[oneoftwelve]

Quick question for my featherweight friends!
I'm not exactly sure of my height--the last time I was measured the doctor said 5'6", but my mother and sister both found that that doctor measured them slightly shorter than they found with a measuring tape at home (they did this several times). So I'm somewhere between five-six and five-seven.
That said, I'm down, according to my roomie's scale yesterday, to 130.2!!!!!

So now to my question--If I get into the 120s, have I gone too far? Honestly, I'm thrilled with where I am now, and if it drops some more, so be it. But I really want to make sure I'm eating enough/eating the right things and not going too far. I realized yesterday that even though I sit a lot (in class, studying, writing papers, etc.), I also walk several one-tenth to quarter-mile stretches every day to get to various buildings on campus. In addition, I'm either walking for 40-45 minutes or running for 20-30 minutes or using the elliptical at over 170 steps per minute for 30-some minutes every day.
I'm no longer counting calories (I can't specifically measure my food anymore and I don't have time to update fitday), but I am eye-balling my food portions and the combination of the types of foods I'm eating. So I'm not looking for a calorie number per se, but rather a weight to stop losing and start maintenance at.
Does any of this make sense?
Thanks!

[DoraUK]

I think when you get to the nitty gritty you can't rely on the number of the scale. Even though I have yet to reach my original goal - I was just a pound away and now I have bounced up 3 - when I was close I knew that just reaching 120 wouldn't be enough.

It needs to be a non-scale thing - could it be a waist or hip measurement? Or fitting into a pair of jeans/dress?

There is never the right time to stop. Obviously there can be a wrong time to continue. You just need to be sensible and evaluate what you will be comfortable finishing at, but also comfortable maintaining.

Hope this helps.

D xx

[lilmissPope]

oneoftwelve, I think that your ideal weight really depends on your body frame... if you have a smaller build your ideal weight could be anywhere from 120-133 at about 5'6. Now, I mostly believe that you should only use a number to help motivate you and give yourself a goal per se, so at this point look at your body and say "do I like the way I look, would I like to stay this size or try and lose more" If you are perfectly happy with the weight you are at and how your body looks then start maintaining!! If you think you need to improve some more, or lose a couple more pounds then go on ahead you are still in a safe range.

Hope this helps!

[ncuneo]

Only you can answer this. I agree you build really plays a big part in this. I'm a medium build anywhere from 5'5 to 5'6 and have a lot of muscle. I think anything under 135 would be WAY to thin for my body and personal desire for how thin I want to be. Someone else my height with less muscle and and a smaller build may feel heavy at 135. We're all different and we all have different opinions of what is too far and what a healthy weight is. As long as you are eating properly and not over exercising stop when YOU are happy. Who cares why you want to weigh what you want to weigh. I do kinda feel however that if you need others to justify your goal weight then *maybe* it's not the right weight for you. I've made very similar posts in the past, and in then end I realized that it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks about my goal weight...or lack thereof at this point...all that matters is that I'm living a healthy lifestyle. I also think you'll get such a wide opinion of what's "too far" based on peoples location in the country and age. I guarantee that there are people who would say at 5'7" 144 lbs you didn't *need* to lose any weight in the first place. But we all know that they don't have to live in your body. So again, go until you're happy.

My ultimate goal is 125, and I'm 5'7", so I think your goal of the 120's is fine. But also just think about how you feel with the numbers aside. I'm happy with where I'm at, and I could lose a couple more lbs and be fine with it, but I'm happy with myself.

[Annita]

i'm 120 lbs and i'm 5'7.
I have small frame, don't have a lot of muscles, and trying to build some more. I don't even look like i'm small. I don't look heavy but definitely look perfectly fine - just not small. So it depends on your build.
Maybe you want to rely on measurements instead? I'm also focusing on toning body so i'm relying on measurements instead of numbers on scale.