Ideal Weight

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Krisengel
Krisengel Posts: 161 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm 5' 5" tall and weigh 134. I thought I wanted to get to 125 which was my weight my first couple years of college. Tonight I noticed my hips, ribs, and collarbones are really sticking out. I think I might look sick if I lose more weight.

My question is, should I switch my calories to maintainance, or should I go to .5 a week for a while? Right now I'm at 1 pound a week. I don't want to gain weight and I'm worried if I switch to maintaining I'll gain weight back. I'd love suggestions from people who've reached their goal weight. Thanks!
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Replies

  • FitForLife81
    FitForLife81 Posts: 372 Member
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    I am still trying to figure this out too! I am 5'3" and weigh 114 and I havent changed my calories yet because I am maintaining at 1380 right now. Not sure why so I havent upped it. I am going to up it to 1500 soon and see where that gets me! I would just try upping by 100-150 calories and see where that takes you!
  • AceDuddyMegaa
    AceDuddyMegaa Posts: 73
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    i doubt youll look sick if you keep cutting. your body probably just took fat from those areas first.. im sure you'll burn off your 'problem areas' way before you start looking sick

    i'd say up your calories if you feel your losing too fast and you dont like how your skin is looking if you wanna give it time to catch up. good luck :)
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
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    You don't have to jump right into maintenance. Up by 100-200 and see what happens. Stick with that new amount for at least 4 weeks to let your body get used to it.. then up again until you reach maintenance.

    Maintenance doesn't necessarily mean that you will gain back weight... esp if you keep exercising and eating better. The only time that you would gain back weight is if you went back to your old ways..
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    I checked this website.

    http://www.everydayhealth.com/toolkit/weightcalculator/index.aspx

    According to this, you are already at a healthy weight.
  • Krisengel
    Krisengel Posts: 161 Member
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    I checked this website.

    http://www.everydayhealth.com/toolkit/weightcalculator/index.aspx

    According to this, you are already at a healthy weight.

    Which is another reason I think I'm done losing. 125 would still be in the healthy range, but at the bottom end.
  • bert16
    bert16 Posts: 726 Member
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    I'm wondering a similar thing, though I'm not to your point yet. I'm 5'7" and weigh 140.4 lb, which puts my BMI at 22, smack dab in the healthy range. However, when I look at myself, there are definitely still some pounds to be lost and I won't be slicing bread on my sharp, pointy, protruding bones anytime soon. :laugh:

    I currently have my goal weight set at 130 lb, but I have no idea if that's really where I should stop... I'm hoping that I'll know it when I see it (and when my body refuses to lose anymore weight when eating a reasonable diet.
  • celticmuse
    celticmuse Posts: 492 Member
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    I'm 5'6" and weigh 143. My goal is 138, but I have been fluctuated between 141-143 for the past month. I don't look bad, but my
    BF is still at 30% Don't know if I should try to lose more weight. I am 57. Advice?
  • Dannypuck
    Dannypuck Posts: 1,067 Member
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    I'm still trying to figure out where to be. I'm 6'3" and 258 at the moment. It tells me I should be 177, but I have a larger frame. (Broad shoulders and big lower body.) Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
  • scagneti
    scagneti Posts: 707 Member
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    I checked this website.

    http://www.everydayhealth.com/toolkit/weightcalculator/index.aspx

    According to this, you are already at a healthy weight.

    Which is another reason I think I'm done losing. 125 would still be in the healthy range, but at the bottom end.

    I'm 5'5", and had planned on stopping at 130, but I've lost another 5 pounds on maint and I don't look scary skinny. My arms and legs are very muscular (built up some nice muscles on maint doing heavy lifting). My collar bone and hips are sharp and pointy though. Just wish I could gain a little in my hands -- those are the only part that are TOO skinny.
  • rebysue
    rebysue Posts: 136
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    When I switched to maintain mode, I actually upped my calories all at once and actually still lost a little weight. But I know that every person's body responds differently to different methods!
  • Krisengel
    Krisengel Posts: 161 Member
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    Thanks for the input! It's always nice to hear other people's thoughts.
  • sarah307
    sarah307 Posts: 1,363 Member
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    I am 5' 2''
    starting weight 155
    i met my goal weight of 120 in July
    maintained that (with 0.5 wt loss per week + 1 cheat day) for about 3 months
    then I stopped logging every day (i thought.. what's one more scoop of ice cream?!)
    ...gained 10 pounds back in one month!!
    now I'm back down to 125 and think i'll stay there

    wanting to throw away the scale and focus more on non-scale goals - like seeing how far i can run or how many veggies i can eat
  • MissArielLauren
    MissArielLauren Posts: 27
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    i doubt youll look sick if you keep cutting. your body probably just took fat from those areas first.. im sure you'll burn off your 'problem areas' way before you start looking sick

    i'd say up your calories if you feel your losing too fast and you dont like how your skin is looking if you wanna give it time to catch up. good luck :)

