Weight and ageing? Is my 'high school weight' goal unrealistic?
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trinabot19 wrote: »I am 5'1 and 120 lbs at 26 years old Im looking into getting back to my 'high school' goal weight of around 105 lbs...but Im wondering if my body even wants to be that low anymore? It was so easy as a teenager because you dont really have to try but after Id say around 20 years old I started slowly gaining weight until now ...I have completely had it. I was closer to 125 lbs about a month ago and Ive slowly managed to lose a few lbs so now im closer to 120 but ugh this is a real struggle lol.
Is it just because my metabolism is getting slower as I age so its not as easy anymore like when I was a teenager?
Last year, when I lost my weight, I was 48 years old and well into perimenopause. That's the age when the metabolism is supposed to start to slow down and weight loss is supposed to be more difficult.
Nevertheless in 8 months I dropped to my high school weight.
It's just a matter of sticking to it.
Enter your info into MFP, choose sedentary as your activity level, and MFP will give you the number of calories you should be consuming (probably 1200).
Meticulously weigh and log everything for the next month.
Exercise can be as simple as going for a 30 minute walk. Log your exercise, estimate your calories burned a little on the low side, and eat half your calories back. Do that for the next month too.
Give it your best shot for a month.
Reassess where you are and what you want to do next at the end of the month.
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At 31, I weigh less now than I have since I was ten years old. #fatkidproblems1
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Yes, getting back to 105 is possible. It will take a bit of time and effort to get there but it should be maintainable without having to dedicate your life to exercise and calorie counting. A few conscious decisions throughout the day should make it sustainable. Move a bit more, skip the fries, have salad, opt for vodka and diet tonic, small things like that.
As we age our metabolism does slow. For someone your height and weight it is 50-60cals per decade staring from about 20, or when you have fully stopped developing. ( that is 6 cals a year!) The reason for this is because as we age we are not as active, we don't burn quite as many calories, and we start to lose muscle mass.
Stay active, cardio and weights, in the gym or just through day to day activity and you will retain a higher BMR even as you get to and through menopause.
Right now, put your stats into MFP with a goal of 1lbs a week for the first 5-10lbs then drop it to .5lbs a week until you reach your goal. If you exercise eat back about 50% of those calories. You need them so you don't get sluggish and less active. If you are losing too fast or too slow alter the percentage you eat back until you are on track.
Increase your daily activity too- no extra calories for that but even at sedentary you are expected to get a full range of motion and 3-5000 steps in. Every bit counts when you are small and trying to lose 10-20lbs.
Weigh everything that goes in your mouth when you are at home and really focus on the size of your portions so that when you eat out you can judge just how much to eat. Take left overs home for lunch the next day, or share with a friend.
I was 5'and 105 at 15 and now, decades later, I am 5'1 and 105. I had a slight 30lbs weight blip, corrected it, and have had no problem maintaining it for the past 6 years. I am 98lbs in my avitar.
Here is me at 103.
Cheers, h, 62yo.
I have only talked about me because we have the same height and weight goal, and to let you know it can be possible at any age. This does not mean it is right or possible for every one.7 -
sunnybeaches105 wrote: »I weighed the same at 40 as I did at 17. And yes, 5'1" at 105 is a reasonable goal.
Me too!
I'm in my 40's and I still weigh the same as I did in high school. Things have shifted a little since then. I have bigger boobs and more lean muscle than I did as a kid. I'm also more active than I was then. But the weight is still the same as it was on my first driver's license. (Plus or minus a couple of pounds depending on the time of the month.)
Good luck, OP!
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middlehaitch wrote: »
Here is me at 103.
Cheers, h, 62yo.
I have only talked about me because we have the same height and weight goal, and to let you know it can be possible at any age. This does not mean it is right or possible for every one.
Amazing!
I'm going to be that awesome some day, too! 
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msalicia116 wrote: »"I will not have the body I had when I was a teenager because I am a woman."
^ I hope you don't mean that women can't have the same body as they did when they were a teenager, and that a body like that doesn't make them a woman.
I'm really hoping you don't actually believe that.
Well no I don't believe that, probably because I never said it.
Just like your body changes during puberty, hormones continue to have an effect on it as you age. The degree to which varies, just like during puberty, from person to person. (An adult woman may remain slim but arguably she still won't have the same body she had as an adolescent. But of course she's still a woman...)
My body stores fat differently now. (Which isn't uncommon for a lot of women.) Similar to the OP I struggled for a while knowing that I used to weigh a lot less with a lot less effort. I would drive myself crazy (and did for a while) trying to achieve the body I had as a teenager. But it just ISN'T that body anymore. So I focus on making it the best body I can have NOW.
OP You may be able to get back down to 105. There's no harm in trying with a slight deficit. Go for it. But if you get there (or even on the journey) you decide it's just too much restriction and work know that that's okay too. (Been there.) You're always allowed to reevaluate, and that's mostly the point I wanted to make. At a certain point I had to reevaluate and realize I was working with a much different body than I had 10 years ago.1 -
Age is not likely a significant factor in why it seems much more difficult now than in high school, but lifestyle might be. For example, when I was in high school, I walked 20 minutes each way. If I had a spare I'd walk home for lunch and then back. There wasn't much opportunity to snack during the day (had to get between classes and couldn't eat in class). The cafeteria was pretty spartan. My mother did the grocery shopping and we did not have a lot of high calorie snacks available, nor did we eat dessert very often.
