46 year old female my doctor said (do you believe him)

How tall are you?

What's your time frame? I think you could do it. Though I myself wouldn't personally want to be that thin. I'd want more muscle, personally. Like, I'd maybe want to be the same SIZE I was at 19, but have more muscle (and therefore weigh a bit more than I did).

I weigh less now than I did when I was 19, but then again I was chubby at 19. I bet you could get close.

That's pretty thin at your height. Do you really want to be that weight? I think the best goal is to be where you feel strong and healthy and happy.

Looking at your diary you could use some help. You're over your sodium quite often. Coffee alone just for breakfast is not that great. Peanuts for dinner. You need more balanced meals. If you restrict too much, your body will think you're starving it and slow your metabolism down. Are you getting any exercise? Have a look at my diary for some ideas on a better balance of meal planning. It's working out pretty well for me.

Is 120 pounds not underweight for someone who is 5'7"?

Do you think you really need to lose 40 pounds?

Not, is it doable - because anything is doable - but is it necessary? I hate to see people on here struggling to lose the last ten pounds when they are already perfectly healthy and happy with their bodies, just so they can reach that weight that they set for themselves at the beginning. So maybe take it five or ten pounds at a time.

Also this^^^^

Is 120 pounds not underweight for someone who is 5'7"?

Do you think you really need to lose 40 pounds?

Not, is it doable - because anything is doable - but is it necessary? I hate to see people on here struggling to lose the last ten pounds when they are already perfectly healthy and happy with their bodies, just so they can reach that weight that they set for themselves at the beginning. So maybe take it five or ten pounds at a time.

It's not underweight, but it is very close. BMI would be 18.8.

It's certainly possible, but it's not possible to have much muscle and be 120 lbs at 5'7". 120 lbs on your 46 yo frame is probably not going to look as good as it did at 19. You will not have that natural firmness that comes with youth, and you couldn't have much muscle and weigh that little. While it is possible to get there, you may not like it once you do.

Concentrate on your measurements, not weight! Just because you weigh a certain weight doesn't mean that you are healthy. If you are routinely working out I'm sure you are gaining muscle as well. Muscle weighs more than fat so be conscience of your weight loss with your muscle gain. Muscular at 120lbs looks a lot different than dieting to be 120lbs.

When I was 37 I got down to the weight I was at 19; just because you can, doesn't mean you should! I was gaunt and looked dreadful. I was under a lot of stress at the time and just not eating. 10 years later I had a doctor tell me that I was the right weight simply because he looked at the BMI charts. I'm petite, at a BMI of 22 I could lose a few pounds. What was your doctor's basis for making this statement?

Having said that if you do it sensibly and you were a mature build at 19 it can be done, I would however aim for the size I was, not the weight. Bodies change over time and you may end up a different weight with the size you were at that age.

At 5'7" as well, there is no way I would ever contemplate being 120lbs. Seems too low for me! I would rather have a higher weight and be more toned. Honestly, my goal is closer to the 135-140 range.

Just remember your skin isn't 19 anymore and your face may not look as attractive at that weight as it did then! I'm 5'2" and think I would look haggard at 120 now that I am 61. My face will tell me when it's enough.

This is soooooo true. When I was about 40 I lost a ton of weight and was almost to the weight I had been at age 25 and enough people told me how old I looked to make me believe them. At 25 I was 120, had gotten to 125 at 40, now at 58 I would like to be around 145 - 150, seems about right to me.

I was 5' 7" and 120 in the 8th grade. It looked pretty good for an eight grader but I'm not thinking so much on a grown woman! You should weigh at least 135 since you have breasts, hips and the body of a grown woman now. I would change doctors if I got that advice. It's too skinny IMHO. I had the same thing happen a long time ago. The nurse, who was surly and rather retarded, managed to measure me as 2" shorter than I was. Then the quack Dr told me I needed "lose a few". *roll eyes* I was 5'9" and 140. They said I was "overweight" at what they measured (derp) of 5' 7" and 140. That is so not overweight by any standard. I asked Nurse snarky pants to use a tape measure to calculate my BMI. 34 C-24- 35. Overweight my butt! I thought nurse snarky was going to have kittens from the look on her face. Not a lot of overweight folks have a 24" waist. Just sayin'.

That's pretty thin at your height. Do you really want to be that weight? I think the best goal is to be where you feel strong and healthy and happy.

+1

That weight doesn't sound unrealistic but it also isn't something that I think you should try to attain just because. Only do it if that's what feels good for your body. You could lose quite a bit less and still be well within a very healthy and lean range.

Honestly though, I find it odd that some are saying it's just straight up too skinny, period. I really doubt that.

Then again, we all have different frames of reference.

Well commenting about whether or not you should drop to 120 pounds aside of course it is completely doable. If anything a 46 year old woman most likely has a lower lean mass than a 19 year old girl so would weigh less with the same bodyfat percentage.

Of course this is completely dependent on what you were like at 19 and what you did up until the age of 46, of course it is possible to have actually increased your lean mass...I just mean on average the older you get the more lean mass you lose.