What should I weigh?

melkithall

I am wondering if anyone knows where i can find info to figure out what is really the goal weight I should be shooting for? I do not like the chart that I find everywhere that only asks for age and height. I have never matched up with that chart, even when I thought I was pretty healthy. Plus, my memory sucks, so I don't remember what I actually weighed back when I was decently healthy. I remember always thinking I was big, but my best friend growing up was quite petite so maybe I just felt that way compared to her. Anyways, I feel great about the loss I"ve done so far, but I'm just not sure what I should really weigh when I'm "done". Any advice?

CMmrsfloyd

You can get a ballpark range to consider if you look at the healthy BMI range for your height. Click on 'tools' at the top of the site then click on 'BMI' under that - you can calculate your current BMI and then it will show you a chart that shows the healthy range for your height. It's a pretty big range - something like 40 lbs - so it's not an exact number for you to shoot for. It's a big range b/c there are a lot of factors to consider, like your frame size and how muscular you are. I'd say shoot for the middle-high part of the range it gets you, and see how you look and feel when you get close to that. A lot of people on this site pick a number and then find as they get closer that it's actually higher or lower than where they really feel best. You need to consider how you look and feel more than anything.

melkithall

Thanks, but those are the charts that aren't usually accurate. They usually tell me that my healthy BMI is so much smaller than I ever remember being. I'm not sure that it's right. But, I do understand it's more how you feel. I'll definitely try to remember that too.

UponThisRock

Thanks, but those are the charts that aren't usually accurate. They usually tell me that my healthy BMI is so much smaller than I ever remember being. I'm not sure that it's right. But, I do understand it's more how you feel. I'll definitely try to remember that too.

Most people underestimate how much they need to lose

CMmrsfloyd

For a little perspective, you might consider either getting tested for your bodyfat percentage or taking measurements and using calculators online to get a few estimates. Bodyfat percentage is probably more important where health is concerned than BMI. BMI is just a raw relationship between your height and weight, it does not take muscle mass and fat mass into consideration. People at the same weight can look very different depending on their muscle mass and bodyfat percentage, and likewise their risk factors for health issues would be very different. It might be more constructive for you to find out what your current bodyfat percentage is (ballpark at least), find out what a healthy range would be and then shoot for decreasing your bodyfat rather than focusing on the number on the scale. :-)

tameko2

Thanks, but those are the charts that aren't usually accurate. They usually tell me that my healthy BMI is so much smaller than I ever remember being. I'm not sure that it's right. But, I do understand it's more how you feel. I'll definitely try to remember that too.

Its probably right. Even for me who is not a small or skinny person in general, I will end up at the higher end of the BMI chart when I am at my goal bodyfat (20-21%) and at a more normal body fat % (say 23-24) I would still fall in the "healthy" BMI range -- just the very upper edge of it.

I am fairly muscular (not super huge or stocky) and big chested (34DD - they're getting squished down hard in my profile pic).

Youi didn't give us ANY info on yourself so a lot of this depends on how you want to look.

Do you mind having some belly fat/bigger thighs/butt when you are at your goal weight" ? Right now I'm 165.8 (YAY), 5'6" (that pic is a bit old) and I look pretty good with clothes on, obviously carrying extra weight around my belly but I doubt that people look at me in clothes and think "damn, that girl needs to lose some weight". I look fat naked and thats not body dysmorphia on my part, its just that clothes are flattering if you do them right. So you really need to idenfity what your goal LOOK is to figure out what your goal WEIGHT is.

And by the way "look" is almost entirely based on how much body-fat you're carrying.

and re: the BMI chart - remember the standard chart makes no differentiation between guys and girls and I think guys are generally supposed to be heavier than girls of the same height due to naturally lower body fat - so the top of the BMI chart is actually going to be a bit more generous with a lady than with a guy.

But its also true that the BMI chart is just a statistical measure -- it just so happens that those statistics come from people and most of us are people. (But not all) so the chart really is a good place to target. Start with a BMI of 25, as you get close to that you can reevaluate