is 98 lbs too much for me?

_Kate_P

i'm 5'2, currently 104 lbs with a daily calorie intake of 1,200 and a goal weight of 98 lbs. i find it quite hard to keep my calories under 1,200 everyday so i know i've got to workout to make some room. and i find myself a little hungry at night which makes me worried that my body would go into starvation mode again. i used to be on a 700 calorie diet. it messed up my metabolism and made me gain back some of the weight i lost. now i'm trying my best to get back on track with an increase daily caloric goal.

i based my goal on wii fit plus, because according to it 98 lbs is still in the healthy bmi range. but almost everything else (and by that i mean the apps i've downloaded on my iphone and the ones i found on google) tells me it's in the underweight range.

should i change my goal weight to something above 100? and increase my daily caloric intake as well?

You're probably not happy with your 104 lb body because you lack muscle mass and probably are soft. To correct this, you'll need to eat a bit more and do some resistance training to improve body composition.

^^YES. I wear the same size clothes as I did when I was 114lbs now, at 131lbs of muscle. Going for a lower weight and lowering your cal intake is not the way to go. Instead, focus on muscle building. Muscles burn more calories than fat and muscle is smaller than fat, so you get to eat more and look smaller with muscles:happy:

Helloitsdan

Have your numbers done for you so you can learn what your healthy weight is. Driving body fat and killing lean mass is not only silly but can be deadly.
Better bump those calories up to 2200 calories and call it a day!
Eat!

heybales

The side benefit to the weight lifting, that muscle will help burn that remaining fat that may be in places you aren't happy with.

If you have gotten down this far and those areas are still there at your weight, you are probably skinny fat. So while the volume isn't bad except in those problem areas, it's probably mostly fat too.

So get the muscle on, eat those workout calories back with good protein, accept the fact your weight may go up a bit, while the sizes come down a bit, at first.

mrau719

Look into bodybuilding.com for some good muscle building programs.

CMmrsfloyd

IMO, you need to mantain the weight you have now and work on toning/gaining muscle if you are not happy with the way your body looks

i have big legs and thighs and annoying face fat. and i've read somewhere spot exercising won't work so i want to lose overall body weight. and yeah, i think my wii fit is wrong. lol.

You can't choose where you lose fat from on your body, however if you train with weights and resistance as suggested you will increase your muscle mass and conveniently decrease your bodyfat in the process. You might remain the same weight or even gain a few pounds but end up smaller and more toned b/c of the change in muscle vs. fat. There have been some pretty cool pictures posted on here before of a woman at 120-something looking small but flabby and then weighing 130-something where she had obviously been training hard and was smaller and looked better even though she was technically heavier. If you're not happy with the shape of your body, definitely follow these guys' advice on training with weights, it will change your body in ways that general weightloss cannot. Plus it makes you feel kind of badass and confidence is killer for making you look good and feel happy with your body. :-)

ALH1981

IMO, you need to mantain the weight you have now and work on toning/gaining muscle if you are not happy with the way your body looks

i have big legs and thighs and annoying face fat. and i've read somewhere spot exercising won't work so i want to lose overall body weight. and yeah, i think my wii fit is wrong. lol.

You can't choose where you lose fat from on your body, however if you train with weights and resistance as suggested you will increase your muscle mass and conveniently decrease your bodyfat in the process. You might remain the same weight or even gain a few pounds but end up smaller and more toned b/c of the change in muscle vs. fat. There have been some pretty cool pictures posted on here before of a woman at 120-something looking small but flabby and then weighing 130-something where she had obviously been training hard and was smaller and looked better even though she was technically heavier. If you're not happy with the shape of your body, definitely follow these guys' advice on training with weights, it will change your body in ways that general weightloss cannot. Plus it makes you feel kind of badass and confidence is killer for making you look good and feel happy with your body. :-)

this is great - i would love to see these pics. Its interesting, if i work out hard for a week - i gain muscle and the scales go up.... i frustrates me but i feel and look better. THen if i stop excersiisng for a week the scales drop!!! i never really got it....

SergeantSunshine_reused

If you are working out for only a week you probably arent gaining muscle

CMmrsfloyd

IMO, you need to mantain the weight you have now and work on toning/gaining muscle if you are not happy with the way your body looks

i have big legs and thighs and annoying face fat. and i've read somewhere spot exercising won't work so i want to lose overall body weight. and yeah, i think my wii fit is wrong. lol.

You can't choose where you lose fat from on your body, however if you train with weights and resistance as suggested you will increase your muscle mass and conveniently decrease your bodyfat in the process. You might remain the same weight or even gain a few pounds but end up smaller and more toned b/c of the change in muscle vs. fat. There have been some pretty cool pictures posted on here before of a woman at 120-something looking small but flabby and then weighing 130-something where she had obviously been training hard and was smaller and looked better even though she was technically heavier. If you're not happy with the shape of your body, definitely follow these guys' advice on training with weights, it will change your body in ways that general weightloss cannot. Plus it makes you feel kind of badass and confidence is killer for making you look good and feel happy with your body. :-)

this is great - i would love to see these pics. Its interesting, if i work out hard for a week - i gain muscle and the scales go up.... i frustrates me but i feel and look better. THen if i stop excersiisng for a week the scales drop!!! i never really got it....

Search 'skinny fat vs fit photo' it is the first thread that comes up in the results. :-)

megmay2591

I'd have to say 98 is WAAAAY too low. I'm 5'4 and my goal weight is 125. I agree with everyone else, try strength training, and eating some more calories to get the body shape you want.

megmay2591

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/392784-skinny-fat-vs-fit-photo?error_user_id=14407721&error_username=megmay2591&hl=skinny+fat+vs+fit

CMmrsfloyd

I'd have to say 98 is WAAAAY too low. I'm 5'4 and my goal weight is 125. I agree with everyone else, try strength training, and eating some more calories to get the body shape you want.

Totally off topic, but I'm 5'4" and that's my goal too! :-)

MJ7910

i think a person about 5'2" if they had my build (small-medium) would look best around 105-110 lbs. there is a formula that is an older formula but tends to be pretty accurate for small build... take 5 feet, base of 100 lbs... for every inch over 5 feet, add 5 lb. so 5'1" is 105 lbs... 5'2" is 110 lbs... any less than that probably would look kind of frail. i agree with the others who suggested body building... if your lean mass was higher and you had a low bf% you could weigh more and it would look great on you.