Lowest possible healthy weight?

Kabiti
Kabiti Posts: 191 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm curious... here's my history. I am 5'11"

In high school, I swam 1-3 miles a day as part of a competitive team. I ate tons of food, tons of carbs. I don't know that I could consider myself "ripped" but I was definitely in shape.
I was 180 lbs.

After high school I gained... peaking at around 260. After some diagnoses last year (High BP, early diabetes) I dropped 10 and maintained 235.

Recently (about 2 months ago) I came out and dropped to 205 (and still losing!). I'm not gaining muscle and have no interest in working muscle for a long time.

Is 180 where I could be at best? I see various "healthy" or "normal" or "ideal" numbers for both women and men of my height. BMI says 170-190 (my current target range). Others have ranges anywhere from 135-180 (yes... I realize that as a mid-framed person 135 is impossible).

My real question is... is my target correct? Should I enter maintenance at 180? Should I continue to attempt to lose weight? I'd love to be a "skinny" girl, but I doubt that's completely possible with my frame. That doesn't mean I can't be slim and look good.

I'm not really interested in replies that tell me to ignore the scale. I have bigger body image issues that make the scale and tape measure my only good source of information. I am working on those issues with a therapist and this weight loss is directly driven from that work.

Replies

  • LarryDUk
    LarryDUk Posts: 279 Member
    If you have body image issues why are you interested in how much you weigh? I would say only you will know what weight you are happy at, but with those things hanging about, you may try to go to low for you health.
  • SlimSmittySleeved
    SlimSmittySleeved Posts: 8 Member
    I'm 5'11" and my highest weight hit 328, and I chose to have weight loss surgery -- vertical sleeve gastrectomy to be precise, removing 80% of my stomach. I'm down to 207 and my surgeon has said that I'm doing great where I am, however, he acknowledged a "woman's desire to be below 200 lbs." He said if I hit 200, I should be happy there. If I hit 190, that'd be great. I don't know why I have my head set on 185, I feel like that's what I weighed in high school when I was a serious athlete. I've always been way bigger than girls my height, "blessed" with a large frame/chest/*kitten*/etc. Even at 185 and running around doing sports, I definitely had a softer body, not diesel or ripped like you said. So IMHO, 180-200 is probably a good range for both of us.

    I hope you do great!
    Leslie
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    Set a goal for yourself. Let's use 180 as an example of your goal. Reassess when you get to 190. You may end up gaining muscle depending on your workouts and how you lose, and you'll look good even if you aren't at the exact weight you wanted. If you still think that you could lose fat, try for 180 and see how you feel when you get there. The way that people carry weight (and what that weight is composed of [fat or muscle]) makes it so personal that looking at a number on a chart isn't necessarily the best way to tell how much you should weigh. Besides, it's subjective. What someone tells you is a good weight is often not the weight YOU feel best at.
  • melinda200208
    melinda200208 Posts: 525 Member
    I think it really depends on your body frame. I've noticed people on here that are 5'11 and weigh as low as 145 pounds. If I weighed that, I would be bones and look sickly. I currently weigh 178 (i think, haven't weighed myself in a while) and my goal is 160. If that is possible for me. After a certain point, I dont lose any more weight. Then, I have to concentrate on toning. (especially my stomach area) So, if your looking for what your ideal weight is, unfortunately you will probably be the best person to answer that....Set a realistic goal such as losing 15 pounds, re evaluate and make another goal..? Good luck!! Sounds like you are on the right track :)
  • Daws387
    Daws387 Posts: 46 Member
    I'm no expert. However, I've learned that keeping track of body fat percentage can be helpful in maintaining a healthy weight. Just like there is a healthy weight range according to your BMI, there is also a healthy body fat percentage range.

    Check out this link: http://www.builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ideal-body-fat-percentage-chart/

    As long as your body fat percentage doesn't go lower than 10% (which is very hard to do) then I say keep working towards your goal. If you get to a point where you feel like your getting too thin then I would say start maintaining at whatever weight that is.

