Starting from 'normal' range

Me too. I'm 5ft 7 and weigh 149 pounds which gives me a BMI of

I am as well. I'm just barely in normal range, I believe about 25, but I'm not comfortable with how I look

Im 23.3 too! But I'm only 5 foot 5

I'm 5'4 .. 46 years old .. and weigh 112.5 .. I have a couple more pounds to lose. I usually float between 105-110 as I have a very small and petite frame .. and my knee really hurts if I weigh too much. Although I'd like to get back to 105 -- I'm totally perfectly fine with 110 :-)

I quit smoking in August and gained 15 lbs within 30 days without changing my diet or lifestyle. I didn't eat more .. but smoking is a stimulant and thus sped up my heart rate while smoking as it had to work harder to get oxygen (or the lack thereof) to my muscles, etc.

My body seems to have settled down from the weight loss plus I started exercising more regularly and I'm feeling much more comfortable where I am. My BMI is 19.84 and body fat is 25.25% .

I started on MFP when I was only just outside of the healthy range (something like 25.5). I'm now 21.2 aiming for 20 Go me!

I'm the same way. In the normal range but on the upper end of it. Losing weight from here can be so frustrating!

I'm in the normal range as well but there is too much weight on these bones. You have to feel healthy - not just meet some government guidelines.

I'm also at the upper end of healthy BMI. I really need to get my motivation back. It'd be nice to have a few more friends in the same situation so feel free to add me

Anyone else starting their weight loss journey from the normal BMI range? My BMI is about 24.5 which I know means I'm not overweight, but for me personally I'm carrying too much weight. I have off and on knee and back problems which would be helped by losing some weight. I've tried so many times before to lose the little bit of weight I need but have never succeeded as I lack motivation and self discipline. Want a pen pal type friend so we can do this together!

Well I've gone from obese, to over weight, to under weight (according to DXA) but I'm in the normal range in BMI now. BMI is not so accurate because at under 12% body fat I should be classified as under fat, but my doctor said I'm healthy as can be so it doesn't matter.

Anyway here's my tips:

Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, hormones, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You cannot make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

To say eat more is wrong.

To say eat less is wrong.

To find the exact calories needed for YOU to be in a healthy sustainable calorie deficit is the right answer. Wait, if you need to adjust by 100 do it, wait, adjust, wait, adjust, wait. The tortoise wins this race.

All that matters is calories. A healthy balanced diet within a calorie budget for a deficit that is right for YOU is all that matters for weight loss. Don't make it complicated.

Too many changes at once can be hard on some people. I've always eaten healthy so it easy for me to simply eat less. Eating at a calorie deficit is hard on people; even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such. Everyone is different. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others, this is not right or wrong, it just is. Stress in your life affects your hunger hormones; lack of sleep, fatigue, job stress, family stress, financial stress, etc. Add in emotional eating issues and it gets even more complicated. Most people can only handle so much change/stress at once, they try to do too much and fail. Sometimes it might be a better strategy to eat at maintenance and make some small changes first, it really depends on how much stress you are taking in at the moment.

Since you don't have as many fat reserves you don't want to go to low:

The Theory of Fat Availability:
•There is a set amount of fat that can be released from a fat cell.
•The more fat you have, the more fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•The less fat you have, the less fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•Towards the end of a transformation, when body fat is extremely low you
may not have enough fat to handle a large caloric deficit anymore.

At the extreme low end, when your body fat cannot ‘keep up’ with the energy deficit
you've imposed on your body, the energy MUST come from SOMEWHERE. This is
when you are at risk of losing lean body mass during dieting (commonly referred to
as ‘starvation mode’). This happens at extremely low levels of body fat, under 6% in
men and 12% in women [Friedl K.E. J Appl Phsiol, 1994].

-Brad Pilon and John Barban (from The Reverse Taper Diet in The Adonis Index and Venus Index manuals)

I started at the higher end of normal and I'm looking to drop extra weight, tone up, look/feel amazing and become a yoga super hero. I would love more friends in similar situations!