Ideal Weight?

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cincysweetheart
cincysweetheart Posts: 892 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've lost a lot of weight over the past year, and I've received lots of opinions from my family suggesting that I stop. "You don't want to get too skinny!" Since, I've been overweight my entire life, I don't have an ideal weight that I want to "get back to."

In interest of having all the information I could, so I could choose a healthy weight for myself, I recently had some body composition testing done professionally. I am 5'10". I was told that I have 154.4 pounds of lean body mass. My current body fat percentage is 28.5.

From this information, I am trying to figure out what my ideal weight would be, assuming I keep all of my lean body mass. I am aiming for a body fat percentage of somewhere between 19-22%. Everything that I can find online and what I've been told by professional trainers, that is a good, healthy, achievable percentage to go for. From my calculations based on formulas I found online, I estimate that I would want to weigh between 190-197. Yet, I know that is still considered overweight by BMI standards. And when I run that number past those same professional trainers who think 19-22% sounds great… they think it's very high and it doesn't sound right to them.

So, I've been trying to think through this and double check my math. By my understanding… if my body fat percentage is 20% (make the math easy)… then my lean body mass should make up 80% of my total body weight. So, for me to figure out my goal weight, all I need to do is figure out that 154.4 (my LBM) is 80% of WHAT number… And by my math… that number is 193. Which is right in that range that I was getting from my previous calculations.

So, am I right? Based on my lean body mass, is 190-197 a good weight for me, or am I missing something?

Replies

  • RobertWilkens
    RobertWilkens Posts: 77 Member
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    If I click 'apps' up top, then 'bmi' on next row of choices, it tells me a BMI of 18.5-25.0 (for a man my age) is a 'healthy' range... Admittedly I'm over 30 and have a long way to go. But I think being in what it tells me is a healthy BMI range is probably a reasonable goal. i.e. I don't want to go too far towards the low end of that because then it becomes unhealthy or 'too thin'.

    I found last time i lost weight (2009-2010) people I live with told me i was too thin at 175 lbs. But I was still heavier than i wanted to be... But essentially they encouraged me to stop dieting and i slowly gained back 75% of the weight i lost (january this year i was 253)... In other words, even if you stop you may want to switch MFP to maintenance and eat the same amount of calories you burn each day. I'm back around 231 now, but it'll probbaly be another year before i'm where i was in 2010.

    -Rob
  • rachelbouc
    rachelbouc Posts: 65 Member
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    I've gone through this with myself a few times. Honestly your ideal body weight is what you're most comfortable at. For me while I'm losing weight I'm trying to find where I'm most comfortable at. Sometimes formulas and doctors are not 100% correct and no formula can tell you where you are most comfortable at. For me at 5' 2" 170 seems good for now. I'll get there and reassess how i feel.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    And you probably thought you would never need algebra. But yes, if you maintain 154 lbs of LBM, your numbers would give you the body fat percentage you are looking for.
  • kjm3579
    kjm3579 Posts: 3,974 Member
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    Check this out: http://racingweight.com/rwe/index.html#/
  • FatMoojor
    FatMoojor Posts: 483 Member
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    This is very much the question I have been trying to work out for myself at the moment. Had a search around on the forums and still haven't come up with a good answer.

    I'm trying to work out when to move from weight loss to maintenance and a body recomp. I really hadn't thought of doing the maths on my target body fat and LBM %. That is a really good idea.

    I'm male, 34, 5'8" and have just hit 164lbs. Which just puts me in to healthy bmi range. Now my plan was to drop between another 7 and 10lbs, but I'm currently around 20% BF.

    I really hadn't thought about the % splits. I think I might have to look at moving in to maintenance and try to recomp about 5% of BF to LBM. Which would keep me at the top end of healthy but I imagine would have a much great effect on my appearance than trying to lose more.

  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    1 that is a significant amount of lbm for a woman at that height. So yes with that amount of lbm you would be in weight range you described. However, it's not likely that you will loose nearly 20 lbs to get to that weight and not lose some lbm. Its going to depend on what you want and what you see in the mirror when you get there to see if you want to continue
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    1 that is a significant amount of lbm for a woman at that height. So yes with that amount of lbm you would be in weight range you described. However, it's not likely that you will loose nearly 20 lbs to get to that weight and not lose some lbm. Its going to depend on what you want and what you see in the mirror when you get there to see if you want to continue
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    kjm3579 wrote: »
    Check this out: http://racingweight.com/rwe/index.html#/

    i'd be careful using this calculator. "Racing Weight" is designed for an endurance athlete to reach their ideal racing weight and body fat without affecting their race performance. It gives no opinion on aesthetics (although we all know that form follows function). Also, the author of "Racing Weight" states that your ideal racing weight is only temporary, and should only be reached during the height of your racing season. In fact, he states that during the off season you can and should put on a few pounds.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    cincysweetheart wrote: »
    I've lost a lot of weight over the past year, and I've received lots of opinions from my family suggesting that I stop. "You don't want to get too skinny!" Since, I've been overweight my entire life, I don't have an ideal weight that I want to "get back to."

