Trying to work out ideal weight?

[plaingirly]

I am 5'2 (and a 1/4!!) and when I saw the nurse she said my ideal weight was 8 stones 2 pounds.

Soooooo that means I have an awful lot of weight to lose! A scary amount to lose.

I don't know if she worked it out a certain way or if it was a figure just picked out of the air!

I don't really know what other people that are my height actually weigh! I see myself as looking huge but other people never believe how much I weigh.

[FunBagFreddie]

The only time I ever got to 8.2 and below was by literally starving myself and living off fags, black coffee and diet pills. People who hadn't seen me for a while asked if I was ill. My boobs also shriveled up and looked like deflated balloons. Not a good look. It definitely wasn't a healthy weight for me at 5 foot 3.

[Mu1berries]

I agree, that was similar to my experience. If I eat healthily and exercise regularly I am about 124lbs, maybe I could get down to 120lbs if I cut out all alcohol, EVER, and no treats EVER but that would be a level of obsession that is (psychologically) very unhealthy

[FunBagFreddie]

I agree Mu1berries, although I am feeling like a fat bloated PMT woman right now. I've put on about 7 lbs this week in the run up to my period. I feel gross, but I'm so hungry.

I feel 9 stone is right for me, possibly as low as 8.10, but that would mean living off quorn and broccoli.

[FeuDeSnowyRussie]

I really does vary according to your body type though. I'm 5'5" and always hover around 8st 7, and it's not at all hard to maintain. I was 8st 2 when I was at uni and still had (smallish) boobs and curves and wasn't bony looking. I don't think we should put OP off eventually aiming for 8st2, assuming the nurse wasn't being v unprofessional and lying to her.

[cathyandclaire]

There are some great threads in the Big, Slim, whatever section. Lots of support and chat for weight loss and weigh ins to keep you motivated, I joined the low carb section and found weight loss easier than I have for years (well, forever tbh) worth a look...
And no rabbit food at all!

[Mu1berries]

NO FeuDeSnowy, I think we should encourage the OP to get in to the healthy range, that was 9 stone 6lbs. THEN she can see how she feels.

There are people on this thread who are 5'2" who exercise and eat healthily and we aren't at the bottom end of the bmi range (ie, the thinnest). I think it's stupid that a nurse would give that goal to somebody who is overweight.

I had coffee with a friend who is 5'5" this morning and while I had a coffee with skimmed milk she had a hot chocolate with marshmallows and she ate the free chocolate that came with MY coffee! She doesn't eat vegetables. She was just blessed with a body that doesn't instantly lay down fat the second she gets off the treadmill. Everybody is up against a different set of challenges. Just because one person finds it easy to maintain 8 stone seven doesn't mean everybody can do that.

I've done forty minutes of exercise for the day now. My friend doesn't exercise because her knees hurt. Seriously, there's no justice in the world but I accept it now. It's the way it is. What I can't accept though is the notion that a bmi of 20 is a reasonable goal for everybody.

[Mintyy]

It does vary according to your body type FeuDeSnowy, but I surmise from what op has said she has a very different body type to you (she is probably an endomorph) and so why would the nurse tell her that she should set a goal that is at the very bottom of a healthy bmi? Just why?? Op, I am baffled on your behalf.

[WhoNickedMyName]

I'm 5ft 2", 7 stone 10lbs, size 8 clothes, size 30E bra (so plenty of curves), teeny tiny wrists and ankles, size 3/4 feet.

At my heaviest I've been around 8 stone 6lbs and size 10 clothes were tight on me. At 9 stone I'd definitely look chubby. Different people carry their weight differently.

Aim for being able to look in the mirror and genuinely being happy with what you see, as well as looking and feeling good. Don't focus on numbers.

[laptopdancer]

Im 5 foot 2 and my aim for what I see as an ideal weight is a fit 9 1/2 stone (60Kg). I was 7 1/2 - 8 stone in my youth and, sadly, more than 10 stone now.
Im not looking towards the 8 stone again because 1) I am 47 and believe my face looks better at that weight than lower - I get a pointy chin thing going on 2) studies show that older women and healthier and have longer lives when they are at the upper end of their healthy weight range. 3) Its more realistic as a perimenopausal women if I dont want to eat 800 calories for the rest of my life. :)
So thats the ideal weight for me....it all comes down to muscle mass and fitness level in the end. There is flabby size 16 and fit size 16...one looks fat and the other looks plus sized.

[FeuDeSnowyRussie]

No no, I definitely agree that the OP should aim to get into the healthy range first - I just wanted to point out that on some people a lower weight does suit them, and that the nurse wasn't necessarily talking crap when she said that ideally the OP should be around 8'2. Obviously she could have put it a lot better, but maybe she was thinking shock tactics would work.

[AllIWantForXmasIsJewels]

I'd say the nurse was just being unpleasant. She could have said any weight in the healthy range but deliberately choose a number that wasn't encouraging for impact.

[Mu1berries]

but i think 'those people' are not the same people who are scared about the amount of weight they have to lose just to get IN to the healthy range. There are plenty of people out there with a bmi of 20 but slebs aside, i wonder how many of them were once 25+

I agree, nurse was being unpleasant.

[Rooble]

Plaingirly - cant really add to the height/weight discussion as I'm 5'6" and 11 stones.
However I did notice your comments about hourglass shapes, 50's bodies etc and wanted to respond to that: I think those girls tended to have a healthy BMI, good hip/waist ratio, and a look enhanced by corsetry (if what my great aunts tell me is anything to go by). Losing weight will help your hourglass shape become a healthier hourglass shape (I lost 2.5 stones last year and this is what happened to me). NB - when people talk about Marilyn Monroe being a size 16 - it was a 1950s size 16, NOT a 2012 size 16! The two sizes are not related!!!!
Doing weights will not cause you have ugly muscles/loads of sinew like Madonna or someone: the most effective way of losing weight (I have found) is by doing weights. It flattened my stomach, toned my arms and legs and shaped my bottom. I got (free) advice at the gym about what was best to do. It is fab cardiovascular as well as toning exercise!
Please don't be afraid of losing your curves - your body shape won't change other than becoming smoother and sleeker.

