Never ending question: how much should I weight

kristofferbas

When I created my account here at MFP in march this year I set my goal weight to 75 kilos (165 lbs) and I'm now thinking it might actually be to low. I did choose the goal weight by looking up my healthy BMI and choosing a number in the middle, but now when I've started to do more strength training I notice that the scale doesn't change as much as the body does, and I don't really care as much about the numbers on the scale anymore.

I'm 181 centimeters (about 5'11"?) and I don't really remember what I looked like when I was skinnier (as it was a long time ago). And even though I'm probably about 25 kilos heavier than I was when I was about 18-20 years old, I'm in much better shape now (I run about 35 kilometer every week now, and I couldn't run 500 meters back then).

So, is there anyone around here who's about the same hight as me who reached a weight where they're happy? I now this is different for every person, but it would be nice to get some kind of thought what a good goal weight could be.

Love
/k

sarah44254

My boyfriend is 5'11 and weighs around 170. He says he wants to gain more muscle and lower his body fat %, this will likely have him end up at 180 or 185 when he is happy. This is considered an overweight BMI for him, but he is more concerned about muscle gain and fat loss than the BMI chart. As should all of us be

The best way for YOU to know, is to get close to the weight you have as goal and see if you are becoming more satisfied. Do you want lower body fat%? do you just want a smaller number on the scale? do you want smaller jeans/shirts? do you want to gain muscle bulk? figuring out what you want is likely more important than figuring out what weight you want to be.

good luck

MJ7910

look on the guidelines for healthy weights. just do a google search for "healthy weight"... usually you can type your information in and they'll give you a weight range. i have a medium build so i picked the middle of that range. if you are small boned you might want to pick a smaller weight. if you are larger boned maybe a larger weight.
here is a general weight loss guide i've heard:
5 feet, 100 lb
if you're female, add 5 lb per inch. if you're male, 7lb per inch.
so a 5'11 female avg weight woudl be 155, for a male would be 177.
just a general guide, not a rule.

Mgrogers09

you should not pay attention to BMI as it does not take muscle into account as im sure you know. Body builders who have the physique of gods have a BMI that would qualify them for lap band surgery. I put a lower weight on my MFP like you did, but im going to go more by how i look than anything else. a 6"0 guy that is really muscular can weigh 250. Depending on what you want to look like would determine what weight would be feasable for your goal.

shaj316

I always found the BMI ranges to be too big. For example, you are considered normal if you weigh between 137lbs to 183lbs if you are a 6'0 male. That is ridiculous. I know a skinny guy 6'1 guy (coworker) who is around 170lbs. He's about the leanest guy I know.

I'm 6'0 and can't imagine 180lbs. I'm shooting for 210lbs (years away from now). That's in the overweight range but I have a large frame and don't see how I can get lower than that. When I was in my best shape years ago, I was very athletic, solid numbers for cholesterol, sugar, etc. and was still 220 lbs. If I can do that again, I will be happy.

ahinescapron

A lot depends on your build. When I was in fantastic shape, training for a half marathon, 12% body fat, and regularly being accused of having an eating disorder (which I didn't), I still barely made it to the healthy BMI range. I am tall with a large build and I put on muscle very easily. BMI does not take into account muscle mass. So, if you tend to put on muscle, you may not be in their "healthy" range. Go get your body fat tested and if your body fat is good, I wouldn't worry about the BMI.

juliekin

I'm not a guy. but my husband (who is 6'1") seems to be more proportional around 195. I think 165 is a little bit low for your height. My BMI (healthy) says on average I should be 139. When I got to 143 I actually had people stop me at church asking if I had "the cancer" and if I was all right. I then took a hard look at myself and my weight, talked to my doctor (who is a friend), and realized that sometimes you can be too skinny. I now think I would be more successful at 145-150. I'd also talk to honest friends or your doctor, if they see you regularly enough to know.

MIMITIME

If you are pleased with where you are then you are where you need to be. I know the BMI tool on here is just an estimate. It would be unrealistic for me to try and reach the healthy BMI weight number for me so I don't stress about it.

Awkward30

Just because I like to play devils advocate, it has also been established that overweight people frequently think they should weigh more than they actually should. For example, a 300 pound 5'3" woman might think 150 is a good goal because that seems like so much less than what she currently weighs, but that would still be fairly well into the overweight range, and depending on her body, she is likely to be dissatisfied with the results there. I'm sort of going through this, I set my goal as 130, even though I don't think I even weighed that in high school, so I don't think I can realistically get there... but all the same I have researched the crap out of it and even with a large and athletic build, that should be very attainable. I'm sure there is more variation for guys though, since you guys, in general, have more variability in muscle mass. Without taking steroids, women just don't build much muscle, so the difference in weight from a very muscular 5'3" and a much less muscular 5'3" isn't really comparable to the difference between really muscular and less muscular men.

I guess I'm going to have to be a bad devil's advocate in the end, though, and say that the way you look and feel is so much more important than the number on the scale.