    In interest of having all the information I could, so I could choose a healthy weight for myself, I recently had some body composition testing done professionally. I am 5'10". I was told that I have 154.4 pounds of lean body mass. My current body fat percentage is 28.5.

    From this information, I am trying to figure out what my ideal weight would be, assuming I keep all of my lean body mass. I am aiming for a body fat percentage of somewhere between 19-22%. Everything that I can find online and what I've been told by professional trainers, that is a good, healthy, achievable percentage to go for. From my calculations based on formulas I found online, I estimate that I would want to weigh between 190-197. Yet, I know that is still considered overweight by BMI standards. And when I run that number past those same professional trainers who think 19-22% sounds great… they think it's very high and it doesn't sound right to them.

    So, I've been trying to think through this and double check my math. By my understanding… if my body fat percentage is 20% (make the math easy)… then my lean body mass should make up 80% of my total body weight. So, for me to figure out my goal weight, all I need to do is figure out that 154.4 (my LBM) is 80% of WHAT number… And by my math… that number is 193. Which is right in that range that I was getting from my previous calculations.

    So, am I right? Based on my lean body mass, is 190-197 a good weight for me, or am I missing something?

    Can you tell us more about the body composition testing? Was it a dexa scan or body pod

    Personally at 5'8 I'm happiest at around 160lbs with a BF% at around 24% (army calculator / measurements old school style)
  • cincysweetheart
    cincysweetheart Posts: 892 Member
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    cincysweetheart wrote: »

    Can you tell us more about the body composition testing? Was it a dexa scan or body pod

    Personally at 5'8 I'm happiest at around 160lbs with a BF% at around 24% (army calculator / measurements old school style)

    Neither one. As near as I can tell is was Bio-Impedance that was used.
  • cincysweetheart
    cincysweetheart Posts: 892 Member
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    TimothyFish wrote: »
    And you probably thought you would never need algebra. But yes, if you maintain 154 lbs of LBM, your numbers would give you the body fat percentage you are looking for.

    Thank you.
    rybo wrote: »
    1 that is a significant amount of lbm for a woman at that height. So yes with that amount of lbm you would be in weight range you described. However, it's not likely that you will loose nearly 20 lbs to get to that weight and not lose some lbm. Its going to depend on what you want and what you see in the mirror when you get there to see if you want to continue

    I understand that that is possible. I'm doing what I can to avoid losing LBM as much as possible… but I am aware of the possibility. I will likely take advantage of the testing again at a later date as I get closer to where I want to be. Going by what I see in the mirror is way too subjective. Plus with so much loose skin… I may never like what I see. Health and fitness are more important to me than my own vanity or some subjectively chosen number on the scale.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited June 2015
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    cincysweetheart wrote: »

    Neither one. As near as I can tell is was Bio-Impedance that was used.

    Then I would take the absolute figure with a pinch of salt .
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
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    I'm also 5'10" (at the beginning of the day LOL) and I set my initial goal based on BMI (which does not vary by age).
    174 is the top of the healthy range.

    Since you seem to have more muscle than average, your method of LBM + 20% seems reasonable.
    When you get there, see how you look & feel.

    And no, the opinions of others aren't often reliable, esp. when they've seen you being fat for so long.
    Their perceptions are skewed.
    I just got that "stop losing, you're getting too skinny" thing yesterday, and I'm still 25 lb over the top end of the
    healthy BMI range!

    BTW:
    As near as I can tell is was Bio-Impedance that was used
    Not the most reliable method. Put your numbers into several calculators which use different formulae, & look
    at the range of results. As long as they keep moving in the right direction (fat going down), you're OK.
    I've found this one handy:
    http://fitness.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Body-Fat-Navy
  • stargirl85
    stargirl85 Posts: 50 Member
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    I find different people look different or average or a bit thin even when they are in normal bmi sometimes. This can be due to age like if you have extra skin but not much actual arm... Some people seem to lose a lot of weight from their face and look gaunt and some people have the weight in different places... And of course more or less muscle. Just a thought.
  • weird_me2
    weird_me2 Posts: 716 Member
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    Your online calculations appear to be correct. Assuming you mantain your LBM, 190-197 would be a good range for you. A goal of 19-22% is fairly low for a woman in her mid 30s. It's considered athletic or lean. You could be a couple % points higher and still be in the fit or ideal range, so even if you lose a few pounds of LBM, you should still be a pretty healthy body fat % at the 190-197 range. If you were to lose 5% LBM, your ideal weight would fall to 188 at 22% body fat and if you lose 10% LBM, your ideal weight would fall to around 178.

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