[kj1989]

Hey girls,
I'm needing some advice about weight loss. Here's a bit of my history, so you know where I'm coming from. I'm 5'2" and started out at 127 pounds in January. I did P90X for 4 months and have been running and lifting weights since I finished that. My original goal was to weigh 120, but I now weigh around 118 (depending on the day) and I honestly feel like I could go down to 110. My BMI is 21.9 and but my body fat percentage is 25%!
I don't want to become underweight or develop some sort of eating disorder, and I've never thought of myself as having smaller bones. But isn't a body fat percentage of 25% rather high??
I have no idea what my ideal weight should be because according to all the charts and everything I am at an ideal weight for my size.
Can you guys give me any advice here? I'm feeling a little lost at this point.

[krampus]

Most women have much higher body fat percentages than they think they do. 25% is within the "healthy" range. Under 24% is considered athletic/fit. "Cut" with a six pack or visible muscles/abs is under 20%.

It's all about your goals. Right now I'm not willing to buckle down the diet hard enough to lose considerably more fat, if fat loss is your primary goal this blog might be of interest:

http://ilyssagetsfit.blogspot.com/ in reverse chronological order, she drops body fat for a bikini competition

[sontaikle]

Like Krampus said, 25% is perfectly healthy for a woman.

How do you look? Do you like what you see? If you feel happy, healthy, look fine, etc. then you can maintain where you are. If you think dropping a little body fat would help then you can give it a shot.

Remember, just because the CHARTS say a weight is ideal for you doesn't make it so. I got down to 107 at my lowest and while that is still within the healthy range for my height, it was too thin FOR ME.

I'm much happier in the 112-115 range.

[beth1789]

I'm also 5'2" and 118 with a goal of 110 (ultimately I would like to maintain between 110 and 115). I think that 110 can be a healthy goal as long as you don't have to go to unhealthy lengths to get there. I've decided that if I can't reach 110 by eating an average of 1400-1500 calories a day, then 110 might be too low for me.

[kj1989]

That's a good idea. I guess my fear was that I would not know when to stop and be at an unhealthy weight for my body. I've had several friends who developed eating disorders and I've seen the damage that being underweight does to their bodies. I guess I'll just try to go to the lowest weight that I feel is healthy. Hopefully that will work.