is it really too much to lose?

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  • hollymccall
    hollymccall Posts: 88 Member
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    Anything between 120 and your current weight is in the normal BMI range. Dropping pounds to change your current shape would not be a bad thing. More important is your current fat mass percentage. A good target might be about 20%.

    That is pretty low for a woman.

    I agree . Would would have to eat super clean and lift a huge amount and it would take years to get to 20%.

    Both of these sentiments are slightly incorrect.

    20% is considered a pretty standard "athletic" amount of BF% for a woman. Many fit, menstruating women (as BF dropping "too low" is seen with a loss of menstruation) have or sit around 20% without eating "super clean" or eating a huge amount. What do you consider huge? Amount of weight or time? I've definitely seen many women lifting maybe 3x a week at 20% BF, with little to no cardio even. As for weight, well, that's something I think should be recommended, not dissuaded as being "too difficult." It's not necessarily a super long period to get to 20%, as well, for many people, nor should something taking years necessarily mean a goal is not worthy.

    Regardless of what OP wants, 20% isn't "too low." It's on the lower end of healthy, and some "Google charts" sometimes peg it as underfat, but in general, you'd have to dip below 16-18% for most women to actually be in a danger zone for fat.
    So is lifting weights the way to go to lose the fat?
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    Lifting weight is great for cutting fat. Since I started, I have only lost 8 pounds, but my waist is 3.5" smaller than when I started.
  • Amestris
    Amestris Posts: 152 Member
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    Where are you measuring your waist at? I weight about 35 pounds more than you and my natural waist measurement is 30 inches. Make sure you are measuring at your natural waist which is a few inches higher than your navel.
  • lavaughan69
    lavaughan69 Posts: 459 Member
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    I'm 5'5" too and I started at 183 and had set my goal weight at 140. Once I reached that weight I decided to lose another 10 and now I'm only a couple pounds from that weight and I'm still not satisfied with my body! I believe my final weight will end up around 125. Unfortunately we tend to focus on our worst body part, where the fat seems to congregate. Right now there's a fat party going on in my lower belly. :-) If only we could control where the fat loss came from...
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    if you want to change your shape, you should try picking up a barbell. in my time on MFP, i have seen nothing work better for women than barbell training.
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
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    Anything between 120 and your current weight is in the normal BMI range. Dropping pounds to change your current shape would not be a bad thing. More important is your current fat mass percentage. A good target might be about 20%.

    That is pretty low for a woman.

    I agree . Would would have to eat super clean and lift a huge amount and it would take years to get to 20%.

    Both of these sentiments are slightly incorrect.

    20% is considered a pretty standard "athletic" amount of BF% for a woman. Many fit, menstruating women (as BF dropping "too low" is seen with a loss of menstruation) have or sit around 20% without eating "super clean" or eating a huge amount. What do you consider huge? Amount of weight or time? I've definitely seen many women lifting maybe 3x a week at 20% BF, with little to no cardio even. As for weight, well, that's something I think should be recommended, not dissuaded as being "too difficult." It's not necessarily a super long period to get to 20%, as well, for many people, nor should something taking years necessarily mean a goal is not worthy.

    Regardless of what OP wants, 20% isn't "too low." It's on the lower end of healthy, and some "Google charts" sometimes peg it as underfat, but in general, you'd have to dip below 16-18% for most women to actually be in a danger zone for fat.
    So is lifting weights the way to go to lose the fat?

    Ultimately eating at a deficit is, but for people at a healthy weight and height (which you are, technically), recomp is a slower way to lose fat (eating at maintenance or a slight deficit while using lifting heavy) so that muscle/LBM is preserved (leading to the "tight" or "defined" appearance many people crave; keeping muscle is also good for a variety of health reasons).

    I'm seeing your waist wasn't a typo. Some of that measurement might be skin from pregnancies, maybe, but without seeing a pic, I wouldn't make the call; in general, though, carrying weight around the waist, even at a healthy weight, is fat you want to get rid of for health reasons alone. I recommend strength training to everyone, but you definitely still eat at some sort of deficit to help the process.
  • allana1111
    allana1111 Posts: 390 Member
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    I'm 5'5" and started at 139.... now at 124 (roughly..it fluctuates!) and my goal is 119... it's not too much. For us 5'5" girls 113-138 is normal range!
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
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    I'm 5'5" too and I started at 183 and had set my goal weight at 140. Once I reached that weight I decided to lose another 10 and now I'm only a couple pounds from that weight and I'm still not satisfied with my body! I believe my final weight will end up around 125. Unfortunately we tend to focus on our worst body part, where the fat seems to congregate. Right now there's a fat party going on in my lower belly. :-) If only we could control where the fat loss came from...

