healthy weight vs ideal weight

pinkmilk

Now hopefully i wont start this thread off on the wrong foot and make it sound like a personal issues thread but: do u find there is a difference between what is a healthy weight for u and what is your ideal weight (the weight u aspire to be!).

I am 5'11 (giant!) female and weigh between 9.5 stone and 10 stone. Although this is supposedly a healthy weight by bmi standards i would LOVE to lose a stone so how do you decide how much is too much r.e diet and exercise. When do u get to the stage when u say STOP?!

Niall0

pinkmilk wrote: »

Now hopefully i wont start this thread off on the wrong foot and make it sound like a personal issues thread but: do u find there is a difference between what is a healthy weight for u and what is your ideal weight (the weight u aspire to be!).

I am 5'11 (giant!) female and weigh between 9.5 stone and 10 stone. Although this is supposedly a healthy weight by bmi standards i would LOVE to lose a stone so how do you decide how much is too much r.e diet and exercise. When do u get to the stage when u say STOP?!

BMI doesnt really mean much, it doesnt take into account muscle mass etc, why do you want to lose a stone?

pinkmilk

I had heard bmi doesnt really give an accurate account of the whole body, muscle etc but a general overview i suppose. I always want to lose weight, no matter how much or little i weigh and i suppose that was my question, when do u need to stop?! different strokes for different folks and i suppose i just like the idea of skinny skinny..:/

Frogdog

pinkmilk wrote: »

Now hopefully i wont start this thread off on the wrong foot and make it sound like a personal issues thread but: do u find there is a difference between what is a healthy weight for u and what is your ideal weight (the weight u aspire to be!).

I am 5'11 (giant!) female and weigh between 9.5 stone and 10 stone. Although this is supposedly a healthy weight by bmi standards i would LOVE to lose a stone so how do you decide how much is too much r.e diet and exercise. When do u get to the stage when u say STOP?!

This is a good topic for debate and discussion.

I think an awful lot depends on the person's perception in their own mind. At 5'11 and 9.5 - 10 stone I would consider you to be underweight by at least a stone for a woman. But an extra stone mightn't sit well on you.

I really despair when I hear people, particularly women, say that they want to be X weight, when they've been (X + Y) all their life. How do they know what their "ideal" weight (X) should be? They should throw out the scales and judge by appearance/the fit of clothes/how they look in the mirror.

I know a girl in work that wanted to lose 2 stone for her wedding. She had it to lose in fairness. Anyway, she did Weight Watchers and lots of cardio exercise. She lose 2 stone. She still had a lot of excess bodyfat. In my opinion she lost muscle and water, not bodyfat. She then wanted to lose another stone to get rid of the fat. Obviously she found this extremely difficult to do as she had no muscle to burn fat. She ended up putting on weight (while still doing Weight Watchers) on a low fat, high carb diet. And now she's going to start all over again, going around in circles.

Oh and BMI standards are only a guide, and shouldn't be taken as gospel either.

Alopex

I'd imagine you're already someone who'd be described as quite slim. Why do you specifically want to lose a stone? were you previously 8.5 stone and looked much better or something?

Unless you have a very unique bodyshape, I think it likely you'd look emaciated and gaunt at 8.5stone. Too reach it you'd probably have to go so low on food you'd be missing out on nutrients. The scary thing is some girls go down to that weight and don't realise how sh*t they look.

pinkmilk

Frogdog wrote: »

This is a good topic for debate and discussion.

Thank u frogdog Its something i think about a good bit (prob more than i should!) i suppose it could be extended to alot of things about ourselves, does our perception of ourselves (and possibly others) alter or warp our mind.
I think for me anyway a lot of it has to do with competitiveness! i suppose to be super skinny u need discipline and routine with exercise/food etc anyone else have that opinion?
alopex thanks for ur reply:) but do u think it could be personal preference. i like skinny skinny and u dont? no ive never been that light admittedly im prob naturally alot heavier than i am now but through exercise and diet manage to keep it down.