[plaingirly]

I am feeling so motivated at the moment - lost 4 pounds in week one!!

Back to Zumba tonight too and on the exercise bike, walking and doing exercises with weights in between.

I was chatting to a friend today who is my height and weighs a stone less than me and yet is a full dress size bigger than me - guess you really can't tell!

I am focusing on losing each half stone at a time. Hopefully once I hit the stone mark I will start to notice a difference.

The nurse did upset me. She was at least a size 20 so when she said to get weighed I thought she would at least be sympathetic!

I read somewhere that Marilyn had a 24 inch waist!

[AllIWantForXmasIsJewels]

The nurse was probably just projecting her own anger that she has to herself. I'm only saying that as she sounds mean.

[Mominatrix]

I am the same height as you and am anywhere between 6 stone 11 to 7 stone exactly. I definitely don't look skinny - but my build is small. I weighed 8 stone 2 when I was 9 months pregnant, so if I was told to be that weight now, I would definitely look too big.

For a peson who is 5 foot 2 and medium build, 8 stone 2 sounds like a sensible target weight.

[FunBagFreddie]

Generally, when I think about what a healthy weight is for a woman, I base it on whether you stll have your boobs. Once they disapear or start to look like empty pita breads you've lost too much!

[Mu1berries]

Mominatrix, unless you are living in complete isoloation and never shop, or talking about shopping, you must realise that you're unusual.. I can't believe you would read the thread and still declare that 8'2" is a reasonable target weight

[BIWI]

I agree with Mu1berries. Everyone is different - as this thread demonstrates only too well. Mominatrix you are clearly at the opposite extreme to many of us here.

[BIWI]

And, according to the BMI charts, 7 stone 8 lbs is the lowest acceptable weight for someone who is 5 ft 2 in.

[NotQuitePerfect]

I am 5'2" and weighed exactly 8st this morning. You can grab handfuls of fat on my back, & under my armpits, & my thighs practically slap together (nice)
We are all different frames. My ankles & wrists are so thin they could snap, yet I have huge chubby cheeks.
My ideal weight us about 7st 7lbs - it will never happen now I'm in my 50s.
Interesting about the projection of anger from the nurse. I was out with a friend the other day (hugely overweight) & she did nothing but bitch about other women's sizes!

[CambridgeBlue]

Hi OP, I am almost exactly the same height as you at 5' 2.5", I'm currently doing WW and have been given 10 st 1lb as a goal but I think that's at the high end of the 'ideal weight' for our height.

According to the wrist test I am a small - medium frame. I started out at over 15 stone and it's taken me over 2 years but I'm within 1 1/2 stone of goal now at 11 st 11lb. In that time I've gone from a generous size 16 - 18 (depending where you shop) to a 12 - 14 on the bottom and anything between an 8 and a 12 on top. Most of the weight seems to have gone from around my middle (although it's still wobbly, sit-ups are going to have to be the next step ) and from my face which I am very happy about. I've also gone down a shoe size!

As well as (obviously) reducing what I eat (and drink!) I've started to exercise which I think is contributing to how my body is changing shape - I couldn't have contemplated it when I was larger but it is easier now (still knackering though!) and does make me feel really good - I used to hate people who went on about how exercise was so bloody marvellous but I do reluctantly have to agree and if it means I can eat a bit more and still lose then it's win win :)

I'm dying to know what size and shape I'll end up when I reach my goal and also whether I'll be happy with how I look and feel then or if I'll want to lose more.

It sounds as though that nurse was roughly accurate in her figures but she should have a) specified a range of healthy weights for you and b) been a bit more encouraging.

I'm happy to chat on or off here about all of this if you want to, I totally understand where you're coming from. Even after all this time I still feel like a fat person (suppose I still am according to the figures!) and all those people who say 'I just don't fancy chocolate any more' are talking rubbish in my book - I still eat too much chocolate at times and I have days when I just can't be arsed with tracking and thinking about what to eat/doing any exercise but having got this far something always makes me go back to it.

I hope you can find a way of doing this that works for you, don't let what the nurse said depress you too much - you've got people here with a whole range of sizes and shapes which is how the world is meant to be :)

[Mintyy]

That is a great post Cambridge, and very inspirational. Well done!!

[Mu1berries]

I must have very heavy bones! sounds like the stereotypical teasted fat kid's response in an american high school movie, but seriously.... i can't figure out how else somebody my height but a stone lighter (was it/?) can describe herself as having handfuls of fat! I know i do a lot of exercise but despite being nearly 9 stones I wouldn't say I could grab handfuls of fat, far from it. my thighs are bigger than I'd like them to be though. don't like them at all.
It is interesting........ i feel good about myself until I read that 8'2lbs is "right" or reasonable or a more correct goal.

[Mominatrix]

Mu1berries, I know that I sound like I am an extreme, but I assure you I am not. I do shop (too much), and have no problem finding things that fit. Granted, I stick to higher end French labels and American labels who have 00 sizes. However, I am of Oriental ethnicity and am considered average weight/build there. Visiting there, I feel HUGE! They even have lower recommended BMI tables in many East Asian countries as the weight associated with more medical issues is lower. We are all different - too bad tables think we are all the same.