How do you know when you’ve lost enough weight?

[DumbleDork]

Hi all

I’ve been having some thoughts recently about weight loss etc.

Basically I’ve swung between as little at 7 and a half stone and a size 6 up to 15 stone and a size 18/20 during my adult life (well, between the ages of 16 and now at 32. I’m 5’3).

I never really felt uncomfortably small as a size 6 but used to get the “you are too small / you look ill / you need to put on weight” comments and now at the upper end of the spectrum I’ve had (from family members) “we are getting worried about you / think of your children / think of your health” type comments which made me worry.

Now, my problem is this. I see myself as absolutely massive, like seriously huge (currently the biggest I’ve been at 15 stone and size 18/20) And when I see slim people and even skinny celebs I don’t see them as too slim at all.

Now I know slim doesn’t always equal healthy etc but it seems that slim is the ideal these days.

So due to family concerns etc I’ve been dieting and going to a gym. But I’m beginning to worry that I’ve lost sight of what normal is and that I won’t recognise what healthy is. I dropped to a size 6 at a very traumatic time of my life but after a while it became normal and that I won’t realise when I’m a normal weight or that I shouldn’t lose any more?

I also used to make myself sick as a teenager after meals so maybe I’ve always been a bit about weight really.

I hope this post makes sense

I think you have to sit in the middle of your healthy BMI range and that's fine.

I also see people that others describe as 'way too skinny' and think they look great
I also easily go too far with weight loss and am currently losing weight

It’s an interesting question and one I’ve been giving quite a lot of thought to over the last few months.

I started off this year being almost 3 stone overweight. Now that I’ve lost that weight, I’m not sure what I’m aiming for anymore!

There are some “ideal weight” calculators available online. It might be worth having a look at those?

It estimated my ideal weight to be 68kg, which is a BMI of 22. That’s roughly in the middle of the healthy BMI range, so sounds quite reasonable.

Generally speaking though, I think the best thing you can do at this point is to focus on your health. Get your BMI down to a healthy level and then decide if you need to lose more. Good luck!

I think I have the same problem, but from the other end. I knew that at 107 kilos I was morbidly obese, and my knees hurt, I could barely bend to get socks on. I’ve lost 4 kilos and need to lose 20 more to get to overweight, but I feel quite thin now, socks are easy, I’m doing loads of exercise ,and hunger is like being able to feel your ribs from the inside. Realistically I know I have a long way to go but honestly I keep putting my hand up to see if my collarbones are obvious yet...

My husband and I did our weekly weigh in last night and I now weigh more than him which has never happened before. And to be honest I’m feeling quite panicky about it. Why is it men see results quicker than women when dieting and going to the gym?

I always felt 'me' when I was right in the middle of BMI healthy range. Thinner than that looked good but was unsustainable. Heavier than that never feels right. Middle BMI also allows for a bit of fluctuation. If you get ill and lose weight you're still healthy range. If you indulge over the holidays, you are still healthy range.

@3dogs2cats it's lovely that you are already noticing and feeling the difference. That must be a great incentive.

I think the key thing here is to get to a heathly weight, aim for the healthy bmi range. Then assess how you feel. If you've lost a lot of weight you will probably have loose skin. Some degree of toning through the gym may help, so your focus will switch from the number on the scale to body shape. Have a wardrobe revamp at your healthy weight to feel good about your new size and shape. If you feel great then target reached! Refocus everything on maintaining that, what can you eat in a week and stay the same? How much exercise do you need to do?

Once you are happy with your new size and shape, you can focus on other health metrics, like heart health, cholesterol etc.

I'm overweight for my height. I have 15kg to lose to get to where I want to be in my head. But really that number means nothing. I will do the reassessment above when I hit healthy bmi. I will probably try to lose a bit more fat (I'd prefer to have some leeway incase something leads to weight gain again). My goal really is to feel good, and feel like I look good (and cute) in my summer dresses again! It has taken me years to acknowledge my hips will always be huge and out of proportion so once I'm healthy bmi I just need to learn to dress them better.

@growlingbear. It is some incentive, just have to be careful I don’t think obese is ok.. I think I will know that I am ok when I am a size 14; not a 20.

Well I’m pleased to report that since the 1st July I’ve gone from 15 stone to 14 stone 1 pound very very happy with that

That's fantastic. Well done 👏 I hope you are feeling very proud.

I think most women look far too skinny if they go below a size 8, unless they are really short. Anything above that is fine. I have weighed between 7.7 stone and 11.7 stone. I look best around 9 stone, below that I look scrawny and ill. I'm 5.6.

I feel the best with BMI of about 21. I think low 20s is the ideal for most women. From what I've read at least.