Can I realistically be 8 stone in my 40s?

[MissBlueskies]

I am 5 ft 1 and around 11st 4 pounds. I would love to be 8 stone as I think this would be the right weight for my height. I've spoken to a couple of friends who say that it would be really hard to achieve this given my age (41) and the fact I've had a baby fairly recently (well two years ago). I'm wondering if I should rule out ever getting to this weight, given my circumstances and aim for maybe around 9 stone? I've definitely noticed that it is so much harder to lose weight since I reached my 40s and after having a baby. Can anyone advise? Thank you.

I think so. Ultimately if you create a calorie deficit you will lose weight, and then it's a case of maintaining your weight by not overeating. Unfortunately it takes a lot of discipline though, and far fewer calories than most people think they are allowed, unless you have a very active lifestyle. Have you tried my fitness pal

Have you ever been that weight though in your life? What I mean is, if you've never been that weight even in your twenties maybe that's not the right body weight for you.
I am 39 and I weigh 8 stone but I have weighed this for the whole of my thirties, and in my twenties I weighed 7.5 stone. It's just the way I'm built. I've also had children (twins) - am a different shape now but same weight as before.

I think most people would find it impossible or torturous.

I used to weight 8 stone in my 20s, but it took huge amounts of exercise and not eating to do it. Now in my 40s I would have to give up eating altogether.

Aren't you getting a bit ahead of yourself? Get to 9st, see how you feel.

You might not want to be thinner or you might not be willing to stick to the necessary eating and exercise plan. That's a good 4 months away so you could well feel differently by then.

Decide when you get there. It makes bugger all difference before you get to 9st.

Well if you can get to that weight, see how you feel? I am 5'8, dieted down to to 59kg (9 and a bit stone) and found i looked awfully bony so am maintaining at 64kg (10st)

Not necessarily impossible, although it would depend on your build.

I weigh people at a very busy SW meeting (I'm just the "weigh lady" not the Consultant) and we do have a couple of ladies of your height weighing around 8st - and one has just turned 70.

Out of around 200 members I can only think of the two ladies that light though. Maybe that's just because the 8st ladies in life have no use for a SW class .

Around 9st seems to be popular target for the shorter ladies. I'm 5ft 9, I couldn't even dream of 9st let alone 8st .

Also, at almost 42 I am the lightest weight I have ever been in my adult life.

I'm 5'1" and 38 and I weigh 7st 10lb after 2 kids. But that is normal for me, why have you chosen this target weight - is it a weight you have maintained previously? It probably isn't unrealistic if you have.

Thank you all for your replies. The last time I was 8 stone was age 30. I loved being that weight but I suffered fertility problems during the next ten years and the depression and sadness lead to weight gain. I have always been a comfort eater and I want to stop it so badly. I'm a small build so I feel 8 stone would be right for me but people I know are telling me it isn't possible. I am just wondering if it really is that hard to reach that weight once you hit your 40s.

I am 5'0 and having gained a lot of weight I planned to get down to 8st but I found the weight came off my face and chest and I began to look very thin, I got a lot of comments about it. Although my bottom half was still not as slim as I would like. I was about 81/2 st and a size 12.
Its not that you couldn't get to that weight, if you can lose weight yat all you would just need to diet a bit longer but would you look good?

It must be possible as there are ridiculously thin celebs who are in their 40s and have DC (eg Victoria Beckham, various actresses). However they may have

to work very very hard at it - strictly controlled diet, feel hungry a lot, hours of exercise. Personally I'm not sure it's worth it. In your shoes I'd aim for 9st and see how you feel about the weight/lifestyle balance at that point.

I'm same height as you, in my 30s, and 7 and a half. I'm not 'ridiculously thin' as an above poster put it, in fact I have a bit of a tummy and I have boobs and an arse.

My mum has been 8 stone her whole life, she's in her 60s.

I have a narrow frame though.

It's definitely possible but best just to eat well and exercise instead of worrying about numbers.

Start with your target at 8 stone 12 (getting under 9 will feel good) then revise it as your new shape emerges.

I am taller than you, so my actual weight won't help. But I lost a lot of weight last year, going from BMI 28ish to current of 19.5. And that was over 50, when it does get rather harder with the attractions of the menopause thrown in. In your 40s, it should definitely be do-able.

I think it depends on your frame - if you have narrow shoulders etc. then you probably won't look too skinny. Anything between 7.5 and 8 is ok for me, I dropped down to just above 7 a couple of years ago and I did look gaunt and unhealthy then.

If you know why you put weight on and you have a strategy to counteract that then it sounds doable - good luck!

I'm in my 40s and I'm 8st 4lbs (5ft 5in) I've been that weight for most of my adult life except for when I had my dcs. I do have to be disciplined though. I try to keep my weight down because I also have a small frame. Even at my current weight I don't have a flat tum. Before dc3 I was 8st and had a flat tummy but I just can't sustain that weight.

I think it is definitely harder as you get older but not impossible. I am 5ft and quite slightly built and have generally always been 42kg even after the birth of my first two DS although I had gained a bit more with DS2 so had to do a bit of work to lose a couple of kilos the year after he was born. I had DS3 at 34 and didn't change much even with that pregnancy but over the last 5 years, my weight has crept up and I am now 45kg and although I haven't made much effort, it's not as easy to shift as when I was younger.
Aim for 8 stone if you wish - it's certainly not impossible - the NHS Bmi calculator gives 9stone 7 as max healthy weight for your height but you know your own build and normal weight and what will feel good for you!

Oh and seeing as it's all in imperial I should have said 7 stone not 45kg!

Yes am 68 and just under 8 st x

But, was 14 st !

And my mum is 75, 5ft 1 and 7st 7and pretty much had been her whole life-she does swim and Pilates and gym each once a week, has a smallish frame and appetite to match but has never had to diet as she has never over eaten!

I was 8 st at 40, pre childbirth, and I'm 5'4'. Probably around 10st now at 50 post-baby and post-menopause. The weight has definitely crept up over my 40s. However if you are 11st4 the way I would approach it is set a target of 11st0, maintain for a month, then go for 10st10, maintain, put a bit back on maybe, after a while go for a few more pounds, etc etc. To get down to 8 stone in one fell swoop seems to me like setting yourself up for failure. In fact I really wouldn't think about having 8st as a target at this stage.

The thing is, you are remembering your 8 stone body from ten years ago and pre pregnancy. In all likelihood your body at 8stone now would look different to how it was then.
(I'm looking down at my saggy belly with an overhang and remembering the tonicity of days gone by.)

You probably could get to eight stone, but you may look and feel better at a toned 9 stone.

I'm 52, 5 foot 1 and weigh about 7 stone 5. My weight was always around 7 12, until a few years back when I put on a few pounds ... Hated it, got my pt to help and lost about 13 pounds last year. I feel and look better than I have for years.

So not impossible at all - just need to be consistent and fairly disciplined with your food. Eat healthily, hardly any processed food and stick around 1600 cals per day.