Frogdog

Alopex wrote: »

I'd imagine you're already someone who'd be described as quite slim. Why do you specifically want to lose a stone? were you previously 8.5 stone and looked much better or something?

Unless you have a very unique bodyshape, I think it likely you'd look emaciated and gaunt at 8.5stone. Too reach it you'd probably have to go so low on food you'd be missing out on nutrients. The scary thing is some girls go down to that weight and don't realise how sh*t they look.

A big +1 on this.

It amazes me as a guy why girls want to be so skinny. From speaking to all of my male friends, none of us prefer the supermodel look. We prefer the poster girl look. Look at, and I know this may cause some shock, porn stars for example. All curvy. All meant to attract men. And that's what they do.

Girls seem to think supermodels' bodies and skinny frames are attractive, whereas boys think the girls that appear in FHM, Nuts magazines etc. are more attractive.

pinkmilk

Frogdog wrote: »

A big +1 on this.

It amazes me as a guy why girls want to be so skinny. From speaking to all of my male friends, none of us prefer the supermodel look. We prefer the poster girl look. Look at, and I know this may cause some shock, porn stars for example. All curvy. All meant to attract men. And that's what they do.

Girls seem to think supermodels' bodies and skinny frames are attractive, whereas boys think the girls that appear in FHM, Nuts magazines etc. are more attractive.

Its funny too that in a thread about weight I woul think that it would be predominantly females replying and involved in the discussion but (im just assuming from the names!) it seems its all males..

Frogdog

pinkmilk wrote: »

Its funny too that in a thread about weight I woul think that it would be predominantly females replying and involved in the discussion but (im just assuming from the names!) it seems its all males..

Haha I love discussing all aspects of health, nutrition and diet. We all have bodies and we all have bodyweights!

I'd like to think that my points, experiences and opinions are just as valid despite what my sex is.

Alopex

pinkmilk wrote: »

alopex thanks for ur reply:) but do u think it could be personal preference. i like skinny skinny and u dont? no ive never been that light admittedly im prob naturally alot heavier than i am now but through exercise and diet manage to keep it down.

No not at all. I like slim girls. No one has a preference for gaunt and emaciated though, unless there's an eating disorder at play.

See through diet you probably lost some weight and made yourself look better. So now the thought process is you lose even more weight and you will look even better.

It doesn't work like that though, its like someone drinking at a party, they're slightly drunk and having the time of their life, so then they think more drink can only make things better, they then throw up or fall asleep

So being skinnier gets put on a pedestal above all other things. Breasts + bum shrink, skin looks poor, facial features become sunken and hair looks dead. All these things are overlooked because the waistline is a bit smaller.

Its hard to be objective, I think the paleo/primal lifestyle is the way to go because its highly nutritious and when you do the right exercise I think it encourages your body to get into its most attractive state. Its also something you can stick to long term and its very tasty.

pinkmilk

Alopex wrote: »

No not at all. I like slim girls. No one has a preference for gaunt and emaciated though, unless there's an eating disorder at play.

See through diet you probably lost some weight and made yourself look better. So now the thought process is you lose even more weight and you will look even better.

It doesn't work like that though, its like someone drinking at a party, they're slightly drunk and having the time of their life, so then they think more drink can only make things better, they then throw up or fall asleep

So being skinnier gets put on a pedestal above all other things. Breasts + bum shrink, skin looks poor, facial features become sunken and hair looks dead. All these things are overlooked because the waistline is a bit smaller.

Its hard to be objective, I think the paleo/primal lifestyle is the way to go because its highly nutritious and when you do the right exercise I think it encourages your body to get into its most attractive state. Its also something you can stick to long term and its very tasty.

Wow Really interesting that u equated drinking with dieting. I actually had to read it twice and it makes alot of sense! That fine line between happily merry and just plain messy! Good job:D

Lantus

theres nothing wrong with BMI for anyone starting on a journey of healthy life after being inactive or eating badly. It's an easy way to gain a snapshot of your body type and get some early goals on what direction you need to head in.

