How do you know when to stop losing?
Replies
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"Which are all wildly different..."?
There is a ten pound difference from the heaviest "ideal" to the lowest "ideal". Your defination of wildly different is wildly different from mine. ;-)
Anyone have any stats showing which country has the greatest percentage of it's population within these "healthy" weight ranges? And what that percentage is?
There's a 30 pound difference between the lowest and the highest for me, so yes I believe that constitutes as wildly different. And if you're 5'3 like myself, even 10 pounds is a very noticeable difference.0 -
Basically when the doctor said "this is your ideal BMI for your body and your age; you should stop now." OK, great, stopped and bought some clothes in the new size lol.0
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Maybe go until you find that it's not coming off easily any more. If you want some wiggle room to gain/lose as time progresses, I'd say go at least 5 lb less than the max for your BMI. That way if you retain weight for any reason, it won't push you over the top of your BMI.0
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I used this to help me figure out my final goal: http://www.calculator.net/ideal-weight-calculator.html
But honestly I'd say whatever you're comfortable with and whatever's easiest for you to maintain. I agree that you may find that you're more unsatisfied with your body fat % rather than your actual weight, so that may be something to consider. You could maintain and incorporate weights if you feel like this is a maintainable weight for yourself.
This puts my "ideal" weight at 155# to 165#s with a max at 174. Forty years ago, when I got out of Uncle Sam's Misguided Children, (running 3 miles in 16 minutes, 100 sit-up in two minutes and 20 pull-ups) the best shape of my life, I weighed 185, 10 pounds over "Ideal"? I don't think so. I'm ast 196 now, shooting for 190. I figure that 5 pounds over my best "fighting weight" is good enough. I really don't see where these ultra low numbers come from. I haven't been 155# since eighth grade, was in shape then but still hadn't grown. Charts and calculators be damned, 190 here I come.
I don't think calculators are the be-all end-all by far, but I like that this site uses four different formulas as well as a healthy recommendation for BMI. Which are all wildly different, I think it's a good indicator of what's healthy but also a good indicator that you're going to have to experiment, see what you're comfortable with, and what's more realistic to maintain.
Hmm. I like the numbers that site gives me. It's telling me I'm done.0 -
HappyCampr1 wrote: »"Which are all wildly different..."?
There is a ten pound difference from the heaviest "ideal" to the lowest "ideal". Your defination of wildly different is wildly different from mine. ;-)
Anyone have any stats showing which country has the greatest percentage of it's population within these "healthy" weight ranges? And what that percentage is?
Not exactly, but this calculator is pretty cool. It shows you where you rank within your own country and compared to the average BMI of people in various other countries. So, you do get to see where the rest of the world is on average, just not specific %.
ETA - http://www.bbc.com/news/health-18770328
What a good calculator. It can help put things in to perspective a little.
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"Which are all wildly different..."?
There is a ten pound difference from the heaviest "ideal" to the lowest "ideal". Your defination of wildly different is wildly different from mine. ;-)
Anyone have any stats showing which country has the greatest percentage of it's population within these "healthy" weight ranges? And what that percentage is?
There's a 30 pound difference between the lowest and the highest for me, so yes I believe that constitutes as wildly different. And if you're 5'3 like myself, even 10 pounds is a very noticeable difference.
5'4" here and 3-5 lbs makes a difference ha.0 -
I don't have a goal weight; my goal is to always be improving. Sometimes that might mean lowering my bodyfat to the point where I have abs. Other times it might mean putting on more muscle. Other times it might mean lifting heavier, or doing more reps of the same weight.
Sometimes these things contradict each other (putting on muscle will generally mean that my abs go away for awhile), but the important thing is that I always have a goal, and that goal is to always be better.
There is no finish line.0 -
Basically when the doctor said "this is your ideal BMI for your body and your age; you should stop now." OK, great, stopped and bought some clothes in the new size lol.
I had a similar experience--had basically already decided to stop and happened to go for my annual check-up about one month into maintaining. Doctor noted, obviously, that I had lost weight for the last two years, and I said yes, on purpose, and then she kind of leaned back and said, "I think you look great and you're at a good weight, but I don't think you should go any lower." So she basically confirmed what I was thinking.0 -
arditarose wrote: »"Which are all wildly different..."?
There is a ten pound difference from the heaviest "ideal" to the lowest "ideal". Your defination of wildly different is wildly different from mine. ;-)
Anyone have any stats showing which country has the greatest percentage of it's population within these "healthy" weight ranges? And what that percentage is?
