What is a good, healthy weight for a woman who is 5'2"?

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  • Shaylyn1986
    Shaylyn1986 Posts: 164 Member
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    I'm 5'2 and weigh 138lbs. I think you're supposed to be under 135 or 130lbs for our height but I also have DD boobs. :p
  • KimberlyAnn327
    KimberlyAnn327 Posts: 26
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    So I did some resistance training yesterday and I am sore today! Now I know why they said non-consequetive days!
  • hungryhobbit1
    hungryhobbit1 Posts: 259 Member
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    There is such a wide range of healthy for short girls, it depends on how much muscle you carry and the size of your frame. I'm 5 feet even, and at 142 lbs I wear a size 8, sometimes a 6 depending on cut. I look my best at about 130 and a size 6/4, below that my body starts to rebel and I get a little pinched in and weird looking. All of the charts say I'm "supposed" to weight something like 95-125 pounds. Whatever.
  • RivenV
    RivenV Posts: 1,667 Member
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    There is such a wide range of healthy for short girls, it depends on how much muscle you carry and the size of your frame. I'm 5 feet even, and at 142 lbs I wear a size 8, sometimes a 6 depending on cut. I look my best at about 130 and a size 6/4, below that my body starts to rebel and I get a little pinched in and weird looking. All of the charts say I'm "supposed" to weight something like 95-125 pounds. Whatever.

    There's so much troof in this post; I luff it.
  • kripley1229
    kripley1229 Posts: 97
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    Posting so I can read later ;)
  • MichaelVRenner
    MichaelVRenner Posts: 92 Member
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    Congrats on your weight loss and healthier lifestyle. I, honestly, think your current weight is ideal for the stature/frame that you have described.

    Not to sound harsh, but you have expressed that you were very unhappy with the way you perceived yourself in the past and now that you have met and even exceeded your goals, you are still unsatisfied. Rather than this being a weight issue, I think you are suffering from an image issue.

    Unfortunately, no toning or weight loss can fix this. You may need to speak with someone professional on the issues you harbor inside.
  • ammymickens
    ammymickens Posts: 11
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    Here is a height weight chart http://forum.internationaldrugmart.com/general-discussion-f67/free-height-and-weight-chart-t531.html . Hope it helps..
  • Rafjen
    Rafjen Posts: 3 Member
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    I think you have to feel comfortable you can maintain a lower weight.
  • livinla2014
    livinla2014 Posts: 1
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    hi there , ideal weight for a woman 5'2" tall, i'd say between 100 to 110 would be ideal weight for you.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    I do have a small frame. This may be a stupid question, but how do I focus on fat loss instead of just weight loss? I do have some weights here but I don't really know what to do with them. Honestly, I'm mostly happy with my body at this point. It's just that my stomach is still bothering me. And yes, I have 7 kids. Life is crazy here.

    look into stronglifts 5x5 or similar.... and eat at a *small* deficit...

    if you have a small frame then you may end up losing weight before you look the way you want... if you have a medium frame then you may find you need to gain some muscle as well as losing fat (not concurrently, you'd do a cut then a bulk to achieve that). I think at your weight you don't have a large frame. And even if you have a small frame doing a bulk cycle may help as well, you just won't put on so much weight in the process.

    BMI charts don't really help people to find their ideal weight. It gives you a range that covers most of the population (but still there will be a few people who are outside that range at a healthy body fat percentage) but they don't tell you where in that range you as an individual should be, because they don't take frame size into account, and so they won't really help you with this question - best thing is to start lifting, eat at a small deficit and see how it goes... for bulking it's exactly the same but you eat at a small surplus for muscle gains. If you alternate between cutting and bulking, you'll see how your body responds. You need to focus on body fat percentage and how you look in the mirror now, rather than the scale and the BMI charts.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    Sounds like you're already doing awesome!! My only thoughts are not to put too much stock in what is considered an average range. I know for me personally, a healthy comfortable weight is slightly lower than what my height would advise just because my legs are weirdly long. So your frame has a lot to do with it. I'd give weight lifting a whirl at this point:) good luck OP!

    This is me as well. I have a very short torso. Makes shopping for fitted dresses a real pain in the you-know-what.

    I'd hoped I'd be good around 120 (I'm 5'3"), but no. Still had significant fat around my middle, and a decent amount to spare on my lower half. Upper half doesn't need to get any leaner. I'd have probably needed to get down to 110, maybe a couple of pounds lower to get as lean as I'd like at the time, but I got tired of cutting at a whopping 1 lb/mo and switched to maintenance. Then did a bulk (117 -> 124 lbs at 2 lbs per mo). Probably my %BF was a bit high to do an optimal bulk, but WTH. Just started cutting to see what progress I've made. Should be some - I can see growth in my thighs, shoulders, biceps, triceps, hamstrings - and it isn't fat. I think also in my glutes but it's hard to tell because they completely changed shape.

    Now I'm thinking with a couple of bulk/cut cycles I'll probably end up somewhere in the 115-120 range. Overall goal is <= 20% BF. I'm probably somewhere around 24-25% right now.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    I am going to swim against the crowd here that seems to suggest to just keep losing weight. I mean by all means add more exercise etc to your life, but people post about their dissatisfaction with their post-diet body quite frequently here, so ask yourself this:

    What do you want your body to look like? Is it a realistic image? The thing is I look at my stomach after 2 children and think 'hmm, could be better', but tbh it'll never look like the stomach of a supermodel regardless of how much I'd diet and exercise (yes I get I could much exercise more, but in the long run that is also not sustainable for me). I am not saying that you have aspirations for your stomach to look like that, but sometimes we have unrealistic aspirations and expectations of what our body should look like, especially women.

    Will it be maintainable? How did you diet to get to your goal weight? When is the last time you were this weight?

