How do you set good, realistic goals for measurements? I have heard that 35 is the maximum women should have for their waist.. what about hips and chest? what is "normal" for arms?

everyone's body is different, so it's really a place where you're going to be comfortable at.
I'm assuming you're saying 35 is the max a woman's waist should be because it (normally) indicates a BMI of 30 or more.. well I have a 32" waist and my BMI is 30.9 so go figure.
I thought I would be comfortable at the same measurements I was in High School - but I am now 2" away in the hips and the waist (and actually exceeded that goal in my bust) and I definitely could lose a little more than that.

Is there a normal for chest and arms?? I don't think there is. I think there is just a measurement "requirement" for the abdominal because of the fat that can harden around your organs. I guess my goal for my arms is a toned up 11 inches. My daughter has a 12 inch upper arm circumferance. My arms are 12 inches too but i got that bat wing thing going on, so i just need to tone up my triceps and i should hopefully lose about an inch due to toning. But my goal weight is somewhere between 120 and 130 and I am actually small boned. I'm not petite but I am small boned. If you have say a 18 inch arm, I'd set a goal of maybe 14 inches and then go from there. But i work on working out with weights to tone the arms...that would tighten and trim the arms and the muscles would burn off the fat.

oops...looking back at your post, you never said anything about the arms. my bad. sorry. Umm....that's a really hard question to answer. There is no "correct" size for the chest. That's just something you'll have to deal with when you get to your goal weight. If the fat around your chest is gone but your boobs are still bigger than you like, the only thing to do about that is really just getting a boob job. Now, you can do butterfly curls to help tone up the chest which might make your boobs a little smaller but probably not much. And the hips...well again, i think that is just part of your genetic makeup. Depends on how much fat you have left on your hips after losing weight and how spread out your hip bones are. Some people just have naturally wide bones, there is nothing you can do about it. But the more fat on your hips, the more you need to do cardio to burn off the fat.

The size of the arm all depends on how much muscle vs. fat you have, so I don't believe there is a specific set range. My arms are the same size as they were at my HW, if not a tad bit bigger. They're also significantly more toned and look almost "buff" at a 12.5" circumferance on my newfound lean body.

Your chest measurement depends on how big "the girls" happen to be. Some of us are "blessed" in that department and some are not (which has nothing to do with weight, just body type), so there is no "normal" for that, either, and hips (once you lose belly fat) largely depend on your body type and bone structure, as well.

I have heard 35 is the maximum number a woman's waist should be, as well, but I've also heard 32 or 33 from Dr. Oz (who also said 35 was the biggest a man should be around the middle, but given the height and bulk of some men, I'd guess 36 or 38, personally).

Frankly, I think that measurement "norms" are just made-up numbers. There are too many variations to say that one number is correct. It sounds like pseudo-science to me. Just my opinion.

Jay

oh, lumifan, unless you have uncomfortable "F" cups or something, why would anyone want to have *smaller* boobs?

thank you for the answers! I have been trying to use the tape measure as my measure more than the scale. I seem to build muscle unusually fast (for a girl) according to my trainer. She's a former nationally ranked tennis player and knows about strong arms and shoulders, and I am already stronger then her in that area. I call it my Irish potato farmer genes..I should be out a field throwing rocks around instead of typing on a computer This is making me wonder if normal (there's that word again) height/weight charts might not be right for me. I am 5' 3" and I think 150 would be a better goal then the 135 I have always thought I should be.

I really did mean chest and not bust.. I know my girls probably aren't going any where any time soon :P I meant the measure underneath them.

Okay, so no real norm for measurements...

there isn't, but it sounds like we're in about the same boat muscle building-wise.
my "real" goal is to be able to walk into most stores and buy a size 6. I know stores vary but If I can reach that 6 in the majority of places I go, i'll be happy.
I was a 10 10 years ago in high school, and always just wanted to be an 8.. well a 6 is 10 year's ago 8 so I figure it's a reachable goal.
I've been measuring my progress by the measuring tape a LOT because I have a LOT of muscle for someone my height/weight. I am, like I said before, nearly the same measurements I was in high school.. but I was 130/140lbs in high school. I was 36-30-36 then and am 34-32-38 right now at 180. (I would really like to know WHEN I turned into a pear, because i've always been an apple and it's something I noticed in the mirror today.. i'm much smaller on top than i ever was)
I would go by body fat % and numbers you know will make you happy rather than a H/W chart. the more I lose, the more I think I'm going to hit "goal" around 150 rather than 135 as I lose a size about every 15lbs and I'm in 10s most places now.
The numbers on a scale are a good measure of progress, but they're not the only numbers that count, you know?

I agree! Our proportions are so different that norms just don't apply.

As a practical example, My MIL is my height and 120 lb but is built with an H-frame, so she has a 31 or 32" waist (she didn't say which exactly, just that she was over the 31" 'recommend' by new Canadian stats). Meanwhile, I am 147 lb and have an X-frame, so I have a 25.5" waist. Just looking at those waist measurements, one would expect her to be larger than me, but she is definitely the slender one between us! The way a person is proportioned makes a HUGE difference to the measurements.

I heard Dr. Oz say that we should take our height in inches and cut that number in half and that is the max our waist should be. He said that someone 5'8" is going to have a larger waist that someone who is 5'4". So I should have a max of around 32 or so. He didn't take into account for bone structure. I have a medium to large structure. Someone my height that is smaller boned looks smaller at the same weight as I.

Hi,
My name is Ida and I started my healthy eating and work out program today. I'm 190 pounds and I hope to reach my goal of 130 by December 2008 hope to do this with your help and suggestions. I'm going to start by eatting less and by choosing beter foods. I also will try to join a step aerobics class 3 times a wk. My friend also advised me to take vitamins. well hope to make new friends.
Ida

Hey Ida143!

Jay

ida
good luck
michelle

I'd like to lose about 2" from my waist, which is my problem area.