@discoballv I am 5ft 4 tall.
Before kids, my weight was 50-55kg. Pre-menopause hitting me (and after having kids) my weight was consistently 55-60kg. My body shape is hourglass. I've never been "supermodel skinny" (nor would I want to be, wouldn't suit me)... I was always quite sporty/active/muscular, ate well (healthy/balanced diet) and my job has always been an active/on-my-feet type job (thank God for that, as I think the weight would have piled on more than it has done). A GW of 9 stone is smack bang in the middle of what my pre-meno weight range was. :) Main thing for me is to shift the fat (and subcut fat) %'s down to more healthy ranges now. More exercise should help that. Muscle and bone mass numbers are high, which is good (I worry about that with menopause!). Water % much better now as well. Having said all that, I'll look at how I am feeling when/if I do get to GW.
My sister is a similar height to me, but has a more petite frame/bone structure (bit like our mum). I think she's about 8-8.5stone.
@MananaMananaPenelope, sorry, general rant coming up: I've brought up menopause issues (and all the lovely symptoms that I've "enjoyed" with that, including huge weight gain!) repeatedly with my GP for the past 6yrs. GPs at the practice are all lovely (and yes, overstretched) but kept palming me off as being "too young" for menopause (I was 38 when it all started) and weight gain not being an issue. They told me that they'd look into menopause when I'm 45 (I'm 44 now). It drove me mad, as I'm an HCP so very aware of the health risks associated with being overweight/obese, and was genuinely trying everything to keep things in check. In the end, I forked out for a private GP to do a full health check (and blood tests), a private gynae (check up, blood tests, prescriptions and further reviews) and forked out for MJ. Had I waited for my GP, I would still be waiting, and God knows what my current weight would be (seeing as I went from about 55kg in 2019 to nearly 80kg at end of 2024). Would that wait have caused me to develop further health issues? It's frightening to think about: I'm 44, a single mum of 2 and I work FT. I wish that more could be done for more accessible and preventative healthcare, and for monitoring too (I imagine it could save so much in the long run). Far easier to get on top things at an earlier stage than having to do a load of difficult interventions years down the line. You know, keeping a good eye on things and listening more to patients when they express concerns like this. I do think that women's health isn't addressed enough, but that is a rant for another day.
I looked after a lovely lady once who was morbidly obese. She'd been on the waiting list for knee surgery (thanks to arthritis I think) so her mobility was very compromised. Covid really delayed things. In that time, a lot of weight was gained...then they said she needed to lose the weight to be safe for surgery. She can't bloody exercise because of the pain in her knees (not helped by the extra weight on her), she's upset about the weight gain and became very depressed and reclusive. The weight gain has now caused diabetes and OSA. She was fiercely determined to do what she can to improve things but poor thing was in a right pickle. She asked me to ask the ward doctors (she was in hospital for an acute issue) about help with referrals for weight loss, so I did do that. I'm really hoping that she is now getting the help she needs to get back to a healthy enough weight to be fit for knee surgery as I really believe it would be life changing for her. Sorry, I'm really ranting now!!