Waist Size

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etherealanwar
etherealanwar Posts: 465 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
This may be a silly question but it's been on my mind lately and has been bothering me. I am 8 lbs away from a normal bmi and my waist measurement is still quite higher than I expected it to be currently sitting at 32 inches (I'm 5'4"for reference). I have lost around my midsection but not nearly as much as I'd like and I'm aiming to lose 28 more lbs so I'm hoping I'll see big changes with the remainder to be lost.

Out of curiosity, when did you lose the most around your waist? I know weight comes off based on your genetics but I'm getting worried that I may not even be satisfied with my waist when I come close to/reach goal. I would be content with reaching 28 inches but does that sound reasonable?

Replies

  • etherealanwar
    etherealanwar Posts: 465 Member
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    TavistockToad wrote: »
    With 28lbs still to lise, there is a good chance you'll lose a fair bit more from your waist.

    Do you do any strength/resistance training?

    That's what I was thinking and it seems as though I lose last from my midsection.

    And no, and I know I should have been. I tried to start near the beginning of my weight loss but I got so demotivated thinking I would see no results until the very end that I quit. I haven't been able to convince myself to start and have only been focusing on diet mostly and fitting in walks. I plan on starting C25K soon and my original plan was to start weightlifting once I hit a normal bmi but I'm pretty close now so I don't see why I couldn't just start right away..
  • etherealanwar
    etherealanwar Posts: 465 Member
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    shadow2soul wrote: »
    28” waist sounds reasonable to me.

    I’m at 27.5” when I’m not bloated currently (28-28.5” if I am bloated) and at my lightest I had a 26” waist. For reference I am 5’4.5”.

    As for when it came off...looking at my progress pictures and measurement records it steadily came off my midsection from the start. My chest on the other hand took a large chunk of weight loss for me to start losing fat there.

    Another factor you might want to consider is your body composition. Strength training helps maintain lean body mass which can give you a leaner appearance at heavier weights.

    Thank you for the feedback!

    If you don't mind sharing, what weight are you currently and when you were your lightest? No worries if you'd rather keep that information to yourself though!
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    etherealanwar wrote: »
    shadow2soul wrote: »
    28” waist sounds reasonable to me.

    I’m at 27.5” when I’m not bloated currently (28-28.5” if I am bloated) and at my lightest I had a 26” waist. For reference I am 5’4.5”.

    As for when it came off...looking at my progress pictures and measurement records it steadily came off my midsection from the start. My chest on the other hand took a large chunk of weight loss for me to start losing fat there.

    Another factor you might want to consider is your body composition. Strength training helps maintain lean body mass which can give you a leaner appearance at heavier weights.

    Thank you for the feedback!

    If you don't mind sharing, what weight are you currently and when you were your lightest? No worries if you'd rather keep that information to yourself though!

    This morning I weighed in at 137.2lbs. At my lightest I was 120lbs.
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,108 Member
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    For me I lose weight around the top half of my body first. I'm just under 5'8" and my waist started 30lb (184lb) ago at 32.5". Now at the higher end of a healthy BMI it is 28.5". My thighs on the other hand went from 26.5" at the widest part to 24.75" now
  • etherealanwar
    etherealanwar Posts: 465 Member
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    kami3006 wrote: »

    You won't regret starting now in terms of weight lifting. It can make a significant difference as to how you look at your goal weight.

    28" waist sounds reasonable to me as well. I'm 5'3, 125 and my waist is 27".


    Sad thing is I knew at the start that if I weight lifted I would like my final look at goal weight better but for whatever reason I still wasn't motivated enough. I will look into renewing my gym membership at LA Fitness. I really hope they don't try to charge me their ridiculous initiation fee again. If they do I'd have to look for another well equipped gym because I don't want to settle for Planet Fitness.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    at 5'3" i was at about 30" at 130lbs
    at 115 i was still at 28 (in my late teens/early 20s)
  • Cassandraw3
    Cassandraw3 Posts: 1,214 Member
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    Genetics play a large part in this. At 5'4", I am a 27-28" waist at 145 lbs. Waist and belly are where I tend to lose most noticeably first. Thighs, hips, and chest last. With losing 20 lbs, I lost 2-3" on average from various areas. It is possible you may get down to a 28" waist losing another 28 lbs, but it is also possible that you just may not be built like that. Unfortunately, the only way you will know is by losing the weight. And take pictures! For me, the image I saw of myself in the mirror didn't always reflect the changes happening. Our brains can be weird like that. Pictures, especially comparison ones, allowed my brain to see the changes being made physically that I couldn't see with just the mirror.
  • peleroja
    peleroja Posts: 3,979 Member
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    This sounds a bit silly and I'm sorry if I'm off-base, but you might also want to check if you're measuring in the right place, which should be the smallest part of your waist (for most people that's a little above the navel), not where you wear your pants.
  • etherealanwar
    etherealanwar Posts: 465 Member
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    peleroja wrote: »
    This sounds a bit silly and I'm sorry if I'm off-base, but you might also want to check if you're measuring in the right place, which should be the smallest part of your waist (for most people that's a little above the navel), not where you wear your pants.

    Oh you're fine! I do measure at the smallest part :)
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    I carry fat in my belly area. When I went from 179 lbs to 150-155 lbs my measurements reflected that I was smaller all over but my waist had the biggest change. At a certain point my hips, legs etc were not really changing measurement but my waist was and would presumably until I maintained at whatever weight I stopped at. My hips were already at my goal clothing size so seemed like they were going to stay pretty stable.
    As a 5'4" woman I figured that I would have a 28" waist around 125 lbs based on my history and clothing size charts showing where my hip measurement would be. It's possible if I get to 125 lbs I will be wrong but that is about what my waist was when I was that size before.
  • jesspen91
    jesspen91 Posts: 1,383 Member
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    I am in exactly the same boat as you. I am currently 137lbs with a 30 inch waist. My heaviest was 152lbs and 133 inches and my lowest was 132lbs with a 29 inch waist. I lose much slower from my upper body than from my lower body which is frustrating because I had precious little to lose their. When my waist was at its smallest my thighs were only 20 inches and calves 13 with a lot of muscle and not much fat and absolutely nothing on my bum!

    It's annoying but that's just how some of us are made. A healthy waist is anything less than half of your height and .85 of your hips so beyond that its up to you how lean you want to go but you may need to accept that your basic shape is not going to change barring surgery or some serious weight lifting over a long period of time (we're talking years).
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
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    I had 28lbs to lose and those inches eventually came off my waist when I was about 7lbs from goal - went from 31" waist to 25.5" (I'm 5ft 2 and strength train regularly). Genetics do factor in though.

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