Your ideal weight might make you look ill ?

My ideal according to the charts is about 130ish. Im currently at 170 and in a size 9/10. a 40 pound weight loss would have me in a size 0 to 3. too skinny. I work out so i have muscle mass which accounts for my pants size. My goal is to get into a size 8. Im thinking 5 more pounds of weigh loss coupled with the exercise should do it. Oh Im 5'3.... The charts are wrong.

I don't pay much attention to those ideal weight charts. I think it's really different for every person. I have my goal weight set a bit above what they say is my 'ideal weight'..... I know that I am living a healthier lifestyle than people that are within their 'ideal weight range' so it doesn't really matter to me.

So funny you say that. Had a coworker who was 20 pounds lighter than me. we were the same height. According to the charts and bmi she was considered healthy. Yet I looked and was smaller than her. More tone and in shape. Yet I was considered obese by bmi and overweight by the weight charts... its madness.

I have been told that my ideal weigh is 160 lbs I am tall I currently weigh 146 lbs - I carry weight on my middle and I have skinny arms and legs I have to keep my weight low to keep my belly in check and I have a thick waist even now

This time last summer I got down to around 140lbs. I had been on vacation and when I came home and went back to work - people I barely knew asked me if I had been out of work due to an illness. When I told them "No, vacation" - they asked if I was sick because I looked so thin.

When my mom and grandma asked me if I was ill, I started to really think that maybe I was too thin. I was actually at the high end of the weight scale for my height (at 140lbs). I can't imagine what people would say if I dropped down to the 120lbs or so that I see a lot of other 5'4" women want to be.

I've come to realize that I have a larger frame and I look better with a few extra pounds on me. I stay between 145-150lbs and find that people compliment me most right around the 150lb mark. It seems to be my healthy and happy weight.

There are just too many variables for any one "ideal weight"/number for a person.

The ideal weight for my height (5'0") is 95-128lbs. I've been at 95lbs, and it definitely did not look good on me. I am small-chested, and at 95lbs my ribs looked like that of a skeleton used in an anatomy class. At that weight I was happy with my thighs (finally!) but everything else, including my face/ribs/arms looked skeletal and angular.

I am now at a fit/muscular 115lbs, and everything is healthy-looking, nice and proportioned..... now if only I could pump some fat into my melons (ok....apples.....LOL?) that'd be FAB!

Was sort of thinking same kind of thing. I'm almost at my original goal of 175. To the man/woman in the street I think I look regular or even slim now, but I know there's still remnants of love handles and belly fat and defo can shift more fat off my arms and legs too. Think I'd need to get down to 160-165 a weight I haven't been since i was perhaps 17 to hit a real healthy weight.

At that sort of weight I will definitely look skinny in comparison to these days standards. I'm already getting comments from my wife how my face is looking TOO thin. One I hit 175 I'm actually going to ease off weight loss for a while as don't want to appear skinny at my friend's wedding in a month's time but after that I will try to shred remaining excess fat and when that's done I aim to put back on weight and try to build muscle with a calorie surplus. As the end game is to have low body fat but look strong, not skinny!

I'd rather have curves and be healthy. Even if that means being "overweight" by a few pounds.

First of all I haven no idea what 145-155 (we whatever you weight range is, sorry I forgot) looks like on a guy. But I can say as a women that overly skinny isn't particularly attractive on a guy. Of course this should not discourage you from being healthy and is obviously just my opinion but I feel like at the lower end of your range or "ideal weight" you would lose a lot of muscle and just be rather thin, which isn't really the best thing, I wouldn't focus so much on the "ideal weight" or the numbers in general but focus on how your body looks and what looks best on you.

As for my "Ideal Weight" I'm not sure what that is. I'm 5'2 and 116 give or take a few depending on when I weigh myself and my ideal is something like 99- 124 so I'm right in the middle.

