At what weight do you start to breathe a sigh of relief?

[sharppointyhat]

I’ve struggled with my weight my whole life - I’m 50. I’ve been every weight in between 8 stone and 17 stone and the bigger I’ve become, the more the self loathing has kicked in.

I’ve been on WLI since May and started at 16:4 and have averaged 1.2 loss each week.
My first goal was to get out of what I mentally think of as the ‘danger zone’ and get into the 14 stone range. I’m now a hair’s breadth off being in the 13s and can’t wait for the scales to tip me in! I’m very short so actually 13+ stone is still very overweight for me but mentally, being in the 13s feels like I might be approaching ‘normality’ and instead of feeling and looking huge, I’m now into ‘podgy’ territory if that makes sense! ‘Podgy’ to me means puffy/overweight/could lose a couple of stone but not ‘really fat’.

Just curious if others think of their weight in similiar ways? Do you have a ‘happy weight’ you’re aiming for, regardless of whether that’s your final goal or not?

I'll only be breathing a true sigh of relief when I am (finally) well into the healthy weight range for my height. My BMI is currently 26.8 and I'm 11st 9lbs at 166cm, so still a stone and a bit overweight. Most people would not say I was fat or overweight now to look at me, but I still am, by a decent chunk.

I did feel a partial sense of relief when I got down past each BMI category, so when I got under 40, then 35, then 30. Under BMI 30 was quite satisfying, to no longer be classed as obese.

I think for me it was becoming a comfortable size 14. I'm a small 10 now and even happier but feeling good in a dress was my moment!

Yeah BMI is huge for me too.

bit anything sub 13 stone feels more plump than fat! I’m 11st 13.6 right now -I started at 15st 12

It’s an interesting question. I started off with a bmi of over 32 and my first goal was to lose a couple of stone. The thing is, the more I lost, I changed my goals. Goal became to get a “healthy” bmi. It’s now 27 and I’m currently thinking I’d like to get maybe half a stone under the overweight/healthy bmi threshold

Yes, that’s it exactly. It’s hard to explain but there’s a sense of relief to be moving into ‘plump’ territory and out of ‘horribly fat’.

Thats such a hard question. I am 5ft2 and started at 12st 11lbs. My first target was to get 2st off. I did that and thought it be happy but wasnt, so I aimed for another stone. I got to 9st last week and I thought id feel ready to stop. However, I then went 8st 12lbs would nice. Mentally to get into the 8s. Im not sure what itll take for me to feel happy as such but I wad over the moon in the summer when I could wear shorts for the first time in my adult life.

My happy weight is when I can fit into a size 14 comfortably and not get out of breath walking up stairs. I’ve been a size 12-22 and now currently a happy 14

Interesting question, I never looked at it like that. I had an end goal in sight, and didn’t breathe a sigh of relief till I hit it, but even then it was temporary, as I was then straight into what I call phase 2, which is body recomp ( phase 3 is maintanence, phase 1 is the weight loss) , each phase is just as hard in many ways,

as much as I worked out and strenght trained throughout my weight loss phase, it is nearly impossible fo build muscle when in a defecit. And I felt it key to buld muscle and drop body fat,meaning my weight stayed the same, and I become. as fit as possible, then enter maintenance.

my bmi is 20, my body fat 23 percent. Been in phase 2 for 6 months now and my weight is completely stable, but I’ve dropped down from 25 percent body fat in that time, to 23. so offsetting the loss of fat with muscle gain and I assume more fluid.

as it’s weird, when you lose a lot of weight, I lost over 6 stone. Your fat goes soft during thay process, as it shrinks, but when you stabilise,everything firms up again, that squidgy feeling when you squeeze your fat goes. And of course your skin tightens again, you no longer look like you’ve lost a lot of weight, when you get naked, you just look like you’ve always been this weight, (unless you’ve been fat a very long time or genetically prone to loose skin, or didn’t focus on protein, muscle, as you lost the weight)

so I guess for me personally it’s a never ending journey. Im now at the perfect body fat and weight for me, I’m mid fifties, and I look fit and toned, so I am now in phase 3, maintenance, where maintaining what I have achieved long term is key,

I don’t have a goal and wasn’t aware of the sigh of relief thing until I caught my reflection in a shop window and realised how normal/average I look. I still weigh almost 13 stone but wearing size 14/16 is so different from size 22/24. It’s made me feel so much more confident and relaxed and I really feel ‘normal’ rather than knowing I stuck out a more for being morbidly obese.

My weight has also been all over the place, and I actually feel most comfortable with a BMI of 26-27. I'm a bit taller than you and that's a really comfortable size 14 with room for a big meal, or vanity sizing 12 (or even 10 in occasional insanely generously sized trousers).

I found the creepy male behaviour kicked in when I got down to a BMI of 24 - I'd assumed I was too old to attract that, but when I briefly got down to a comfortable size 10-12 I found out that apparently the creepiest of smarmy men only take in a vague impression of body shape and don't look at faces except to police whether a woman is smiling and tell her to...

My BMI started at 41.4 and I was really happy when it dropped to 39 and again when I reached the overweight range at 29.9. My BMI is now 26.8 and I am feeling so much happier. I am older so I am aiming for a BMI of between 24 and 26. I am 5lbs off entering the 9s which I haven’t been for 30 years.

