How do you know what your natural weight is?

[dinobabies]

Do you just keep going until you can’t lose anymore?
Then what do you stay restricted forever?

you calculate you bmi - if it says normal weight you keep at it.

I’m already within the healthy range but I’m still losing weight

Then if you are happy just eat normally, if you still feel you are too heavy keep losing a bit, but don't go below the minimum healthy weight. I'm in the healthy range but would like to lose a bit more as I still feel too heavy for me.

I got down to 150lbs and that was a size 10 (I’m tall) and it was a lot to maintain. Now decades later it’s a more sustainable 175 size 14 (I’m not currently at that sadly) that I can maintain without extremes.
But yes if you are prone to gaining weight you have to restrict yourself. Not be in a deficit but figure out how many calories you can eat before the scale starts inching up. It’s mindless eating and late night snacking that does me in, if I keep tracking it I’m far more likely to maintain.
When I was 150lbs I had one cup of sweetened tea as a treat in the evening.

I would say if someone has to restrict their diet to maintain a certain weight then they are not at their “natural” weight.

Going until you cannot lose anymore is a very unhealthy mindset.

I would say a natural weight is where you eat a suitable amount of calories for your body, exercise and height and you flunctuate slightly but nothing drastic

My original goal was just to lose baby weight which I did quite easily and then I just kept going, I’m losing about two lb a week.
I do notice I can gain those lbs back after a few fruit ciders over a weekend though but food wise I’m quite happy just eating what I’m used to now and feel quite full which is why I’m still losing but obviously I won’t just keep losing forever.

And no giving up the weekend cider is not an option even if it ruins my hard work in the week.

My "natural" weight is I assume approximately the weight I'm at now - 8st10.

I have 2 milky coffees with sugar, 3 (sensible, balanced, whole food) meals in appropriate portion sizes, and 3 snacks a day - plus an Indian takeaway, chocolate croissant, bottle of wine and a roast over the weekend.

I'm 5ft4 and 41.

I've always been around this size, but I've never felt the urge to overeat (probably because I've never denied myself anything or been temped to try any diets), and I'm very active.

Well you make sure you don’t go below what is a healthy weight.

You won't be gaining "weight" after a few fruit ciders. It takes approximately 3000-3500 calories of excess consumption to gain 1lb of fat.

You'll be gaining water weight and things like glycogen, which will leave your body later on.

It's sustained overeating, day in, day out, that causes weight gain.

Your weight will fluctuate according to your cycle and what you've eaten, the fluctuations are in relation to water not fat. If you keep track of your weight loss it's not linear, but when you're averaging around a lower weight you can be confident it's 'actual' weight loss rather than fluctuations.
To keep the weight off you need to have adopted a new lifestyle rather than thinking about it as dieting and then stopping dieting. So having a few different meals and snacks you eat regularly that you know fit what you need in terms of calories and nutrition, so that most of what you eat 'works'.

I think “natural weight” is more about where your body feels healthy and stable rather than a specific number on the scale. Usually, it’s the weight you can maintain without feeling like you’re constantly dieting or restricting — just eating balanced meals, moving regularly, and still enjoying life.
You definitely don’t need to stay on strict restrictions forever. Most people find that once they reach a comfortable range, their body kind of settles there. I was reading about this in relation to celebrity transformations too — liam hemsworth weight loss shows how even stars have to figure out what’s sustainable long-term rather than just chasing a “goal” weight.
So basically, it’s about balance and how you feel, not just pushing until the scale won’t budge anymore.

I gathered my natural point is the one you start hovering around. Where a bit of indulgence doesnt make it fly up, or it gets stubborn to loose and sits in the healthy range.

Where you feel healthy, like sturdy and strong.

I've been at what I presume is mine a while now. I can feel if it drops after being ill as I start catching more colds and just dont feel healthy, I can tell if it goes up from a bit too much choc over the month as I start to feel sluggish but around the point I feel my best physically.

My natural weight, at which I don't feel stodgy, I have plenty of energy and glossy hair and nails, and not hungry, is about 9st 8.

The only time I have been below that as an adult, was after a bout of food poisoning and I felt exhausted, and hungry. My hair and nails were weak.

As soon as I go on holiday, away from stress and hassle, I lose weight.

Do you just keep going until you can’t lose anymore?

Sorry, what is this @dinobabies - some sort of life maxim?

I’m not sure what it is in the 2020s that means everyone compounds words together (see “abit” instead of “a bit”) but in this case I am sorry to say it, but it loses meaning completely.

“Anymore” means “to any further extent” or “any longer”. “Any more” refers to a quantity of something.

Back on topic, I don’t like this sentence because I think it is used by extreme dieters and can promote negative habits.

You can use BMI, but I think you can also use historic data about yourself. I know I suit a size 10 (so to speak) because I’m tall and losing much more weight doesn’t work as well for my face. My friend suits an 8 because she is short and petite. There’s no weight assigned to this but we know what works for us.