[gingerjen]

This whole ideal body weight deal is irritating. Today when I saw my dr he told me that for my frame and build (I may be short but I have lots of muscle) he called me broad shouldered, that I could weigh as much as 156 and not be unhealthy. I was at 150 at the start of my senior year of high school and I looked good. I guess I want to know where they come up with these numbers. I am going to leave my goal at 140 but hey if I am comfortable at 150 then I may just stay there.
Sorry this is more of a vent, no wonder we all have issues with how we look, we can never be skinny enough for the ideal.
Jen

[LockItUp]

I feel ya. I always thought that I was heavy at 150, now I know that I wasn't. But back then I had a body fat test done by these quacks that came to the gym I worked at and they told me that I should weight 127, and my Body Mass Index along with my body fat percentage were within normal range. Even though I know that's stupid it's always in the back of my mind. I don't know where even the Doctors come up with these numbers!!! I always thought that being in the 130's would be ideal, I guess I'll see when I get to my goal of 149 whether or not I will keep going. I wish that there was no such thing as a scale!!!

[LovesBassets]

When I was in 5th grade I was already 5'4" (which is my height now). My pediatrician weighed me -- I was 140 lbs -- and said "You need to lose 20 pounds." And that was it. No advice, no food pyramid, nothin'.

First of all, what kind of a moronic doctor tells an 11-year-old girl to lose 20 lbs and doesn't tell her HOW? Second of all, I'm 146 lbs now and a very comfortable (Eddie Bauer, at least) size 8. At 140, I'll be pushing a size 6. Twenty pounds less than that and I may disappear altogether .

I DO NOT WISH TO BE KATE MOSS, thank you anyway, Doctor.

The guy was an idiot. BUT, way in the back of my head somewhere is always the nagging feeling that I "should be" 120 lbs. And by the way (LOL) my goal weight is one pound UNDER 140 lbs just to spite this guy. Who is -- by now -- either 105 years old or (more likely) dead.

It's AMAZING what one little sentence can do to you when it comes from a "professional."

[mdchick]

I read once that ideal weight is about 100 lbs for 5 feet plus 5 pounds for every additional inch. So since I'm between 5'7" and 5'8" my ideal weight would be between 135 and 140. I think this is actually pretty lean. I think a healthy weight is probably plus as much as 10 or 20 pounds above this (depending on how tall you are). Just my two cents.

[lucky]

Alright, guys, I'm out of my element as I haven't been a 20 something in a long, long time. But, I saw the thread title and had to comment.

Here is what I've learned:

YOUR ideal weight is the weight at which you feel healthy, confident, and reasonably sure that you can easily maintain. There are just too many factors for any ONE chart to be an accurate guide for everyone.

Find a weight that makes YOU happy and stay there unless there are health/medical issues that warrant you losing more. I spent the better part of my youth and young adulthood worrying about a weight problem that never actually existed. Do yourselves a favor and learn from my mistakes!

[skinnyjeans]

I agree with Jawsmom.

Also there are several other factors, for example, gingerjen- your Dr might not have been talking about an ideal weight for you, but a weight that would be healthy as far as BP, heart disease and other factors. More of a top of the range kind of weight.

Also-LoveBassets, just get that 120 number out of your head. Maybe you haven't gotten any taller since then but there is a big difference between an 11 year old body and an adult body. Your probably didn't have boobs or hips then which make a difference, also you bones weren't even done growing, even if you didn't get taller. I also have not grown an inch since I was about 11 or 12 (I'm 5'9" and was a tall thin kid) but there is no way I need to weigh now what I did then. Even models don't weigh that!

[She-Mullett]

I hate even looking at those ranges in magazines or online. They always say I should be around 120. At my thinnest, I squeezed down to 129 (very unhealthy means) and looked ill. I have a muscular body and a medium frame and I think that is the norm these days. I think the charts and "suggested weights" are such a load of crap. We are strong, healthy women and that is what we want to be as well. I can weigh 140 and fit easily into a size 8, I don't know why we punish ourselves to be at the low end of the chart.

Whew! Sorry for the rant. Everyone has it right. Your ideal is just that, the ideal for you. Nobody has to tell us what number that should be, it is our bodies! We should know a lot more about our builds than any doctor or physical trainer.

And Meredith dismounts the soapbox...

[paperclippy]

LovesBassets -- Wow, you fit a comfortable size 8 at 146? You must have a more muscular and less fatty body than me! I'm 5'4" also and I am just now fitting an 8 in most stores at 135. Then again, I did fit an 8 from Old Navy at around 145, I was just a 10 everywhere else!

As for ideal weights . . . I don't know what mine is. I know that where I am right now is not it though. Part of that is exercise though, since I know I am flabby and I want to be more toned. I think I look pretty darn good now overall though, but I would be even better at 130. I don't know if I'll be happy at 130 or not, but I have decided that anything under 125 is too little for me. If nothing else, since my breasts are so big, I'd look like a toothpick with two watermelons tied on top!

I picked 130 as my goal because it was smack in the middle of the BMI range for my height. I think I have a medium frame, but I don't know. I saw one site where they surveyed women of all heights and ages and asked them what they would ideally like to weight, and the average response indicated that for someone my age and height the "ideal" is 125. One interesting thing to note was that the women's "ideal" weights were all on the low range of BMI and the men's "ideal" weights were all on the high range. This is supporting evidence that women think they should be thinner than healthy and men think they should be much more muscular than they are!