In terms of clothes size I have gone from a 20/22 to a 12 in most ranges. I really noticed the difference when I could easily fit into size 16 as it meant I could go into any shop and feel comfortable that there would be stuff in there for me to try on. Size 16 meant so much in terms of choice and style. Clothes shopping went from a what can I buy that fits me to a what would I like to buy experience.

My GW is 10.6 but I know I’ll feel relieved at 12 stone because that’s the weight I was before I had my DS and I was really comfortable at that (in fact that may be my real GW, I just know I’m still technically in overweight BMI at that weight.)

Also my DS is in secondary school so my baby weight period had been long!

9 stone 9 is the weight I'm happy at but I like to be 9 stone 6 just to give me a buffer if a few pounds. 9 stone exactly is my perfect weight but hard to maintain

I’m very similar to you, both in start weight/time and current weight. I think I will feel more normal when I’m out of the teens, so when my weight is in the 12s. I’m not sure what my end goal is. Size 12-14 would be good, size 10-12 great. I’m pretty slim at a bmi of 25, so don’t mind if I’m over that. I’ll see how I feel when I get nearer. I’ve recently gone into size 16, which I’m loving. It’s so much easier and I like clothes on me rather than trying to find the least worst option!

I’m down to 11st 8 now, 8lbs from
goal and feeling confident and comfortable for the first time in a very very long time. Im In the mindset at the minute that if it takes me another 8 months to get to goal that’s ok with me. It’s been a long road to get this far(from a starting weight of 16st 7 two years ago) so I’m more than happy to stay here and enjoy feeling good.

Mine isn’t a number it’s clothes. When im back in my clothes from 2019 I know can can be fit and healthy. At that weight/size I was able to do everything I wanted to without undue soreness joint pain tiredness etc. I’ll likely still be a bit overweight (bmi 26 ish) but last time I was that eight all my other health (bp, cholesterol etc) were good.

I felt better when I was no longer obese but in the overweight category.
Now I only have a couple of pounds to lose to be at the top of the healthy range I feel amazing!

My weight when I was young and a size ten to twelve was 11stone 2.
I am 58 now so wasn’t ever aiming for that.

I am now into the 12 stones something and pretty happy.
If I lose more then great, if not then I’m not that bothered.

Milestones along the way for me were reaching weights I has been at various points in my life like starting a particular job, getting married or whatever.

When I fitted easily into a size 14. I even bought new jeans and trousers as I thought I'd probably stay around that size.

Nope. Currently size 12 so had to buy more.

Not a weight, but being able to walk into regular shops and buy clothes had me breathing a sigh of relief. I started as a size 22/24 and pretty much only buying online or wondering why everything in Yours is so fugly.

Then when I went for a group run and could keep up without wanting to die, that was my other time. I have always been overweight but for a lot of that time I was fit with it. I lost that fitness at my heaviest and getting it back is fantastic. Makes me feel like me again more than any number on the scales or dress size could.

(Not on injections as sadly ineligible due to gastric issues but interested in this question, hope you don't mind me answering).

I'm 5'4 and my ideal weight is 9 stone 7. Heaviest I've been as an adult is 15 stone, lightest 8 stone. Weight has fluctuated between those extremes more times than I can count. Under 11 stone is my 'sigh of relief' weight, if I get under that barrier I look 'out of condition' rather than noticeably fat. Currently 10 stone 5 and about a size 12 in modern terms, but I can't get into any of my vintage 1990s size 12s yet (yes, I have kept some old favourites that long!). I have very wide shoulders which doesn't help when it comes to fitting into things.

For me, 15 stone is always a real threshold for me as that is what I weighed when I was 16 (yes, really!) and so the first time I got under that (in my forties) was the first time I had been that 'thin' in my entire adult life. I'm sure it will feel just as momentous when I get back there again sometime next year 🤞

I have recently dropped back down to BMI 20 and under 9 st. I breathe a sigh of relief at this point because 95% of clothes I put on just look good. Really happy with my figure. Was this sort of weight for all but the pregnancy/baby years and glad to feel more like myself.

Face on the other hand….looks like it’s caved in. 😭

15 years ago I bought a size 14 pair of jeans from m and S when I was size 20/22, as a target when I was embarking on the latest diet, probably weighed about 18 stones at the time. I did keep off the 3 to 4 stones I lost but settled at a size 18. Recently lost 4 stones with Mounjaro so thought I'd try them on to gauge how far off I was, thinking I was nowhere near. Fitted like a glove! Was the weirdest experience to see something I wouldn't have been able to get past my knees a year ago, look and feel just right.

I've got a vesync scale which gives you about 9 different types of data so that has been how I've gauged my wl journey. Visceral fat in particular has come down from a high 15 to a verging on excellent 7. I've been watching everything move gradually down till the only thing outside normal range is subcutaneous fat which is 1.8% over normal -probably my stomach as all the weight has come off everywhere else except there! An ageing body perhaps ? With previous diets my stomach was always the first to go.
I'm tapering down from what will be my last pen with 4 lbs to go to my goal of 11 stone. Mounjaro has been a miracle drug for me but I could never be on it long term as the low level nausea, low mood and fatigue has made me feel below par the whole time despite my food intake being high quality, crap free but it's been a worthwhile trade off in the short term.

I'm 163cm. Below 11stone I feel better. Aiming for 9st 13. I think I look plenty slim enough then. My face gets gaunt, and I'm a lot of collar bone if I weigh less. The biggest tragedy is that at 11st 7 my boobs are great. 10 and they are calling a taxi.