    Hope this helps!
  • TrailRunner61
    TrailRunner61 Posts: 2,505 Member
    Congrats on your weight loss! Here are my thoughts. I think that if you don't already have some, have someone else take full body pictures of you so you can get a better idea of what you really look like. Standing in a hallway, bathroom mirror, holding the phone out in front of you doesn't cut it. As long as you look healthy, and feel healthy, you should be fine. If your cheeks start to hollow, your eyes look huge, your bones stick out really bad, then maybe your weight will be too low. Only YOU know if you're eating right.
    I say this because I am a recovered anorexic and at 95lbs, I thought I was fat. If you see a 'good' photo of yourself, you'll possibly see what others see, if that make sense. I did and I was shocked that I looked like a skeleton. I no longer have that problem, lol, that's why I'm here.
    You also don't want to be 'skinny fat', that isn't healthy either. Is there a reason you don't want to work out or did I not understand correctly? Can you walk or hike? That is great exercise and you will be surprised how much it can tone your body, with little effort..
    Good luck and keep working with your therapist!
  • aylajane
    aylajane Posts: 979 Member
    There are so many ways someone can look at the same weight. I am 5'5" and I have weighed 140 at 3 different times in my life, and each time was completely different... One time I was athletic and toned (and wore size 6-8), another time I was sick and had lost a lot of muscle (size 8-10) but my bones were sticking out on my shoulders and face yet I looked like I had a beer gut as all my weight remained in my mid section. Another time I moderately exercised and was reasonably active but not lifting weights or building muscle (size 10-12) but the weight was evenly distributed so I looked proportional.

    If I said I wanted to weigh 140 again (which I do), I do not yet know if I will be happy with it since it will depend on what my body happens to look like this time.

    How about you set 180 as your goal weight, since it seems to mean something to you and you remember being there. Then when you actually get there re-evaluate at that time. If you are happy, you go to maintenance. If you are what they call "skinny fat" (what I was after being sick), you wont be happy with your body despite being at that weight. If parts of you are still not what you hoped, you figure out what to do about it then.

    Its not the actual weight that is the problem, its the distribution of the weight and your body composition at the time that will decide whether you are happy there. A lot of that will be determined by what you do in order to drop the weight... I.e. if you stop eating and lay in bed for a few months, you will get there but will be very unhappy with your body (and probably suffer from issues related to malnutrition). If you do moderate exercise (as you can), you will likely maintain some muscle tone and might be happy. If you start a lifting routine and build muscle, you will likely gain muscle and maybe lose fat, and you might be happy. If you eat healthy enough to get all the protein, iron, etc you body needs, you will be happier with the outcome (i.e. not losing hair, dry skin, sunken eyes etc are possible with macro/micro nutrient deficiencies).


    Its very hard to say if that will be the right weight for you! But the method DOES matters...
  • lessofme43
    lessofme43 Posts: 139 Member
    I think it depends on your age & height mostly what your goal weight should be. Have you checked with your doctor or another professional? If you are just a few years out of high school, then your 'in-shape' weight at that time doesn't seem like an unreasonable goal. But if I, at 43, would attempt to weigh what I did in high school, I'm pretty sure I'd have to be dead and decaying for a while to get there! I've birthed 3 children since then, and my bone structure has changed considerably. I made a rough goal of a 30lb weight loss to begin with, but recently checked with my doctor to see if I was on the mark with that. He said according to the charts, I could go as far as 40lbs, if I chose to, but that if I felt comfortable at 30 that wouldn't be a bad thing. I will see how I feel when I reach my 30lb goal in a couple of months...and I do think that how you feel (healthy? could stand to lose a few more? need to bulk up a bit?) is a great gauge.
  • Kabiti
    Kabiti Posts: 191 Member
    I have one big complicating factor... being out to myself and my family... I'm not sure how much I should get into it here... but here goes: I'm transgender, MTF. Basically my body will change to be in line with my image only *after* I reach my goal weight range... which means I have no way of tracking my goals. I understand it can be difficult to maintain & lose while going through other changes and having the goals, the scale, and the tape measure are the only tools I have right now. The goals are very important and I'm close to the stage where I need to re-evaluate.

    I like the Body Fat % track, but I'm not sure how good the scales do (I've read you should drink a pint of water 30-60 minutes before using it... I do exactly the opposite -- in the morning after all the water is gone). I'm currently at just over 25%BF according to my Omron scale first thing in the morning. Muscle shows around 34%.

    I'm 35 and I think my first goal (really 190, with an aim at 180) is right. I was in shape as a swimmer, but not skinny. I'm basically looking to get back to that point without all the muscle.

    I take pictures & tape measurements weekly. I weigh-in daily.

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