5'7" ---- ideal weight??

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chn10342
chn10342 Posts: 12
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all...

First of all, how can't I really tell what my "bone structure" is (i.e. small/med/large) I have always been on the rounder/curvier side since the beginning of time, so, is it safe to assume that I am a large structure? I googled the height/weight chart, and 160 seems about right to me...I am afraid if I go to 150 I might look like a crack addict, and I don't want that. I am curious to hear thoughts!!! BTW I am somewhat new here, and would love to meet some new folks!!!
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  • tameko2
    tameko2 Posts: 31,634 Member
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    depends a lot on your body - there is a wrist measurement metric for determining your bone structure but its a little wonky becuase if you're really overweight hten you gain fat on your wrist and that throws your measurement off. When I was overweight my wrist measurement made me 'large' framed and now that I am closer to my goal I'm actually medium. So yeah its a bit hard to tell.

    Love your pic though.

    Its a safe goal weight to make your first goal the top of the BMI Chart (which I think is yeah, 160 for you? I'm 5'6" and its 155 for me) and then when you get there, reevaluate. So get to 160, see how you feel, and then drop another 5 lbs if you think you want to.
  • OnceAndFutureAthlete
    OnceAndFutureAthlete Posts: 192 Member
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    I'm 5'7" too. And 50 years old.
    I'm broad shouldered like all the women in my family. I don't know what exactly that means in terms of bone structure, but we "carry our weight pretty well" so generally don't look like we weigh as much as the scales say.

    When I was in college, I was at 135#. Which since I was athletic (decent amount of muscle), was on the thin side of normal.

    In my 20's and 30s I stabilized at about 150#, but again, athletic, so, still looked "normal."

    Things started creeping and then shooting up in my 40s. Until I got to >230!! (with some yo-yos between 200 and 180 in there).

    I'm now at 197# (down 35#!) and shooting for 160#. I'm not that athletic anymore (damn you, lack of hormones!), so I plan to see what 160# looks like and re-evaluate from there.
  • Febgirl
    Febgirl Posts: 68 Member
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    I'm just a tad over 5'7 and I'm a US size 4 at 150 pounds, so my ideal weight is somewhere between 150 - 160 pounds - I'm more interested in clothing size than the actual number on the scale. I have a large frame!
  • chn10342
    chn10342 Posts: 12
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    THANKS!! I first set it to 163, but I guess I like the round number of 160. So strange, because I have never ever really been at that holding weight in my adult life. I am really excited, as well as ready!!

    PS - Thanks Tameko2 for the nice compliment :happy:
  • CoffeeNBooze
    CoffeeNBooze Posts: 966 Member
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    You can measure your frame by taking your thumb and index finger and wrapping them around your opposing wrist. If your fingers overlap, you have a small frame, if they do not touch, you have a large frame, etc. General rule of thumb anyway, no pun intended.

    I'm 5'7 and have a small frame, I look best/fit when I'm in the 120s. We are lucky in that we can handle more weight though and still look good B-)
  • Epicmum54
    Epicmum54 Posts: 26
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    This is how my doctor explained it to me...eat healthy, maintaining a good calorie count per day (she suggested 1500 - but I think that's more for maintaining than losing), exercise reguarly and your weight will be what it's supposed to be. I'm 5'6½" and too am shooting for 160 as it seems a reasonable weight to maintain. I tried 150 but it was hard to maintain and I skipped a lot meals and ran a lot of miles to stay there. Good luck!!
  • ingfit
    ingfit Posts: 180 Member
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    I'm 5'7" and my goal weight is 150. In my 20's I was naturally at 140, size 6, and after kids 150-160 size 8. Now in my 40's, I'm currently 172 , size 10-12. I feel comforatable and sustainable at 150 .... now getting back there is a whole other kettle of fish!
  • Fergie21
    Fergie21 Posts: 46 Member
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    I'm 5'7 and weight 137 pounds and don't look like a 'crackaddict'
  • tameko2
    tameko2 Posts: 31,634 Member
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    You can measure your frame by taking your thumb and index finger and wrapping them around your opposing wrist. If your fingers overlap, you have a small frame, if they do not touch, you have a large frame, etc. General rule of thumb anyway, no pun intended.

    I'm 5'7 and have a small frame, I look best/fit when I'm in the 120s. We are lucky in that we can handle more weight though and still look good B-)

    See this is what I'm talking about - that thing doesn't work when you are fat and there's a factor of handsize. when I was fat my wrist was fat and my fingers didn't touch. Now I am less fat and my fingers touch when I wrap them around my wrist but someone with very small or large hands/fingers might get weird results too.

    So I prefer this method where you actually measure your wrist (like here http://health.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Frame-Size-Wrist) but also - when I was fat I probably would have shown up as large framed even though I'm not.
  • chn10342
    chn10342 Posts: 12
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    It is weight, but also more a size!! I have never also been lower than a size 10!!!!! So size 8 at about 160 sounds like it might work, or maybe we will just weight (sorry had to do it) and see!!! I am liking what everyone has to say.

