Does everyone have a "natural" weight?

SaraC

Pesky pescetarian from Australia!
Hi,

Really just what the title says, does anyone believe each person has their own "natural" weight?

The reason I am asking is that the lowest weight for my BMI is 125lb which is just under 9st, now I know that however much I diet I will NEVER be that light, I once got down to 9st 12lb and looked awful.

I am a typical hour glass figure, big b@@bs, small(ish) waist and big hips. I have set my own weightloss target at 10st but I have a hunch that my "natural weight" is around 10st 4lb and any lower than that I wouldn't look "right ".

Am I being silly thinking that although the BMI chart states a weight, there is no way I could get that light or could I and I'm just not targetting myself low enough?

Hope this makes sense!!
 
i know what you mean, in order to have a healthy bmi i have to be a couple of lbs light than what i am now, and anything as low as 8 stone somthing.. its so rediculous. right now i'm at a weight that i feel happy, healthy and comfortable at.. and i know its maintainable, easily. i hit target in august and havnt struggled. . but, if i dropped below 9 and a half stone, that for me would be unmanagable, and i could look very ill. My mother thinks i need to lose more wieght, or 'could do' as she put it, and that i wouldnt look ill.. but i would loose whatb curves i have and for me, i wouldnt feel womanly anymore. i enjoy my little baby chub i have, and my curves.. i wouldnt want to risk them for a wieght un-manageable, just because some boots bmi machine tells me my bmi is still classed as overweight... huff!
 
The weight charts give the highest and lowest healthy weights. Peoples frames vary so much and I know that I wouldn't want to be at the lowest weight for my height.
 
BMi also dont take into account muscle, as muscle weighs more than fat anyway, someone who is muscular, may be classed as overweight on BMI but of lost most of their fat. I think it is all about going to the stage that you feel comfotable with and not what some else tells you.
 
Hi,

I have just re-read my post & I think what I was trying to ask was: Could I (in theory because I don't want to be that thin), if I kept doing SW, get down to the lower end of the BMI chart or will my body just stop at my "natural" weight (if there is such thing)?
 
I think when you get close to your natural weight, you will start really struggling to get any lower and prob go up and down when you wi a lot - as your body will not want to go any lower.

take it easy as you go and focus on maintaining when you reach you goal, the bmi minimums are there for underweight people to acheive, not for over weight people to use as a target weight, anywhere in the range is considered healthy, and it varies by quite a few pounds!

and also, as others have said depending on your build, somepeople are happier slightly above their bmi.

waist measurement is the new thing for healthy weight size, google healthy waist and see what difference that is, I am a good few inches over healthy waist, and even at a healthy bmi my waist is too big, but I a quite short.

its all a bit complicated, adn I am no expert, maybe check with your doctor if you are worried about your size in relation to your health.

for me, wanting to get a lower bmi is pure vanity, i'll be happy when I am no longer obese/overweight.

then I'll start obsessing about skinny jeans! lol

good luck.
 
ahh sorry i misundertsood.

i think its possible to drop to any weight with hard work a dedication, people who are anorexic or choose not to eat to be super small dont do it by ease. Its just hardcore dedication to what they think is right...

but once your at a weight that your body is naturally comfortable at, i think your weight losses can tend to slow, most people find this in thier last couple of lbs to target, others find that they carry on loosing even after calling thier personal target. i struggled for weeks before i hit target, but then suddenly lost 3lbs here, 2lbs there.. and it was very easy, but i have to work hard to get under 10stone.. xx
 
Thanks to everyone for your replies.

I would never want to be at the lower end of my BMI, I was just curious that when you're out and you see the tiny girls in the short skirts who are about the same height as me whether they are classed as underweight or theoretically if I could get to that weight.

I am now 29, married and have a baby girl so wearing short skirts is the last thing on my mind but my curiosity made me ask the question!!

I am still going to aim for 10st but if I can't get there I'll just let my body decide what is my "natural" weight.

Thank you to everyone for your replies :D
 
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Yes, there is a 'natural' weight called the body setpoint.

It's controlled by a hormone called Leptin (mainly, though are other hormones come into play too)

Some people (in fact many people) find it easy to increase the body setpoint, but it's usually much harder to lower.

When you get to the lowest point, it will fight tooth and nail to try and preserve it's fat stores. Often by making people hungrier, slowing the metabolic rate a little, and sets of bits in the brain that will cause cravings. Water retention can also be more of a problem.