    Have you picked up a barbell or considered upping your calories yet? I distinctly remember you posting something and everyone recommending lifting and a less dramatic deficit to you to help with your aesthetic goals.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    I'm 5'5" and started at 139.... now at 124 (roughly..it fluctuates!) and my goal is 119... it's not too much. For us 5'5" girls 113-138 is normal range!

    When you are 22 years old. Not so much if you are 35 or 50.
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
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    I'm 5'5" and started at 139.... now at 124 (roughly..it fluctuates!) and my goal is 119... it's not too much. For us 5'5" girls 113-138 is normal range!

    Not that BMI is supposed to be used to individuals, but the range is ten pounds more than that (for OP or anyone reading). A "healthy index" is 113-149 for a 5'5" woman. But, again, it's not the end-all be-all of "healthy weight," as many women can be around 110 or 120lbs at 5'5" and be their ideal and healthy and others can be 150 and look great with a lower BF%.
  • motivatemychange
    motivatemychange Posts: 31 Member
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    I'm 5"2, 150lbs and 31.5" waist! It's not about how heavy you are (as I'm trying to convince myself as muscle weighs more than fat)

    Take your body measurements and concentrate on losing them rather than body mass
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    It depends a lot on your frame frankly. I'm 5'5" too and 135 lbs now, 22% body fat but my waist is still 31 inches, and I highly doubt it will ever go much lower, as I don't have that much fat there anymore (hips are 37). I'm aiming for 130 and will call it a day (will keep lifting though). I'm 35 though (for another week, hah), and I'll just miss the extra 50 calories if I go lower.
  • MB2MN
    MB2MN Posts: 334 Member
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    Where are you measuring your waist at? I weight about 35 pounds more than you and my natural waist measurement is 30 inches. Make sure you are measuring at your natural waist which is a few inches higher than your navel.

    This ^^^ The hip measurement seems legit but I have a feeling the waist isn't accurate. 144 lbs isnt too bad for 5'5 but 37 inches is a pretty big waist size. Make sure you're measuring at the very smallest part!
  • MB2MN
    MB2MN Posts: 334 Member
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    I'm 5'5" and started at 139.... now at 124 (roughly..it fluctuates!) and my goal is 119... it's not too much. For us 5'5" girls 113-138 is normal range!

    When you are 22 years old. Not so much if you are 35 or 50.

    Age shouldn't actually have much bearing on what your final weight should be...it just might take a little longer to get there.
  • hollymccall
    hollymccall Posts: 88 Member
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    Where are you measuring your waist at? I weight about 35 pounds more than you and my natural waist measurement is 30 inches. Make sure you are measuring at your natural waist which is a few inches higher than your navel.

    I'm measuring in the right place. It's 37 inches. I even watched a YouTube video to make sure I was doing it in the right place. Most of my weight is in my tummy hips butt and thighs. Every woman's night mare.
  • hollymccall
    hollymccall Posts: 88 Member
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    I'm 5'5" and started at 139.... now at 124 (roughly..it fluctuates!) and my goal is 119... it's not too much. For us 5'5" girls 113-138 is normal range!

    Yay. You're with me on this. Damn! Gotta catch up with you girl.lol
  • hollymccall
    hollymccall Posts: 88 Member
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    if you want to change your shape, you should try picking up a barbell. in my time on MFP, i have seen nothing work better for women than barbell training.

    That's uncharted territory for me. I'll have to get to a gym to do that. I have work out dvds from beach body. But I've never lifted a barbell.
  • clareyoung80
    clareyoung80 Posts: 177 Member
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    I'm 5'5" and started at 139.... now at 124 (roughly..it fluctuates!) and my goal is 119... it's not too much. For us 5'5" girls 113-138 is normal range!

    Yay. You're with me on this. Damn! Gotta catch up with you girl.lol

    I'm 5'4" (or 5'5" depending on who measures me - I've got no idea any more!) and 118 lbs is my aim. It's not too much to lose, though it will place you on the lower end of the weight spectrum - that kinda thing always freaks people out!
  • Amestris
    Amestris Posts: 152 Member
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    I was just wondering. I carry most of my weight in my hips, butt and thighs and have the hip measurement to show for it, 42 inches. You seem like you may be more of an apple shape, where as I am a pear shape. I recently added strength training to my regimen a few months ago and the changes in my figure have been good thus far. Definitely give it a try. :-)
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    I'm 5'5" and started at 139.... now at 124 (roughly..it fluctuates!) and my goal is 119... it's not too much. For us 5'5" girls 113-138 is normal range!

    When you are 22 years old. Not so much if you are 35 or 50.

    Age shouldn't actually have much bearing on what your final weight should be...it just might take a little longer to get there.

    I weighed about 118-120 when I was 22. At over 50 though to lose that much weight would sacrifice a lot of lean body mass, which would result in loss of bone mass. I have different goals now, which will leave me in the high range of healthy weight.

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