BUT......BMI pays no attention to body composition like one poster said you can lose lots of 'weight' and still look fat. You can lose muscle and water and still look big (and in fact be even more unhealthy.)

Weight is just one simple number to describe your entire body. When you look in the mirror it cannot be a reflection of your shape.

alibab

Agree with all of the above . I lost 3 and a half stone was a 22 bmi and fitting into 8 to 10 clothes but when i looked in the mirror all i saw was a untoned body that looked fat . So i decided time to tone and joined a gym . My percentage body fat was high regardless of my lower bmi . I am nearly at normal body fat now lost a huge percentage through weights , resistance and cardio but my weight is the same ok maybe 2lb down . But my body fat is lower and my clothes are so much more loose i had to buy a new belt . So weight does not always matter at all and i am throwing out the scales . My body is much more toned and i am forgetting about numbers on a scales and using tapes and body fat percentage instead

Thomas Magnum

I agree that BMI is not the be-all and end-all of weight measurement but it is a good starting point. For the average Joe and Jane it is acceptable. It's when overweight people start going on about how it doesn't take into account muscle mass etc that I tune out. They are just using that as an excuse not to do anything about their situation IMO. As stated above, one should go on how their cloths fit etc.

tantipie

i'd have to agree with the others i dont like the bmi concept at all!!I've lost 3 and 1/2 stone this year and according to my bmi i could still afford to lose at least another stone.I'm tiny and there's no way i could lose or want to lose anymore.Just go with how you feel yourself:)

rubadub

BMI is all based around averages, it is useful in many cases but if you deviate away from "the norm" it is not great. e.g. most of the irish rugby team are probably overweight or obese. Lanky lads with "ideal bodyfat" might be deemed underweight.

There are other tools to use (a mirror being the best!) like hip to waist ratio
http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/tools/hip_to_waist/hip_to_waist.shtml or get body fat % calculated with calipers or estimated with online calculators.

yellowlabrador

One thing you also must look at is clothes. I'm tall too at 5'11'' and my daughter is even taller. One thing I've suffered from all my life is getting clothes to fit properly. The standard size clothes are made for is 5'4'' so it's no surprise us tall girls feel we need to be slimmer, nothing fits really well.
I always felt overweight and uncomfortable when looking in the mirror, until i found a designer that made clothes that fit my shape like a glove, when I wore them, I felt so confident and attractive and I didn't feel 'fat' and unattractive. So you might be a size 10, but need a 14 to wear things made for shorter people

Jessleen

pinkmilk wrote: »

Now hopefully i wont start this thread off on the wrong foot and make it sound like a personal issues thread but: do u find there is a difference between what is a healthy weight for u and what is your ideal weight (the weight u aspire to be!).

I am 5'11 (giant!) female and weigh between 9.5 stone and 10 stone. Although this is supposedly a healthy weight by bmi standards i would LOVE to lose a stone so how do you decide how much is too much r.e diet and exercise. When do u get to the stage when u say STOP?!

Hello! Well according to me there is no difference between healthy weight and ideal weight in addition, slim body does not mean beautiful body! I think some members here got good point about bmi!

Is it possible that you have a poor body image?
Your current weight sounds extremely light for someone your height.

kedrek1

I know I'm coming in late on this but you really think you could lose more at between 9.5 and 10st and 5ft11? I have lost over 4 stone through following Unislim plan and going to gym 5/6 days a week. I'm 5ft5 and need to lose another 2.5 stone to creep into the healthy BMI range. In my adult life I have never been lighter than 10 stone and that was 12 or 13 yrs ago! I'm freaking out cos obviously I'm not a teenager any more and already notice a few little wrinkles that were previously ironed out by my extra padding! I'm down to a comfortable size 12 in clothes and people look at me like I'm mad when I tell them how much more I have to lose. Now I'm under no illusions - I know I definitely have plenty of body fat to lose but I don't want to look haggard! I'm going to forget about the BMI I think (until I see it on Wednesday nights at weigh in!) and go by what the mirror tells me!