If I was 6.5 stone when I was 21.....

[twirlypoo]

Is it physically possible to get back to that weight now that I’m 38, have had a child and have been fat for the last 10 years?!

This is light hearted pondering rather than a real life aim by the way, because I have now discovered wine and cake and life’s too short.

For extra info, I am now 11 stone at 5ft 2 (so fat) - my boobs alone are a G cup - and up until I was about 23 I was always between 5.5 and 7 stone. I just can’t imagine being that small ever again even though it was my normal back then?

Is it physically possible or does your body just change shape / density or something?!

I can't imagine that 5.5 stone at 5ft 2 as an adult woman would be a healthy weight.

6.5st or 5.5st??

Both are very, very light even for someone quite short.

I was the same weight at that age but a couple of inches shorter. I was also that weight at 35 when I got divorced. I'm now 9 stone and 51 yo. I would like to lose a little bit, half a stone would be fine but I just need to make sure it doesn't go the other way.

Why would you want to be seriously underweight?

It’s hard to imagine that weight being healthy in an adult, OP - it would be a BMI of 16!

FWIW I am a little taller and was around 8 stone at 20, and that feels impossible to me now, 15 years and a few kids later. But I am so unhappy at this weight that I decided to make a start and stick with it until I feel fit and healthy again. I reckon that will be around 9 stones.

Yes it's physically possible. I weigh less now in my 50s than I did in my 20s. But it's weird that you want to be so light. You would need to exercise as well as diet.

Of course. But you'd need to eat less than you did then, because you are older and because having been bigger, your body will be trying to regain to its heavier weight.

Or just get incredibly stressed, I went through a period of trying to care for 3dcs and a family member in hospital and ended up the same weight as I was at 18. The irony of everyone telling me I'd never looked better while my whole life was falling apart was not lost on me. (Things are better now, I am also fatter again).

I could have written your post except I don’t know how much I weigh now but I’m guessing around 10.5 at 5’2. I used to click in st around 7, my lightest was 6.5 when I was early 30s. Although I think that’s probably too light (I think bmi was 19).

Anyway, I’m watching thread with eager anticipation for someone to say that they’ve managed to shed lots despite kids, early middle age and carrying a couple of extra stone for a few years.

I think my left leg may weigh that.

6.5 stone, much less 5.5, is dangerously underweight. So, no. You can't get back to that weight unless you're willing to lose teeth, render your bones crumbly, and strain your heart to the point of a potential heart attack.

Do you have a history of disordered eating?

If you were 5.5 stone, OP, do you have tiny bones? I have huge ribs and broad shoulders so I start to look bony when I am still carrying plenty of fat.

It's physically possible but you'd look shocking and be doing long term harm to your body.

@NoBaggyPants why on earth would she look shocking? Ok 5.5 stone would look scrawny but 7.5 would be fine.

Same height as you and weighed same as you at 21. I'm just under 9 st now in my late 40s and I don't think it'll change. Your body does change after children. Eating healthily and regular exercise is what I aim for now rather than actually losing weight.

My 12 year old daughter is 5"2 and 6 stone. Very slim. 9th percentile. She has no chest and hasn't started her periods. I can't imagine that would be desirable for a grown woman.

It's interesting, because I'm 5' 4" and I'm definitely not thin at 11 stone. But I'm not sure people would say I was fat either. By the time I was 12 stone I was getting pudgy. But with regular exercise, I have thighs that are pretty much solid muscle, same for my calves. Bit of fat on my tummy, but nothing too dire.

When I was this height and 8 stone I was permanently cold, and I didn't look emaciated but I didn't look great either. I probably looked best at 9.5-10 stone.

Obviously every person is different, but I'm not sure getting back to 5.5-7 stone is something you want to aim for. (I weighed 7 stone by the time I was 15, and was 5.5 stone when I was 12, and 4' 8").

I'm the same size and about half a stone lighter after having a DC (used to dance a lot have muscles then threw up a lot in pg and breastfeed for ages). But I'm just under 8 stone at 5'3" so still within the healthy BMI range for a woman my height.

Barring illness/eating disorders I suppose that sort of weight loss happens sometimes when women are a lot older...my nonna was short and slim and active all her life...then as she got to her mid/late 80s and got gradually less active and had less appetite she got skinnier and frailer. But thats not healthy obviously, just sometimes an effect of ageing.

I think people carry weight differently Nacreous. I always look heavier than I actually am and have always had a sizeable chest and arse, even at 6.5.

My 9 year old is 4 ft 11 and 6.5 stone. Whilst tall for age why would anyone want to look like a prepubescent child? It cant be healthy and I cant imagine it would look good.

Why would you WANT to be that weight again?

I was 6.5st at 21, and am five feet tall. I was very slim but had boobs and a bum. It was great.

I’m about 8.5st now. Am on a diet and have had to accept that about 8st is my new ‘normal’. I’m 44!

I know we are on the short side here but lets not encourage each other to slim excessively.