    I agree. I'm 5'4 and most of my weight is in my lower body. When I was at 110 I looked and felt perfectly healthy.
    But, you go girl! If you feel that you look your best at that weight, then I think that is all that matters. Screw that scale and just stay healthy for YOU [=
  • Sigma28
    Sigma28 Posts: 83 Member
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    Don't forget to take into account your body frame (eg. big boned, or small boned). That will change your goal. See this link, for example: http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/met.htm

    So if you're medium to a large frame, you're already at the low side of healthy and will start to look emaciated if you go any further.
  • ALH1981
    ALH1981 Posts: 538 Member
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    Thanks for the input! It's always nice to hear other people's thoughts.

    i was not even aware that there is a maintenance mode - is that setting on the tracker? How do you turn it on???

    I am past goal weight, lower actually but feel worse than before- aremt you meant to feel healthier and happier? Truth being that low weight does not always equal happiness.... its a sad fact considering all the efforts we put into it... :(
  • lawtechie
    lawtechie Posts: 708 Member
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    I'm 5'6" and weigh 143. My goal is 138, but I have been fluctuated between 141-143 for the past month. I don't look bad, but my
    BF is still at 30% Don't know if I should try to lose more weight. I am 57. Advice?

    How was the body fat % calculated? What is your lean muscle mass (lbs)? Sounds like you may need more muscle to help you burn more calories and help lose the fat. 30% is on the high end of 'average' for body fat. so you could probably stand to lose a few more pounds, but you want it to be fat and not muscle.
  • PinkAndSparkle
    PinkAndSparkle Posts: 324
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    I'm 5'4ish (I've always been 5'3 and then I was 5'4 at the doctor last month...), and I weight between 130-135. I was 125 for about 5 years, but then realized I was starving myself to maintain that weight, after my metabolism gave up on me and I gained 10 lbs. I have a really large body frame (was told that once by a nutritionist, whom I nearly punched), so I weigh more than most people of my size. Now, my body seems to change size, but the weight stays the same....so I don't really weigh myself anymore.
  • PinkAndSparkle
    PinkAndSparkle Posts: 324
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    Don't forget to take into account your body frame (eg. big boned, or small boned). That will change your goal. See this link, for example: http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/met.htm

    So if you're medium to a large frame, you're already at the low side of healthy and will start to look emaciated if you go any further.
    I think you're right, like I mentioned in my post...however that scale seems somewhat skewed. Look at the men's side: it only crosses 200 lbs when the person is 6'3...that's a lot of skinny guys...
  • Dannypuck
    Dannypuck Posts: 1,067 Member
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    Don't forget to take into account your body frame (eg. big boned, or small boned). That will change your goal. See this link, for example: http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/met.htm

    So if you're medium to a large frame, you're already at the low side of healthy and will start to look emaciated if you go any further.
    I think you're right, like I mentioned in my post...however that scale seems somewhat skewed. Look at the men's side: it only crosses 200 lbs when the person is 6'3...that's a lot of skinny guys...

    I agree with you on that. However, I haven't been that skinny in forever, but I'll set my goal for now and see where to go from that point.
  • celticmuse
    celticmuse Posts: 492 Member
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    I'm 5'6" and weigh 143. My goal is 138, but I have been fluctuated between 141-143 for the past month. I don't look bad, but my
    BF is still at 30% Don't know if I should try to lose more weight. I am 57. Advice?

    How was the body fat % calculated? What is your lean muscle mass (lbs)? Sounds like you may need more muscle to help you burn more calories and help lose the fat. 30% is on the high end of 'average' for body fat. so you could probably stand to lose a few more pounds, but you want it to be fat and not muscle.

    Thanks for the comment. The body fat was calculated by my scale. My lean muscle mass is 100 lbs. I think you are right that I need to build muscle. I would like to reduce my body fat to 28% and get down to 138, but that would require those last few lbs to be fat, not muscle, and I am not sure how to do that. I have started JM 30D shred. Do you think that will help me?

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