do it! :smile:
  • keziak1
    keziak1 Posts: 204 Member
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    I was struck by the comments about how being too thin can make a face look old and gaunt. One time I saw a man after he had been on Jenny Craig and I really thought at first that he might be a cancer patient! He had changed that much. I want to lose a lot of weight but not end up looking like that.
  • dopeysmelly
    dopeysmelly Posts: 1,390 Member
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    In theory, I don't see any reason why you couldn't achieve this. Setting a timeframe is a personal thing (do you work well under deadlines in general? etc), so I wouldn't necessarily feel like you have to set one. I haven't personally because if I don't meet that deadline I might feel like a failure, and, quite frankly, my work life is run by deadlines so I have enough of them already.

    I would question whether a doctor's passing comment is really enough to radically change your life, though. What are YOUR reasons for losing this weight?

    I'm cynical enough to know that medical professionals are human like the rest of us, and sometimes say comments which they don't realize their patients take to heart quite so much, when they don't necessarily mean for them to take big lifestyle changes.

    By no means am I suggesting you shouldn't do it, but it will take a lot of effort to avoid failure. You have to really want it.
  • hobbesla4
    hobbesla4 Posts: 20 Member
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    It really doesn't matter what or how much you weighed at 19, because you are not that person anymore. Please don't try to lose weight in an effort to recapture who you were then. I agree with the person who said that maybe you should change doctors. Medical technology has come so far. For your doctor to make a statement like that seems ridiculous to me. Both you and your doctor need to focus on your overall health and strength, not whatever number is close to 120 pounds. Just take things one day at a time, one pound at a time and see how you feel. Take measurements as you go. Best of luck to you on your journey.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    To drop that weight that quickly, you would sacrifice a lot of Lean Body Mass (everything that is not fat in your body, muscle, bone, etc.) At your age, decreasing muscle and bone mass is NOT a good idea. This will make you more susceptible to osteoporosis and with hormonal changes happening now or very soon, you won't be able to rebuild that (not without a lot of commitment in lifting heavy weights and eating appropriately and even then it is difficult).

    Bottom line, bad idea, not healthy.
  • h7463
    h7463 Posts: 626 Member
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    Hi there! You know the saying... 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away...' My version: Take a good size apple to your doctor's office, take aim and throw it at his head...
    Those stupid BMI charts annoy me greatly. IMHO, it's about time they move on to body composition. To me, numbers on my bathroom scale have lost their magic long time ago. I'm 50, 5'5", 134 lbs, 16.5 % BF, and I fit perfectly into a size 4 Levis... Most people comment on 'how skinny' I look (I call it 'lean'...), and then they are stunned about my actual weight. I started lifting just over 2 years ago at 125 lbs and 25 % BF. Surprisingly, I was also a dress sizes bigger then. I didn't lose weight, but volume.. It's not impossible at our age, but I'm busting my behind every day..... =)
    Good luck!
  • lisalsd1
    lisalsd1 Posts: 1,520 Member
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    Is your doctor the same weight and as fit as he was 25 years ago?
  • wannastayfit
    wannastayfit Posts: 25 Member
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    My mom was 5' 8" and had 7 kids. She was 128 in her 50s and looked really awesome and quite thin. She could wear anything. So don't worry about getting to 120.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,072 Member
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    I am roughly your age OP - and when I was a teenager I was very slim - under weight probably.
    I am just under 5 ft 4 in and I weighed 45kg.

    30 years and 3 children later, I had crept up to 72 kg - when I took stock of this and decided to lose weight my aim was not to get back to 45 - it was to get within the healthy weight range for my height.
    I am happy being 62 kg now which is within range - but at the upper end (I think the range was 55 - 65) My BMI is now 23.

    Yes I know BMI charts are not the be all and end all - but for most of us they are a fairly good guide of where we are at.

    My story is in kg - but you get the gist.

    In short, I agree with most posters - sure, lose weight, but maybe review what the goal should be - perhaps 140 sounds more realistic than 120.
  • lrearick1452
    lrearick1452 Posts: 10
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    I have one doc who goes by the charts: 125-150 for my height. My rheumatologist tells me I have a large frame and I believe him because I could NEVER get a ring type bracelet over my hands. That means he's right. So, I naturally fall toward the higher end of that scale. Then add the age factor (and a whole lot of medical problems) and my recommended weight by my GP is 165. That's my first goal. I'd like to see 145, ultimately. I'll NEVER see my college weight (119) due to the fact that I have at least 2x the muscle I had then.

    I agree with everyone--work towards what feels right and healthy. Don't kill yourself over it, be happy with what is achievable.

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