What's the deal with the "ideal weight" charts?
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I'm also 5'4" and had the same question. I worked with a personal trainer two and three years ago who determined that my goal weight should be 145-150. Abbey based it on the charts, but also, on build (I've always been a curvy girl), what we were working toward in terms of strength and muscle mass, overall fitness goals, monthly measurements and my doctors' numbers. One thing I learned is that thin isn't always healthy or strong. I run, cycle and kayak. Now, if I got down to elite marathon weight (yeah...no), I might not have the strength to ride fast on the flats or row myself through the water, so I keep to the higher end. Get fit and healthy first.1
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Fit and healthy is the goal. The weight charts are just a guideline and interesting to look up, but nothing to get overly worried about if you don't fit the numbers exactly. I was plugging in various numbers and I think it's pretty funny that 1 pound can make a difference between overweight and normal. At 151 I'm considered overweight. At 150 I'm not. That's pretty silly, actually.
Deep down inside, I think we all know when we're at the optimal weight for our age, height, body frame and fitness level.2 -
I would say 140. (I'm not there yet) but my friend who is the same height as us is 145-150 (she lifts) and she looks F***ing AMAZING! She also is NOT busty, so if you're busty and you lift, I'd say 140-150, that's a perfect weight in my opinion. #goals0
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I like what's called the smart BMI. It gives you a nice range of healthy/normal, over/underweight and is adjusted for age. It's a nice way to view this stuff.
http://www.smartbmicalculator.com/Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »Man are we all stupid, me included. I have been somewhat fascinated by the topic of "ideal weight" lately:
People like to talk about "ideal weight," but no one seems ever to say "ideal weight for what" I told my doctor (who is also a male of my age) that I had been losing weight and had gotten close to a BMI of 26. I asked him if I should go lower. His response:
"There is no evidence that (going lower than a BMI of 26) will improve your health."
By this he meant that if you are reasonably light, other factors can easily outweigh weight (genetics, activity level, nutrition, drug and alcohol use, etc.) in terms of health risk.
As it happens, I decided to lose 5lbs more and got to a BMI of 25. It makes me happy to be a bit lighter when I go running and cycling, so I guess it's worth it.
I'd dump that Dr., if he is dumb enough to say something like that then he isn't worth your time. What he should have said was your waist circumference has a more important correlation with morbidity, focus on reducing that and you'll be ok
Too many people think BMI is a great indicator for health, but it is only a very small snapshot.
You know what, there IS an ideal weight and everyone knows it involves running a couple miles a few times a week and eating more veggies. If you think you could "lose a bit of fat around your thighs or waist?" You're probably right.2 -
ThatLadyFromMN wrote: »I would say 140. (I'm not there yet) but my friend who is the same height as us is 145-150 (she lifts) and she looks F***ing AMAZING! She also is NOT busty, so if you're busty and you lift, I'd say 140-150, that's a perfect weight in my opinion. #goals
I'd be super happy with 150 (I am busty) 140 would be awesome if I don't gain much muscle1 -
I like what's called the smart BMI. It gives you a nice range of healthy/normal, over/underweight and is adjusted for age. It's a nice way to view this stuff.
http://www.smartbmicalculator.com/Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »Man are we all stupid, me included. I have been somewhat fascinated by the topic of "ideal weight" lately:
People like to talk about "ideal weight," but no one seems ever to say "ideal weight for what" I told my doctor (who is also a male of my age) that I had been losing weight and had gotten close to a BMI of 26. I asked him if I should go lower. His response:
"There is no evidence that (going lower than a BMI of 26) will improve your health."
By this he meant that if you are reasonably light, other factors can easily outweigh weight (genetics, activity level, nutrition, drug and alcohol use, etc.) in terms of health risk.
As it happens, I decided to lose 5lbs more and got to a BMI of 25. It makes me happy to be a bit lighter when I go running and cycling, so I guess it's worth it.
I'd dump that Dr., if he is dumb enough to say something like that then he isn't worth your time. What he should have said was your waist circumference has a more important correlation with morbidity, focus on reducing that and you'll be ok
Too many people think BMI is a great indicator for health, but it is only a very small snapshot.
You know what, there IS an ideal weight and everyone knows it involves running a couple miles a few times a week and eating more veggies. If you think you could "lose a bit of fat around your thighs or waist?" You're probably right.
I like this, thank you!0 -
I am a busty 5'4" woman too (45 yrs old), and my target is to get under 150. 148 puts me in the official healthy BMI range, but personally I will be happy with anything 150 or under. Back in my 20s, the lightest I weighed was 123. Yeah, that'll never happen again, and I don't want it to. I'm currently at 169 and I am already buying US Smalls.1
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I'm 5'4 and my personal "ideal" weight has always put me over the BMI scale. I work out a lot and am fairly muscular. I prefer to be around 160-170.
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TeacupsAndToning wrote: »
I actually hate these things. I type in my stats and they always looking nothing like me lol
True. They give a good weight range though.0 -
And pecks and quads and my cycling booty...3 -
I am 5'4 as well... the "chart" says I should be 110-148... My dr said she would like to see me at 145, I compromised and said 165-170. I started this journey at 260 with a mind set of getting to 180 and now that I have lost 60lbs I am thinking 165-170 is perfect. It's not about my size or how much i weight but how healthy and fit I can be. If I get to the 165 and I want to do more then I will. Not everyone fits into a the same mold, we all have different shapes and sizes so personal preference (as long as health is taken into factor) See how you feel as you go and toss aside the "chart"
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I'm 5'3 and my "ideal" weight according to charts is something like 104-140. That's a pretty large range.