    For the record, not everyone looks like at "crack addict" below 160 at 5'7", it's maybe because with my frame, I might look sickly ( a la Jennifer Hudson, but that's an entirely different thread!!!!)
  • kasebrad
    kasebrad Posts: 61 Member
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    Well, according to the BMI chart, anything between 120 and 155 is fine. I would say that you should shoot for 155, then see how you feel. Just remember that everyone's different - which is pretty clear from this thread, since other women my height who weight more wear smaller sizes than me! I'm 5'8", weight 128, and I still wear between a size 6 and 8, lol.
  • fat_momma
    fat_momma Posts: 16
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    Clothing sizes vary a great deal depending on frame too. I'm 5'7, currently 146lb. Size 10/12. I'd like to get to a size 6/8ish . Have to wait and see where that will land me weight wise.
    Also, I agree with people saying wait and see how you feel. When I originally began my weight loss journey at 230 lbs, 160 seemed like a dream. After living healthier for a while I realized I could, and wanted, to do better.
  • chn10342
    chn10342 Posts: 12
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    Kasebrad---funny, because just today at the gym the number 155 popped into my head. I am going to make 160 my first goal, and see how I feel, and then perhaps move down to 155. Honestly, it doesn't seem possible, but it IS!!!! I just have to do this day by day!!! Thanks everyone for your feedback!!
  • sweetsierra
    sweetsierra Posts: 15
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    On the topic of frame size- I always thought I had a large frame because I've always been a big girl. Now that I have lost almost 70 lb though, it's looking like I have a smaller frame. I thought I had broad shoulders, but it turned out it was fat. It's so hard to get used to! My first goal is 170 lb and then I will go from there. I get what you mean about looking like a crack addict. After having a full figure and face my whole life, I now feel like I look scary! My mom and I joke that I look like a plucked chicken. ;) lol I hope that I can adjust to my new look and that when I lose more, I don't look even weirder!
  • maremare312
    maremare312 Posts: 1,143 Member
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    Great question, and one I'm wondering about/looking forward to answering :D I'm 5'7" and there's a pic in my profile of me wearing a jean skirt and I believe I was around 165 pounds at the time (the skirt is a size 10). I played volleyball and basketball, and would come home from practice and go for a run and damn near starved myself to get to that size. High school is hard on girls. Anyhow, I don't expect to get down that low again, so am aiming for 180 at this point, but we'll see what works!
  • IvoryParchment
    IvoryParchment Posts: 651 Member
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    Pre-pregnancy, I was 5-7 and 119 lbs., stable, with no effort to curtail intake. I didn't look like a crack addict. But my bone structure is definitely light; I got osteoporosis at a young age despite a very high intake of calcium.
  • aprilricks86
    aprilricks86 Posts: 67 Member
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    this is an interesting one . . .

    Like others have said it also has to do with your frame size. I just did the whole wrist measurement thing and my wrist is about 5.75". That puts me at a pretty small frame size for my height unfortunately. I say unfortunately because while I am a bit on the tall side, I do not carry weight weight well because my shoulders are pretty narrow and I just have a pretty delicate structure. Anyway, I would say my ideal weight is usually about 127 / 128 or so when I've got a good amount of muscle on me.
  • mungowungo
    mungowungo Posts: 327 Member
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    You can measure your frame by taking your thumb and index finger and wrapping them around your opposing wrist. If your fingers overlap, you have a small frame, if they do not touch, you have a large frame, etc. General rule of thumb anyway, no pun intended.

    I'm 5'7 and have a small frame, I look best/fit when I'm in the 120s. We are lucky in that we can handle more weight though and still look good B-)

    See this is what I'm talking about - that thing doesn't work when you are fat and there's a factor of handsize. when I was fat my wrist was fat and my fingers didn't touch. Now I am less fat and my fingers touch when I wrap them around my wrist but someone with very small or large hands/fingers might get weird results too.

    So I prefer this method where you actually measure your wrist (like here http://health.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Frame-Size-Wrist) but also - when I was fat I probably would have shown up as large framed even though I'm not.

    The putting fingers around wrist isn't entirely accurate either. I tried that and my fingers overlap - which would make me a tiny frame but I have large hands and long fingers. My wrist measures about 6 3/4 inches around which makes me a large frame for my height - also 5'7". My wrists themselves are quite bony so Im confident this is fairly accurate. I'm sorry I can't post a link to the website I found this info on as my laptop died and am getting by on my phone.

    BTW My goal weight is currently set for 150 but I'll see how I feel when I get to 160.
  • hararayne
    hararayne Posts: 261 Member
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    Hi all...

    First of all, how can't I really tell what my "bone structure" is (i.e. small/med/large) I have always been on the rounder/curvier side since the beginning of time, so, is it safe to assume that I am a large structure? I googled the height/weight chart, and 160 seems about right to me...I am afraid if I go to 150 I might look like a crack addict, and I don't want that. I am curious to hear thoughts!!! BTW I am somewhat new here, and would love to meet some new folks!!!

    I'm hoping to get down to 163. I actually figured this out with a trainer and what I am comfortable with. I had my body fat % taken and from that they told me I had 142 lbs of NECESSITY. Bones, muscle, organs, etc. Forever I had thought I should be able to weigh 120. But I wouldn't be able to do the things I do at that weight. I need to be strong.

    I also am very "top heavy" and curvy, so I decided on a 25% bodyfat goal. Which should be around 163 lbs. Friend me! We might have some stuff to talk about!
  • Lylaathome
    Lylaathome Posts: 15 Member
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    Your story sounds so much like mine. I worked hard in 2012 and lost 40 lbs, then had two different injuries (one was bruised ribs and sternum after falling in a cross country skiing incident and then later tendonitis that really stopped me from chi trail running with my husband. On Jan. 1st 2014 I had gained back 30 of the previous 40 lbs lost. Since finding this site I've started to track my food and exert myself with more exercise, also increasing my water intake, has helped me to lose 3 pounds so far and I am happy that I am back on track to regain my health. One thing I need to do is start getting more sleep. I am 5' 7" and I am looking to make my first goal of 169 by Jan. 1st 2015.

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