Struggling with best weight for me -

I've thought about that. I have not been able to find a location to have a water displacement test done. Plus I'm not sure of the cost.

i cosign going by the way you feel about your body. i've pretty much ignored the whole BMI thing bc i don't think it really takes into account body composition. i'm 5' 2" and 180lbs, and most ppl wld NEVER believe it. i thought 140-145 wld be my goal, but given how i carry my weight i might stop short of that. it really IS about being healthy. if your body fat %age and fitness are in order, the number on the scale is of less importance.

I agree about BMI. It's a good snap shot, but does not take important variables into account. My original goal did not include an actual weight. I wanted to be able to wear an AnneTaylor 10p. I wore my Anne Taylor 12p (curvy cut) pants on Friday. They are now big. I can probably wear the 10 or certainly within the next 5 lbs.

I doubt your bones are any bigger than my bones or the bones of the person sitting next to you. Maybe you think you have a frumpy body or a stocky body, but I bet you'll have no problem losing the weight until you're comfortably inside of your optimum BMI range. Like anything worthwhile, it takes time, but you have to stick to it. You have to use a combination of diet and exercise to make it work. You have to make a slave out of your body in order for it to do what you want it to do. And when you've stuck to your training plan for about a year, you'll have the look that everybody desires. Don't say this is it. Don't say this is the best that I can do. Just keep with the program, and you'll meet your objective.

I'm sorry, but your post offended me. I am an intellegent, self aware woman. I am not making excuses about my weight or even worring about what others think. I was asking for honest opinion from KNOWLEDGEABLE people. I'm not giving up or even struglling with the actuall weight loss. I've been at this for 9 months and average about 3 lbs a month which is where I want to be. I am fit and very healthy (other than those cranky knees). I disagree about the frame size. Talk to someone knowledgeable and they will tell you that it is important to determining appropriate weight. I challenge you to find another woman that is under 5'5" with a wrist that measures 6.5"

I am 5'3" at 139-142 pounds (depends on if I ate pizza or a batch of cookies or not lol)

with 24-26% body fat. (its all an estimate calipers are known to be inacurate)

I wear a size 4-6 in jeans

and most would say that I am no where near being over weight.

But my "BMI range" would put me at overweight.

I would have never thought that I could be in a size 4 jean weighing 140 pounds... Sure my goal is another 5 pounds of fat gone making me 135 pounds. But i am certainly healthy where I am now.

My suggestion is to figure out what your body fat percentage is... (my goal is 22% bf) and work towards that goal. Throw out the BMI scale, because it doesn't take into consideration body composition, and really focus on how you feel and what your stats say... is your cholestoral good? what about your blood pressure? what about your waist size they say below 30 inches decreases your chance of TONS of health issues.. work towards those things.

The 30 inch waist size is a good suggestion. I'm still a little bigger than that. I can say that I'm pretty suprised that 12p are actually too big already. I have never been a size 4 though. Even in high school and on the track team, I did not wear anything below a 7 (I think I weighed about 118 then but was only 4'11"). Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I will check with the local university about getting a body fat analysis done.

I suggest having your body fat tested and pick a goal for your body fat percentage! That's more important than the number on the scale!

This is what I did. When I got down to a reasonable level I went and had my body fat tested, then the personal trainer and I discussed a percentage that would be maintainable at my activity level and what that translated into in terms of pounds. According to that meeting I selected 14% which translated to around 128 pounds for my build (I'm 5'3").

Edit: I think BMI is complete ****, and percentage is the only way to get a real feel for where you're at and what is reasonable for your build.

That's exactly what I'm getting at. I would never know you weigh 128 lbs from your pic. Obviosly you could carry more weight and still be in the very fit range. No one ever believed I weighed 195 lbs. I looked a lot smaller than that. I am not concerned about being really thin or a particular size. I just want to be fit and healthy. I'm not to a 5k yet, but I can go 35 minutes (2.5 miles) on that elliptical without a problem. New goal is 40 minutes and 3 miles. I'm working up to running on the pavement again. I lift weights and do a bit of yoga. Also a 2 mile walk most mornings with my dog. My asthma is gone and all my medical numbers are in the healthy/fit range (they were pretty good at 195 too). I was originally thinking if I reached a 10p in size, I would be about 130lbs or so. I'm getting into 10p at 165lbs (still a little tight). Considering how I feel and look now, I'm wondering if 130 is really where I'm suppoed to be. I think I would be pretty darn happy at 22% body fat and I suspect I would weigh around 140. Various web sites put me between 26-30% fat now. My waist to hip ratio is .79 which is not bad. I do want to get that down a bit more.