I'm just shy of 140 right now and still wearing a size 4. Body composition plays a role in where you should fall within that range.0 -
As for me, I am also 5'4". I started out at 184 pounds and have been in the 170s-180s for most my life. However, the BMI charts don't work well for my body type. I have a large bone structure (I wear a size 12 shoe for crying out loud!), so 140 and below is definitely NOT feasible. I currently weigh 152-154 (depending on the day), but my body fat percentage when I last checked almost 3 months ago (and weighed a little more) was 25.3% and I have definitely gotten more lean muscle mass since then. So, all that to say, the BMI calculator is just ONE of many measurements to consider. As long as my body fat percentage and lean muscle mass is in a healthy range and I don't have a high visceral fat rating, I'm good.2
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No one knows the right answer for you . . . except you (and maybe your doctor, if you have a good one). Don't submit the question to a popular vote.
It's a combination of body composition, skeletal shape, breast size, your personal body's health & hormonal balance factors, cultural norms, personal preference and more.
You've heard from women who prefer to be on the mid to upper side of the BMI range. I prefer to be lower: At 5'5", 120ish is good. I have no breasts (mastectomies), and the skeletal frame of a 14-year-old boy - broad shoulders, no pelvic width - even though I'm a 61-year-old woman, fairly muscular.
Figure out what's right for you. You don't need to know the answer now. Unless you have a quite-unusual body type, I agree with those who suggest aiming for the upper end of the normal BMI range as a start, then re-evaluate as you get close.1 -
I'm 5"8 and any lower than 143lbs makes me look gaunt, sickly and old (er), I'm 45. Around the middle, upper of the bmi range suits me just fine.0
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I'm 5'4 and weighed 130-135 in high school. That was a size 6 then (20 years ago; who knows now with vanity sizing!) 112 would definitely be too low for me to try to attain.
I'm 5'4" (well, I was still about 5'3.5" in high school) and at that weight range was size 12 to 14. Of course, that was about 40 years ago, so I guess "vanity sizing" took its toll between my day and yours.0 -
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Ideal weight charts are actually healthy and realistic, we're just so used to people being overweight that we don't realize what healthy really is. Stepping outside the U.S. can be a real eye opener! I am 5'6. At my fittest, which was within the past 5 years, my weight ranged between 112-117. I also had very prominent muscles from weight lifting and skating. I am now 134 lbs and completely demoralized by how I look. I am also the heaviest I have ever been, which is why I am here--to take back my health and not slide into a middle age slump from which there is no return. I have flab around my waist and cellulite on the back of my legs all because I stopped exercising regularly and am eating too much. My goal is to get down to at least 120 lbs. I know people don't like to hear about ideal weight and also like to believe they have higher muscle mass to account for, but unless you're a professional body builder, your muscle mass will not make your BMI appear to be too high.5
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I'm 5'4 as well. I started at 196 & now I'm 155. I would be satisfied at 150 but I'm going for 1451
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JerSchmare wrote: »I disagree with almost all of this. Most Americans are fat, and they don't see it. They think fat is healthy. We are huge, as a nation. The ideal weight and BMI are ranges, but they aren't that far off.
What am reading is people justifying being larger. If you're happy, that's fine. But, it's not ideal for optimum health. That's all the charts are trying to tell you.
The range for my height is 121-162lbs. I weighed around 127lbs for a couple of years in my late 20's, I cringe looking at pics of me at that time, i looked like skeletor. I was slim before then, but then got skinny! The reason i got down to that weight was because i had a drug habit and barely ate.
I am so NOT down with the fat acceptance movement and settling at an over weight weight because I'm used to seeing obese people on every corner. It's just that the lower end of that bmi range looks uummm not so good nor healthy on me. Simple as that!
Oh, and there are no overweight or fat people in my family, so it's not as if i was raised to think that being chunky was normal.2 -
I'm 5'4" and my ideal weight is between 150 and 155, which I achieved with resistance training and healthy eating about 10 years ago. Unfortunately, over the years I gradually gained weight and I'm at 206 now. I've joined MFP and I'm working with a trainer again. I think those weight charts are crazy. It's probably better to focus on BMI.1
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I'm a 5"4' male and in my experience I look best at 140.
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JerSchmare wrote: »The ideal weight and BMI are ranges, but they aren't that far off.
The "ideal weight" that OP asked about was NOT a range, it was a specific number, and it was at the very bottom of the BMI range. I mostly don't see people saying she should ignore the BMI range.
Please explain why someone who is 5'4 needs to be 112. (There's nothing wrong with being 5'4 and 112, that's a good weight for some, but why is it the "ideal weight" for everyone 5'4? What's the science behind it?)
Oh, and I'm 5'3 and 125, which is within the healthy BMI, and I'd like to be 118-120, ideally (for me), also within the healthy BMI (although greater than whatever that particular chart might have it). My former trainer was 5'3 and 135 or so (also within the healthy BMI) and looked great (looked more fit than me, IMO), because she carried quite a bit of muscle and was lower body fat.1 -
This is me today... clinically obese with a height of 5'4 and a weight of 176.8. BMI of 30.2%.
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http://www.bcbst.com/MPManual/HW.htm tables do have ranges and include 1" heels and indoor clothing.0
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