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Sylphide Distinguished Member 
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I'm 60 years old and I've never really known what I should weigh. It has always been a problem when I try to focus and motivate myself to lose -- because the goal is fuzzy. I'm going to try the support group known as Tops tomorrow and I know they will want me to ask my doctor for my goal weight. Trouble is, I know he will look at his trusty BMI scale and tell me that at 5'5" I should weigh " between 114 and 144 lbs." Gah! That's too random and too vague. I'm a female, I have very small bones (finger nad thumb overlap when I circle my wrist). I weighed 110 through my young years right up until I quit smoking at age 46. Now I weigh 173. I used to think I should weigh about 125 but these days, after yo-yo dieting for years, I have some loose skin on my arms and waist that I know must weigh something and can't be lost except through surgery. I also know that older women's faces don't usually look as pretty if they get too thin and that some doctors think we should carry a little extra in case of illness. So. All this mess considered what do you think my "ideal weight" should be? I would love to have a number to focus on. Anyone? All opinions welcome.  |
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Nir Senior Administrator 
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Have a look at the results of the various formulas, all displayed for you when you input your stats on this page: Calculating Ideal Weight Ultimately though, you should be monitoring your body fat %. Again, have a look at the ideal fat % tables (Calculating Body Composition) for example numbers to aim for. |
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Sylphide Distinguished Member
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Thanks Nir. That gives me 130, 113 and 115. I once had the caliper test done and was told I should weigh 102. That was 30 years ago so the body fat problem has likely gotten worse. I'm going to ask my doctor about this again, in a few weeks, and see what he says. ETA I just pulled the Air Force weight scale and i could enlist if I weighed between 106 -169. I now have a range from 102 to 169 depending on which scale I pick! Last edited on 29 Jan 2007 01:45 pm by Sylphide |
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fruitloop Distinguished Member 
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It sounds like 110 was a stable weight for you, so start from there. You want to weigh a little more now, so add 10 lbs. Personally, I would want to give myself even more of a buffer, so I'd add another 10. That gives 130 lbs. If you think 125 is right for you, it probably is. You can pick a number as a goal weight, and when you get closer to it, see how you look and feel, and change it if you want to. |
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Sylphide Distinguished Member
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Thanks Fruitloop. I like the sound of 130 right now. Like you say, if I reach that, I can always decide then to go lower. |
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