    Just because we lose weight we don't automatically start to love ourselves more. Somehow it takes a while for us to actually 'see' the weight loss in the mirror. Good luck :flowerforyou:

    I can agree with making sure your goals are realistic and maintainable. However, since looking at other people's real-world success on here, there's not a whole lot that doesn't seem achievable if you are willing to put in the work. Some of it with less work and eating more food than I would have thought.

    Of course, there are issues that can't be improved by anything but surgery and some can't even be improved very much that way, but some poking around the forums ought to let you distinguish realistic goals from fantasy.
  • skinnygirldc
    skinnygirldc Posts: 30 Member
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    I'm 5'2" with a small frame (age 43), and I can still rock a bikini at 115, but I'm pretty happy at 118-120 too (size 4). Right now I'm about 125 (size 6) and trying to lose a few pounds.

    A few years ago I dropped down to 110 due to a medication side effect, but that was too waif-like for me. I like my muscles and curves. That wasn't a sustainable place for me.

    I'm 43 with two kids, if that makes a difference.
  • galprincess
    galprincess Posts: 682 Member
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    Wow well done on the loss im not sure on weight as I ditched my scales in frustration id say keep going until youre happy
  • ladyjc13
    ladyjc13 Posts: 2
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    That is great. I am simply trying to get to a moderate healthy weight. I have been working out with a trainer and he helps me make good decision on my workout for where I am at physically. Adding weights and floor excercises helps a lot. I hope this helps. :smile:
  • eimaj5575
    eimaj5575 Posts: 278 Member
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    I was also in the same boat. I am 5'3 and started at 170lbs. I got all the way down to 117 for a while but I still didn't like my body. After talking with some ladies on here I decided the best option for me was to start heavy lifting to build back up muscles that I lost during my weight loss. I am now between 121 and 124 depending on the day. I have been heavy lifting for just a couple months or less. I can really feel my body changing and looking different. Not by a lot yet but it is starting to take shape of what I want my body to look like. Just my experience.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    Thanks for all the replies (and friend requests!). I don't have expectations of looking like a super model. I do feel very flabby in the stomach area. That's pretty much the only area I'm unhappy about. I was doing well with cardio but I'm also a full time student and really just don't have much time these days. I've started looking online about lifting weights but there is a lot of info out there and I feel a little overwhelmed and intimidated by it. When I'm dressed, I look okay but with my shirt off, you can tell I could definitely stand to lose some fat in that area. Not that I go around not wearing a shirt, really. It just makes me unhappy when I see it. Are there any good exercises to do specifically for the stomach?

    Nope. Only losing overall body fat will help that - I am assuming it's not loose skin you're talking about.

    If you'd like to look at weight training, best is to pick one of the following beginner programs and google it for info and instructions. All are good, so pick the one you like.

    Starting Strength
    StrongLifts
    New Rules of Lifting for Women
    All Pro's Beginner Workout

    You also might be interested in bodyweight programs if you're not a gym member and don't have the necessary equipment at home. Just remember the important thing is to continually make the movements harder (progressive overloading). Take a look at Convict Conditioning and Body By You.

    Also, go to the Gaining Weight or Fitness forums and ask there for a more comprehensive list no matter if you pick barbells or bodyweight.
  • manicautumn
    manicautumn Posts: 224 Member
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    Hi Kim! supposedly a good weight for a woman this height is 105-110 lbs (5 lbs for every inch over 5'?) but it certainly varies. I'm the same height and my normal weight is 120-125 which is usually when I'm happiest with my body. At one point I dropped to 110 and sadly it was one of the most unhappiest times of my life due to external reasons. Therefore I concluded that health is not just the physical but appreciating and being content with what i already had. Just keep in mind that that there are PLENTY of women who would love to be at your weight and if you do continue to lose weight, keep it healthy and keep happy!

    I personally think the 5lbs for every inch thing is misleading. It isn't an ideal weight, it's just a weight. It's very low for those under 5'5 or so. It may be healthy, but it's probably not for everyone.

    I'm 5'0 and 100lbs is not my "ideal" weight by any means. That's 3 lbs off from underweight and would simply not work.
  • RavenLibra
    RavenLibra Posts: 1,737 Member
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    I say forget body weight... get thee to the gym and start picking things up and putting them down.. then add weight when the current weight no longer makes you sweat and grunt... then stop when you start getting scared about how much weigh you are holding above your head... MOST folk think lifting weights is just for adding muscle and definition... totally untrue... lifting weights is for increasing strength... and within that context and through that process lifting weights also improves and activates the endocrine and exocrine systems of the body... in essence strength training excites our internal chemistries so that every gland, every mucous membrane begins to work the way it was meant to... and once you get that happening... your physical and mental states begin to harmonize and you begin to discover a more balanced attitude... SO... off to the gym with you... lift heavy... and in 6 months or so.. you will not recognize that person in the mirror BUT you will be so in love with her.. you won't be able to stand it.
  • Linnaea27
    Linnaea27 Posts: 639 Member
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    I'm 5'1", and my goal weight is 105. I unfortunately have lost more than that while trying to maintain, and I think at 102 I'm too thin (my bones are too close to my skin in places for my liking, plus my hormones have begun to change in ways I am pretty sure are connected to being too thin). I do still have a bit of tummy fat. . . but am trying to gain.

    I think the ranges of a healthy weight can be very wide depending on how you like yourself, what you think is attractive, how it makes you feel, and your frame size. It seems to me that lot of people think a "healthy" weight, at least by appearances, is one at which a person is actually still a little plump, because we in this society are so used to seeing those who are carrying around a lot of extra fat.

    I would guess anywhere from 110 to 120-130 would be a healthy weight for someone your height, depending on frame size, etc.

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