In my early 30s it seemed easy to maintain a low weight even though I remember eating a lot more than I do now, and drove virtually everywhere I had to go. Candy and chips from the vending machine, extensive selection in the work cafeteria. But i was working in a large factory and the walking was ridiculous, now that I have a fitness tracker I figure I was doing 15-20,000 steps a day.
Now I'm in my late 40's and weigh less than in high school, but with a desk job and unlimited access to snacks and fast food, it requires conscious effort to monitor how much I eat and ensure I get in enough activity.0 -
msalicia116 wrote: »3dogsrunning wrote: »msalicia116 wrote: »JustMissTracy wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Your body changes when you enter adulthood...and I'm not talking about putting on fat...your body just changes...most likely this is completely unrealistic...you're a woman, not a little girl.
This, exactly!
^I'm smaller than I was in high school. Our bodies change for various reasons, but it doesn't mean we can't (or that it's unlikely to) be the same weight or size.
I've made it my goal to improve my health every year, fortunately my size was affected by that goal.
That typo of thinking is defeating and makes one feel like, what's the point, or that it's all downhill from here. Not true at all and if you want your goal to be 19% body fat than it IS possible!
Don't let age or any excuse define you I'm guessing you won't since you're here to be the best version of yourself!
@msalicia116
It depends on where you come from. For some being the same size or smaller than high school is possible. Not necessarily for everyone.
I was very tiny in high school. I developed late. I was still very lean in my 20s bit bigger than high school.
There is no way I'd get back to my high school weight or size.
I'm familiar with anything is possible. Not everything is nor does it have to be.
Still not even close to high school weight or size.
I agree that it depends. That's why I don't use the words "it's unlikely" regarding a population because that seems defeating to me.
And being lean or in a lean bf % ( like yourself- you look amazing) at any age is possible (even if that means 23%bf for your body type).
Sincere question for anyone, but is there a reason you wouldn't be able to be "close" to your senior year weight if you didn't put on an insane amount of muscle or grew several inches after high school? I don't see why it's "unlikely" at all, especially for women if that's what they want.
Well, I personally know that I can get back to my HS weight, but my measurements will stil be different. After 5 pregnancies my hips are about 3" wider (at the same weight) and with each baby, my breasts have gotten larger. I went from an A cup at 24 before i had my first, to a small C cup at 32.
So even if you can get back to the weight, it might not look the same.1 -
This is a depressing thread -- at 26, you're depressed because you're 120 lbs., feel HUGE, and your excess weight is due to the aging process? I'm 57, 5'1", and 120 lbs. I guess I should just waddle my grossly obese body over to the nursing home.
This is what I thought too.. At age 26, this girl is thinking she is old and her metabolism has slowed to a crawl. And that high school was 20 years a go.
I should take my peri-menopause butt out side in the back yard and pray for a lightening strike.
I am 5'4, nearing 48 in two months and 117 pounds.. Not far from high school weight, but it does not come with out pain, sweat and tears and a lot of hard work.1 -
Wow, you are 26 and wondering if age is slowing your weight loss. You are so young!
You are at a healthy weight now. If you are unhappy about the way look maybe you should focus on body composition rather than weight.1 -
Well...this is one of those weird things that I just don't understand I guess...aspiring to look like a teen or be the same size/weight as I was when I was a teen...I'm putting this up there with other things I just don't get...aspiring to thigh gap...aspiring to be X size...even though there's nothing universal about sizing....1
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Age is not likely a significant factor in why it seems much more difficult now than in high school, but lifestyle might be. For example, when I was in high school, I walked 20 minutes each way. If I had a spare I'd walk home for lunch and then back. There wasn't much opportunity to snack during the day (had to get between classes and couldn't eat in class). The cafeteria was pretty spartan. My mother did the grocery shopping and we did not have a lot of high calorie snacks available, nor did we eat dessert very often.
In my early 30s it seemed easy to maintain a low weight even though I remember eating a lot more than I do now, and drove virtually everywhere I had to go. Candy and chips from the vending machine, extensive selection in the work cafeteria. But i was working in a large factory and the walking was ridiculous, now that I have a fitness tracker I figure I was doing 15-20,000 steps a day.
Now I'm in my late 40's and weigh less than in high school, but with a desk job and unlimited access to snacks and fast food, it requires conscious effort to monitor how much I eat and ensure I get in enough activity.
^^ All this. We aren't conscious of our activity level a lot. I used to complain about how after I turned 40 it became easy to put on weight and hard to take off, but the reality was I was just not moving as much and eating more. When I was younger I was too busy to sit around mindlessly snacking. I ate a lot of junk, but not all day and I moved a ton more due to school and jobs that kept me on my feet all day.