Having said that, the calories in vs calories out science still works. Eat less than your body uses and you lose weight. Just that it's slower and usually harder to do.

I wrote more about it here if you are interested. It's a fascinating hormone :)

http://www.minimins.com/lighter-life-forum/78857-10-months-body-reset-its-memory-fact-myth.html
 
Yes, there is a 'natural' weight called the body setpoint.

It's controlled by a hormone called Leptin (mainly, though are other hormones come into play too)

Some people (in fact many people) find it easy to increase the body setpoint, but it's usually much harder to lower.

When you get to the lowest point, it will fight tooth and nail to try and preserve it's fat stores. Often by making people hungrier, slowing the metabolic rate a little, and sets of bits in the brain that will cause cravings. Water retention can also be more of a problem.

Having said that, the calories in vs calories out science still works. Eat less than your body uses and you lose weight. Just that it's slower and usually harder to do.

I wrote more about it here if you are interested. It's a fascinating hormone :)

http://www.minimins.com/lighter-life-forum/78857-10-months-body-reset-its-memory-fact-myth.html


Ohh thanks KD I will have a look at that, I work in a science based field so this sort of thing interests me :)
 
I really don't know. :eek: I developed anorexia when I was 13 yrs old. I was underweight until 2 years ago and now, I'm overweight. :( I tried to recover but ended up eating like there's no tomorrow. If you starve yourself and push your weight too low, your metabolism slows down and also, you feel constant urges to binge, even when you're eating properly again and back to a normal weight.
 
Gosh, if I have a natural weight, then it packed it's bags and left years ago - but I am hoping we shall be re-united sometime now that I do the SW diet.
 
I have set my target weight at 12 stone for now. I think I will then go for 11 stone but I am 5'4 and they say my target weight is something like 8-9 stone. My boyfriend laughs when they say this to me because I will NEVER get to that, I think I was 8 stone when I was about 8! LOL! I'll be delighted at 11 ston eand very happy at 12.

Besides, I love my big bum and boobies :D
 
I think I've reached my body's setpoint. I don't honestly believe I could ever weigh 8st something (I'm 5'3" and weigh just under 10st) and even 9st something takes some doing. As it is, I'm a curvy size 10. I'd love to be able to shift another half a stone, but my body seems to have just stuck where I am. Occasionally, I'll slip below and if I overeat I'll go above, but a bit of self control and I'll get back to where I am. Until recently, it was the occasional upward blip and then I'd lose some more, but I'm no longer moving downwards, I just hover where I am and have done for the last 4 months or so.

But as I've said before - there's more to slimming than weight loss. You need to look at the measurements too. With exercise, you can change your body shape without necessarily losing lbs.
 
I have the same problem with BMIs :p

according to mine, at 5'3 I should be something like 9 stone. I have NEVER weighed that little. I was 12 stone earlier in the year and a lovely size 12. Didn't look overweight or anything. But according to my BMI I was comfortably overweight.

Have aimed my goal for 11stone 4lbs this time, which is still above my ideal BMI.
But I am a very athletic person, with big thighs and a lot of muscle, so I don't care too much :)

Just remember, most top Rugby players are the fittest people you will come accross, but their BMIs are around 40 ;) You wouldn't dare tell any of them they were fat ;)

x
 
bit sad I know but according to wii fit bmi of 22 i think it is is when statistically people are most healthy.
It's weird trying to set a target weight isn't it? I'm not convinced you ever really know what you look like untill when you look at photos a certain time later. I know a few years back I was very thin (still healthy bmi though) and when I look at photos now I think I don't want to be that thin again but at the time I would have been v happy to loose half a stone!
 
I've been on both sides. Up until the age of 25, my set point weight was so stable, I didn't even know how much I weighed! Then I developed a health problem, and suddenly my set point was - well, I've never been that heavy, I'll put on about 1kg a month until I have to do something about it.

93kg/86kg/66kg
 
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Forget BMI, I find that it isn't suitable for everyone individually as it doesn't take body shapes or frames to account.

If you look in a mirror and like what you see, and are more happy than you have ever been, then you'll know when you have reached your weight goal :)
 
my weight is meant to be under 9 stone, which is silly i look alot better at 10 stone, and im 40 ive been really skinny, looks horrid, im a woman not a child, lol
 
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