There's a 30 pound difference between the lowest and the highest for me, so yes I believe that constitutes as wildly different. And if you're 5'3 like myself, even 10 pounds is a very noticeable difference.
5'4" here and 3-5 lbs makes a difference ha.
The calculators have a range for frame size I believe. I'm 5'2.5" but a medium frame so I fit within the middle of the range while small framed people would be "ideal" at the lower range, large framed at the higher end. With that said, wherever you're most comfortable (and can sustain realistically) is "ideal."0 -
RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »HappyCampr1 wrote: »"Which are all wildly different..."?
There is a ten pound difference from the heaviest "ideal" to the lowest "ideal". Your defination of wildly different is wildly different from mine. ;-)
Anyone have any stats showing which country has the greatest percentage of it's population within these "healthy" weight ranges? And what that percentage is?
Not exactly, but this calculator is pretty cool. It shows you where you rank within your own country and compared to the average BMI of people in various other countries. So, you do get to see where the rest of the world is on average, just not specific %.
ETA - http://www.bbc.com/news/health-18770328
What a good calculator. It can help put things in to perspective a little.
Oh wow, I love this calculator. Really cool, thank you!0 -
Mine kept changing. My goal weight passed and I labelled it UGW, then continued to hit my LGW. Problem is, everyone seems to have an opinion (so sick of everyones opinion!!), despite being mid healthy BMI constantly told "you need to stop now" (70lbs lost) So I stopped and I have maintained for 11 months. Now people are used to the new me, I'd quite like to get rid of the last 7lb which despite my best exercise efforts to me looks like fat. My BMI would still be well within healthy.0
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My goal was the weight corresponding to the middle of my allowable BMI range, 165 lbs. I have been maintaining 159-162.
Tired, tired, tired of people telling me, "You need to stop." I have stopped--you are comparing to the fat me...of course I look thinner.0 -
The amount of times people have told me especially men in work ( the ones who lift and have been for years) to stop going by the scales and go by the mirror and how you look! If you still feel fat keep cutting if you feel really lean start maintaining if your happy to or bulk!0
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My first goal was the top of my BMI. I lost another 3 kg after that and decided to take a maintenance break to give my mind time to adjust to my weight before I decided to lose more. I unintentionally lost some more weight while I was trying to maintain (3kg in 9 weeks). I am now trying to shift a few more kg, mostly by creating a deficit though exercise. I still don't know what I plan for my UGW to be, I'll figure it out when I get to a weight I can maintain that I am happy with.
There isn't a rush to figure it out, so just take time and adjust to your new body and experiment. You can always maintain and lose more later if you choose too.0 -
I was going to ask this EXACT question. My original goal was to lose 30 pounds, which put me at 135 at 5'6''. And I am now at 135.5. The last few pounds fell off (after a bit of a stall). I love all the helpful comments on here. I think I will keep going to 130, but not stress over whether I can get there or not.
I read on one of those silly internet articles that a lot of famous actresses are 130 lbs, so that would be a fun goal to reach.
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I spent $2000 on clothes, new suit, jeans, etc....and figured I really couldn't afford to gain the weight back, or lose more so I stopped!
Now its not really a number, more about how things fit. When my pants, tee shirts get tight I know its time to get a little more serious about logging etc.0 -
My body seems happy around 140 (I'm 5'8"). I believe I'm around 20% bf right now so that gives me room to recomp and maintain my current weight range.0
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xmichaelyx wrote: »I don't have a goal weight; my goal is to always be improving. Sometimes that might mean lowering my bodyfat to the point where I have abs. Other times it might mean putting on more muscle. Other times it might mean lifting heavier, or doing more reps of the same weight.
Sometimes these things contradict each other (putting on muscle will generally mean that my abs go away for awhile), but the important thing is that I always have a goal, and that goal is to always be better.
There is no finish line.
This!!0 -
@victoria_1024 Congratulations on the fine job. If you have not maintained any on your way down to 99 you will need to learn your maintenance needs by trial and error using the scales to track the results of your eating results.
This time around I stopped dieting so I will just keep eating the same stuff as I have for the past year. I have stopped and maintained a few times on my way down so I know I need 2600 to lose weight and 3000 calories to maintain weight.
I have yo-yo'ed for forty years and act if doing it one more time will cause my death which may be factual at my age. Actually my health at 64 is better than it was at 44 so I want to keep my gain in health by continuing on my current Way Of Eating. I did this eating lifestyle change (cut out ALL grain and most all sugars) to manage my pain without Meds. After 30 days my pain dropped from 7-8 levels to 2-3 and has stayed low for the last year so I have every desire to never be obese again. 0
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