[JohnP]

Originally Posted by Serenity100

All the extra weight puts extra stress on your joints and back. Lose the weight and many times the pain goes away. I know all about being "healthy" and being in the obese range. My blood stats are in the "amazing" range. But that doesn't change the fact that extra fat is proven to cause cancer and diabetes. Everyone should listen to their physician for advice as to what is a healthy weight for them. I would never take the word of a random person on a message board.

Extra fat is proven to cause cancer? It certainly does not. It doesn't even cause diabetes although at a certain point it is a very large contributor. Also - define "extra fat"?

If you think I am making a case for people being healthy at any weight I am not. I am simply pointing out that the OP could be 180 at 5'7" and be very healthy. The OP could not be 280 at 5'7" and be very healthy.

As for physicians ... the majority you talk to are going to do one thing. Look at your BMI and use that to determine how much weight you should lose.

Yes - extra weight puts stress on your joints. So does exercise. It's not a question of extra it's a question of how much is too much.

[nataliegm]

Originally Posted by JohnP

Why do you want to lose weight? If you're happy with your current size but you just want to be more "toned" than don't diet. Just lift heavy weights.

JohnP, I've read a lot of your comments on different threads and I have to say you have what seems like a really good mind for being healthy!

[freelancemomma]

It's hard to disentangle my own view of my body from society's ideals, but... if there were no such ideals, I think I'd like to settle at maybe 170 pounds: still in the normal BMI range (and thus good for health), but allowing me a little more flexibility in eating.

Which means that my current efforts to maintain a lower weight have a lot to do with vanity. So far it hasn't been too difficult, but if it becomes so in the future I may reconsider my goal weight.

F.

[nataliegm]

As far as body image, I would still want to lose weight. In my mind this weight loss isn't about being "hot" in the eyes of others, as long as my husband like the way I look thats all that matters to me and he has told me over and over he doesn't care about my weight he loves me. My weight loss is about me and being comfortable with my body. I hate bumping into things. I hate the way my legs stick out of the sides of chairs. I hate how big my jeans are when you hold them up. Other people's idea of what I should look like are their own opinions and in my mind reflect their own battle but I am not happy at this weight. I want to be able to paint my toenails without having to really work to reach them

[Ija]

Regarding the healthiness/unhealthiness of body fat: Keep in mind that fat is not an inert tissue... it's not just sitting around taking up space on your body. Fat is an active endocrine tissue that produces estrogen, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α (an inflammatory cytokine implicated in cancer, dementia and other diseases), adiponectin, and a host of other bioactive proteins. So yes, your level of body fat has the potential to affect your risk for disease independently of daily lifestyle.

That being said, it's also true that having a "high" BMI doesn't mean you're unhealthy or that you're necessarily at a higher risk for any particular disease.

In short, it all depends.

[JossFit]

Originally Posted by twinieten

I agree! I think my bone structure would inhibit me from getting in to the 20s without looking like a skeleton. Plus, I have a decent amount of muscle tone that would also interfere. I think 125 is probably for a smaller boned woman or for someone who doesn't work out....

I think this thread just illustrates that the scale is largely just numbers and doesn't show how "healthy" someone is, nor does it account for how someone's body looks at a certain weight. Your overall body fat percentage plays a huge part in it as well.

I have a shape that a lot of people consider "muscular" as opposed to skeletal, and at 5'4 I weigh around 116-117 pounds most of the time.

I workout VERY hard and put up large numbers, do lots of pullups all on my own, and generally shame most everyone else in the gym.

[amandie]

When I first started out, for a 5'2 to 5'3 woman I should weigh from 100 to 136lbs (up to 139lbs, not sure been a while) but I decided to stick with my current goal weight because it has to do with how I looked and felt at that weight (150) back then even though that is still considered overweight. I may change my mind once I get there because I may get extra skin and whatnot though I'm hoping lifting will help with that. We'll see.

[daniprice]

It's hard for me to choose a weight, but my ideal size has been size 14. I feel I really look good at that size which I guess the 180's is the corresponding weight. Because the 180's are still over my "healthy weight," I would like to be in the 160's, which would be around 10/12. I come from a family where size 14 is pretty thin, but I'm feeling ambitious these days and want to go for the 10/12. I have too many family members with weight related health complications, so health reasons have really become priority.

[LisaTcan]

I agree with JohnP - Healthy and slim to do not necessarily go together. I getting sicker when I am dieting and trying to push down my weight than I do when I eat and exercise moderately. I've had all my blood work done and had a fitness test. My health is great at 5'6'' and 140 which is where my body always lands when I eat in moderation but I want to lose weight to fit into our society's prototype of beauty.

If any ones interested there is a great book on this topic called "Health at Every size" http://www.lindabacon.org/HAESbook/