ideal weights for petite people

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earthboundmisfit
earthboundmisfit Posts: 192 Member
I'm 5'2" with a small frame. According to some sources my "ideal weight" is 113-121 lbs. At 113 lbs I'd look chubby, and at 121 downright overweight. Who comes up with these standards? My sister is the same height as me and she weighs 95 lbs and she's fine with it. Nobody's ever called her anorexic. I just don't get it.

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  • cara4fit
    cara4fit Posts: 111 Member
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    At nearly 5'5", my ideal weight would be somewhere in between 114 and somewhere around 150. I'm 120 now. I'd be THRILLED to get back down to 115 or so, and there have been periods in life where I weighed around 108 for a good while. For a brief period much earlier in life, I was close to 130, and honestly, it was fat on me, so I can't even imagine what it would be getting up to 150! Of course, I wasn't involved in any fitness at the time, but still. I do have a VERY small bone structure(not Asian though) and a short waist, so I can't afford to put on much weight at all without it showing. Especially as a 66-year-old who is well-past menopause. Mature women here should know what I'm talking about. I am in half-way decent shape - but a work in progress as it were. Trying not to pay too much attention to the scale, and more attention to what I can do in the gym or dance studio. Last but not least, how my pants are fitting. That's a real test for me.
  • Fig_1946
    Fig_1946 Posts: 98 Member
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    I'm 4'11" and weigh 128. I look very slim. If I weighed 100 or 95 or whatever, I'd look terrible and I'd be sick. I'm 68, by the way.
  • earthboundmisfit
    earthboundmisfit Posts: 192 Member
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    I guess everyone's different. I look and feel fine at 93 lbs.
  • ldrn2001
    ldrn2001 Posts: 1
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    Amen sister! I feel like a complete fatso and would LOVE to get to 100lb. at 5'1", I have ballooned up to 130!!! However, I just joined and am so glad to find like minded people, people who won't roll their eyes at my dilemma (oh you're not fat!!!!).
    Ok, today's a new day!
  • sbarella
    sbarella Posts: 713 Member
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    Everyone's different, and body composition plays a critical role. I am now heavier than I was last summer but I am, in fact, smaller. My measurements have all gone down. Muscle is more dense than fat and 121 fit lbs tend to look better than 93 flabby lbs. (but it's a matter of personal preference, of course)
  • crsawinton
    crsawinton Posts: 96 Member
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    I'm 5'2" and 1/2, currently weight 116, started at 133 where I was very smooshy and jiggly. I want to get down to 112 at the moment, but I looked great at 104-107 when I was younger, not sure if I will ever get there, since that was with no muscle and I'm trying to have some strength now.
  • apple_b
    apple_b Posts: 1
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    it'd be wonderful if there was a way to accurately discover your target weight as an individual instead of a height. my sister falls solidly into the petite category-at 5'2 she looks soft at 105 and positively pudgy at 110. I'm only two inches taller but more than six inches wider at the shoulder. my 'normal range' is 110-150- at 150 I wear a size six, at 130 i'm in a 3-4 and you can see my spine clearly! you can look at yourself and assess your frame, and if you look healthy then so be it.
  • dnamouse
    dnamouse Posts: 612 Member
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    Definitely agree that everyone is different.

    I'm 4'9 and my weight settled at 40kg (about 89/90 pounds I think) - I was aiming for 45kg, but my body had other ideas :wink:

    I'm at the lower end of my BMI, but I'm definitely not skinny lol I'm working on building muscle, so the plan is to weigh more, but look like I weigh less :happy: I've actually weighed less in the past, but been bigger - right now I'm an AU6, about a US2? and I've never been that small. Lifting weights is totally awesome :bigsmile:
  • dekadai
    dekadai Posts: 47 Member
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    I'm 5'1 and about 131lbs. My ideal weight is between 110 and 120lbs.
  • hiphopbunnie
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    I know what you mean! Those healthy weight guidelines are a bit questionable to me. At 5'4" and 118 lbs, I still feel chubby even though I'm supposedly on the lower end of the healthy range.
  • maicap22
    maicap22 Posts: 433 Member
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    I am 5'0" 27 yrs old and I currently weigh 44.5kg. My middle is still a bit flabby, my face is still a bit chubby, and my arms still has extra fats wiggling from behind. I want to be 38-42kg. When I was 39kg, I didn't look sickly thin, I look healthy and toned, so I want the weight back. I'll definitely stop before I get too skinny. I just want to be in the range I mentioned. I am Asian and really small framed so I think it is just right. There are BMI calcs that says the range I mentioned is right for small framed woman my age. But some people think (from the net, and usually those mid frame) that I don't need to lose anymore with my height and age. But the extra fats I can grab from my body says otherwise.
  • becominglexi
    becominglexi Posts: 11 Member
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    I'm 5'2", and I calculated my goal weight 2 years ago by assuming I was 60% body fat and saying I wanted to get down to around 18%. When I did the math that turned out to be 120 pounds. I'm only a few pounds away but I'm not seeing the definition I would like, and I think my problem is that I haven't done enough regular strength training. Clearly my goal weight needs adjusting, but I think I'm just going to buy a caliper and go by that instead of by the scale from here on out. If I end up at 120 pounds that's gonna be pretty cool for my math skills, but I wouldn't be surprised if I end up all the way in the 140's again by the time I'm satisfied. I was averaging 144 in high school but it was fat not muscle.