I believe that I will be very happy with "normal" or "average". :)

Yeah exactly. There have been times when I doubted my goal weight when I saw posters who have goals of 120 or 130 and they have a good 4 or 5 inches of height on me. I know everyone is different I'm willing to bet that anyone who is 5'8 and 120 WILL look skinny. Perhaps bordering on frail.

And thanks! I'm in raleigh. There seems to be a lot of people from NC on here.

I stumbled across a picture of me right when I started college. I was at my thinnest at that point - 150. 150 for a 5'9" woman doesn't sound super low... but seeing that picture, I realized I don't actually want to look that thin. I really want to go for a more athletic, muscular look. not TOO muscular, but I guess strong looking.

It's hard to say what they would look like. But, I guess I think geez what would I look like if I was 100...?? Oh well, I'll be happy wherever I end up. :D

I used to live in Fayetteville for about 3 years, moved to GA for a few months and now in TN. Hubby was in the Air Force and he separated in April. We loved going to Raleigh, Wilmington and Charlotte..Asheville too...every major city but Fayetteville. LOL

When I was around 19-20 my weight went down to about 103lbs, I was sooo unhealthy looking, it was disgusting looking back on pictures. I never had a diagnosed ED but i think it may have been an issue. NOW at 25 and like 70 lbs heavier then I was then, I see things totally differently. I want to be healthy not "skinny" 125 for 5ft4 in my eyes is a good goal, and thats what Im going for in the long run. However my goal will never be for skinny.. I just dont want to be overweight anymore.

I totally understand- specially when I tell some people my goal is 135 they say "well you should be 115" but in my high school pictures I was 150 and I looked GOOD- SLIGHTLY chubby but I loved my body then, so I know anything under 135 will probably not look good on me. And who knows- I may get to say 145 and decide I'm where I want to be- the number is arbitrary IMO- it's how you look and feel that matters :)

Goal weights aren't set in stone either. Mine was just a number I picked out as something to shoot for. I chose it because it's towards the high end of a normal BMI for my height, and I have looked damn good (and plenty curvy!) at slightly less than that number, though that was before kids. :) I do plan to reevaluate my goal weight when I get closer though, and adjust up or down as I see fit. I do get what you mean though, sometimes I see people with goal weights that are much lower than mine, though they're the same height, and I think I would look gross at that number. Hopefully the number that we all get to in the end will be a nice healthy one that looks good on us, and isn't unhealthy. Good luck everyone!

Maybe, depends on your definition of skinny and would you judge me if I did? I don't know what my final goal weight is, but I do know that I should not concern myself with others or let them influence me because I don't know their situation or body type.

And to defend those in their 120s and 5'8 or so, I've seen lots of pics of girls on this site at that height and weight who look perfectly healthy, fit and trim.

Yeah... I don't know what will happen to my body as I've never been below 155 and even then I was chunky. I'm scared I'll get to my goal weight and think... "I should lose more." What if I can't get below that?

Then I see other people who are 5'4" and are shooting for 10...15...20 pounds under that and it makes me curious what I should be. I think the important thing to remember as everyone has already said is that you have to go with what is comfortable for you. Hopefully I'm comfortable at 135 because I'm kind of lazy...

I think skinny is relative. Meaning, it's different to each person.

Not for nothing, and please I hope no one takes this the wrong way, but my biggest pet peeve (at boot camp) is when I hear some of the women say they will NEVER be skinny. That it's just not in the cards for them. Or that they are "big boned", I heard that all the time growign up, oh you're just big boned!

That's what I used to say, all the while I knew it wasn't true.

I was overweight (not obese) in High School, all through middle school i was never the "skinny" girl, and I just never thought I could be skinny, then one summer, my boyfriend broke up with me...I got sick. It was a HORRIBLE way to lose weight, in fact, I gained it all back shortly after ha! Anyway

To give you an idea of how I looked when I first started this journey in mid-August
http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/2110/kristinaug3.jpg

and here is a picture of me at my skinnest in my LIFE, 120, please don't mind the glasses, this was 2000 =/ ha!
http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/5...stinskinny.jpg

I just don't like when people sell themselves short. You can be whatever you want to be. It's just a matter of what is "right" for you! As long as your healthy and happy, hey, nothing else matters!

When people begin kidding themselves and saying they can't be ANYTHING IN THE WORLD that they want to be, I guess it just touches a nerve.

Honestly, I don't know if I WANT to be rail thin, skinny? Yes, but also toned and fit and healthy. =)

Sorry for my rant and honestly I mean NO offense. I just hope none of you ladies are selling yourself short! Of course, you're not going to grow inches =)

I think it depends on one's definition of "skinny". Like others have mentioned here, some people equate that with being frail/weak/slightly unhealthy. I definitely would never want to be underweight or unhealthy looking. However, as I've always been either overweight or on the very high end of the "healthy" spectrum, I've always wondered what it would be like to be "skinny". Even at my lowest weight of 150, I still felt like I needed to lose 10-15 lbs at least. Of course, I'd kill for that weight now and I know I looked really good at that weight, but I find myself wanting to set my goal on the lower end of the healthy weight spectrum.

I've always been chubby so to speak, so I don't even know what I'd look like at a lower weight than 150 as an adult. Of course, if I get to 140-145 and absolutely love the way I look at that weight, I'll stop there. But to answer your question lol...I actually kind of do want to be skinny. It'd be nice for others to consider me as thin. At 150, I doubt anyone would consider me THIN. Healthy, yes. Thin or skinny, no. That's not to say I place all my value on what others think, but at the same time, it sounds kind of nice to have all my friends consider me the skinny one in the group.

Obviously though, if my body shape determines that I end up as curvy instead of skinny, I'll take it if I'm at a healthy weight. I realize that at my height I'm never going to be "petite" or a 00 size, and that's totally fine. But again, I would like to consider myself as a thin person in the end. Sorry for all the rambling...hope I articulated my answer well enough! :)

Well said!

Yes, I want to be skinny, which for me is also toned and fit. I like the word skinny, it has no negative connotations for me, and I'm working hard to be the skinny I see in my head.

My ideal aesthetic for myself is thin and toned, though not particularly overtly muscular. That's just my vision for myself, I think all body types are pretty.

INteresting question. I have 150 as my goal for now. BUT...in high school, I was between 108-113 and I wore a size 9/10. I think my body shape has changed in the 30-ish years since then, though and I'm not sure where I really want to end up. I guess I will just have to wait and see. I want to look fit and feel amazing, so that's the real long term goal.
Barb

Hmm.. I don't know really. I don't want to be unhealthy skinny but if I look at my mom who is 5'8'' like me and these days shes around 120 - she looks pretty good, not very muscular but not unhealthy. I always thought I obviusly didn't inherit her gorgeus legs and slender constitution but now that I really work out hard and struggle with losing my last 15 pounds I sometimes see it. I am actually just like her, just more fat around me, and more muscle :)
I don't want to be 120, I think 135 is really the lowest I can go but I don't know if I'll ever get there. For now I would like to just tone my thighs because I really really dislike them :D