I've never been near my so-called 'ideal' weight, according to the BMI, but I do know that my mother, with whom I share an unusually large build, was extremely skinny in her late teens and twenties, and still weighed 20-30lbs more than her so called 'ideal'. Looking at the photos from that period, she looks frail and too thin for her frame. BMI is meant to measure populations, not individuals. It deals in averages. Anyone who is outside those averages is unlikely to fit neatly into the box.

same here. my mother got down close to "normal" BMI and she had to put on weight because she was too thin. i've never been near my goal weight, but i'm assuming i'll be the same because i never look as heavy as i am, thanks to the way it distributes and my large frame. i'm wary of going too low and will stop when i feel healthy. i like my curves

For those of us who are more concerned with getting fit and healthy, rather than skinny, body fat % is a better indication of health. Although I'm using the high end of the BMR as a target weight, as soon as I lose the next 5 pounds, I'm investing in one of those handheld body fat % monitors (or maybe I'll ask for it for Christmas). I want to make sure I'm losing the rest of the weight in the right way.

yip body fat % is the way to go. However I heard those handheld devices are meant to be hopelessly inaccurate.I'm going to get in iDxa (think it's same as DEXA) scan in September to get a very accurate picture of my body fat%

Ian, I am also 5'7 175 I think those charts are misleading! If your body fat is in the correct % range I think it is o.k . Even when I was 183 my body fat was 16% 25% is average for men. I've lost 8 lbs and need to get my body fat % measured again.

My healthy range goes from 123ish to 159. If I tried to get down to the bottom, I would be far too thin. I'm shooting for a nice healthy 140-150 range.

My husband is about 5'10" and is weighing about 150 right now and he does not look too thin at all. You could probably pull it off depending on your build, but if you find a place where you look good and are happy with it, I'd stay there. People tell me 150 is too heavy and I should aim to be thinner, but this is about me, not them and if I can be a size 6-8 and weigh 150, then I'm gonna do it!

I found this website -- and I think I agree with the medical recommendation - but the higher end of the medical recommendation.

http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/body.htm

Seriously though, if muscle weighs more than fat, shouldn't we all (including the government regulations that will come into play now) be more concerned with the fat ratio instead?

I didn't see that anyone else had posted this link, but if so I apologize for being a repeater: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/ibw/

That tool will calculate your goal weight by using your current weight/body fat % and your ideal body fat %. I think it's a great way to figure it out. It's not 100% accurate, but it's a good guide.

For me it's coming in around 160-167 for 18-21% body fat. (I'm 26 and 5'9".)

I haven't been that small in my adult life, but I imagine that people will say I look "too thin" and that I should "stop dieting" when I get there. When my physicals come back awesome and I'm able to lift and run circles around them, I won't really care. In fact, I'll probably just feel sad for them.

I think there's almost nothing we can't do if we work for it. And I intend to see what my body can do. Whatever weight that falls at...so be it.

Edited to say: At 21% body fat and an estimated 167 pounds, I'll have a BMI of 24.3 -- barely inside the upper limits of "Normal". At 18% body fat and an estimated 161 pounds (athletic women's bf%), I'll have a BMI of 23.4. The middle of Normal for my height is 21.7. To reach that I'd have to weigh 149, which is an estimated 10% body fat -- DANGEROUSLY LOW for women my age. The BMI is junk.

My range is 114-150. I've never even thought to shoot for 114, I would probably look horrible. I also know that 150 isn't too bad, but i would definitely like to keep losing from there. The range that i think is best for me is between 130 and 140.

At the end of the day its how you feel about yourself. I do think we have got used to people being bigger in general and I wouldn't take any notice of anyone telling you you are too thin if you feel good, are healthy and full of energy. There could always be a little voice of the green eyed monster involved!
I am 5'6'' and weighed 144lb,, at that weight I felt, not fat, but not happy! I had love handles, a big waist, and my arms were a bit plump. I have been trying to get down to around 134 lb for the last few years, it doesn't sound much to lose but I have found it very hard. But I am making a concerted effort now and working out at the Gym 5 days a week doing interval training and weights. It is paying off and although I have only lost 2 lb so far I can tell my body shape is changing for the better. I shall stop when I feel good about myself again and although I used to be about 120 lb I know I would look awful at that weight now I am in my fifties. I fit a UK size 12/14 and I want to be a 10. So use your common sense, I find thats the best judge!