You can most definitely get back there, but it will take effort to make a lifestyle change. It won't be that hard to keep once it becomes habit. Or, as others have said you may decide you are happier a little heavier. I was 5'2" and 95lbs from 13-32 (even with 2 kids). I've decided now, I'm pretty happy with a more muscled 98. I wouldn't mind a few more pounds of muscle.1 -
This is a depressing thread -- at 26, you're depressed because you're 120 lbs., feel HUGE, and your excess weight is due to the aging process? I'm 57, 5'1", and 120 lbs. I guess I should just waddle my grossly obese body over to the nursing home.
This is what I thought too.. At age 26, this girl is thinking she is old and her metabolism has slowed to a crawl. And that high school was 20 years a go.
I should take my peri-menopause butt out side in the back yard and pray for a lightening strike.
I am 5'4, nearing 48 in two months and 117 pounds.. Not far from high school weight, but it does not come with out pain, sweat and tears and a lot of hard work.
That isnt what I think at all and if you had read any of my replies in this thread you would KNOW what im talking about. Please dont make such presumptuous comments while ignoring what Im saying its ridiculous...1 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Wow, you are 26 and wondering if age is slowing your weight loss. You are so young!
You are at a healthy weight now. If you are unhappy about the way look maybe you should focus on body composition rather than weight.
I understand that im still in the healthy range for my age/height etc but its just not what I want. I didnt start gaining weight until I was 20+ (started college..got married etc) so I still was under 110 for a few years AFTER high school..I just say high school weight as a more general term, for before I gained weight, if that makes sense.
And whats wrong with wondering about age and weight loss? Im closer to 30 than I am 20 and my body is obviously not the same as when I was 15..thats part of the reason I made this thread because Im wondering how other people dealt with these changes as well...is it metabolism? is it lifestyle? is it everything?..Im not talking about being 50 years old no, but I am still older than I was before...its a relevant concern lol.0 -
middlehaitch wrote: »Yes, getting back to 105 is possible. It will take a bit of time and effort to get there but it should be maintainable without having to dedicate your life to exercise and calorie counting. A few conscious decisions throughout the day should make it sustainable. Move a bit more, skip the fries, have salad, opt for vodka and diet tonic, small things like that.
As we age our metabolism does slow. For someone your height and weight it is 50-60cals per decade staring from about 20, or when you have fully stopped developing. ( that is 6 cals a year!) The reason for this is because as we age we are not as active, we don't burn quite as many calories, and we start to lose muscle mass.
Stay active, cardio and weights, in the gym or just through day to day activity and you will retain a higher BMR even as you get to and through menopause.
Right now, put your stats into MFP with a goal of 1lbs a week for the first 5-10lbs then drop it to .5lbs a week until you reach your goal. If you exercise eat back about 50% of those calories. You need them so you don't get sluggish and less active. If you are losing too fast or too slow alter the percentage you eat back until you are on track.
Increase your daily activity too- no extra calories for that but even at sedentary you are expected to get a full range of motion and 3-5000 steps in. Every bit counts when you are small and trying to lose 10-20lbs.
Weigh everything that goes in your mouth when you are at home and really focus on the size of your portions so that when you eat out you can judge just how much to eat. Take left overs home for lunch the next day, or share with a friend.
I was 5'and 105 at 15 and now, decades later, I am 5'1 and 105. I had a slight 30lbs weight blip, corrected it, and have had no problem maintaining it for the past 6 years. I am 98lbs in my avitar.
Here is me at 103.
Cheers, h, 62yo.
I have only talked about me because we have the same height and weight goal, and to let you know it can be possible at any age. This does not mean it is right or possible for every one.
Thank you for your comment!! Very informative!! You look great! 2 -
It's not at all unreasonable on unattainable. The question you should be asking is whether it's sensible or desirable.
Shoot for a look rather than a weight. Weight can be helpful in guiding you to that look, but as a goal unto itself, it's pretty lacking.0 -
I think it depends on what you weighed in high school and how much you are willing to put into it. I was 135 in high school....er...coming up on my 20 year reunion this year. 2 kids later and with a 3rd on the way...I'm way bigger. I could realistically get back to 135lbs. It's even towards the higher end of a normal BMI for me. But I'm not willing to put in quite that much effort. If I could just get closer to 100 than to 200 after this final baby I'll be one happy camper. That still eats smores without having to go to the gym 7 days a week. lol.0
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What does your mirror tell you? I currently weigh 176 which is close to my high school weight although I definitely have room for improvement. When I wrestled I weighed 167 but I still could have lost more weight. My comfortable goal is 170, stretch is 165 and then I want to re-evaluate. I should also state that I'm 55.0
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I'm the same weight at 56 as I was when I was in my late teens and early 20's. Whether your high school weight is now your "best weight" is something only you can judge.
Why not nibble away a few pounds at a time and reassess as you go? Wouldn't get too hung up on the actual number though.
How you feel, look, perform, your health is more important than a particular number.
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Right now your BMI is 22.7, which is in the normal range (18.5 - 24.9) according to the NIH (National Institute of Health). If you went down to your high school weight your BMI would be 19.8. For your height, 61" your weight range is 100 - 132 (rounded up). To see this information, the NIH website is...
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmi_tbl.htm0
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