How do you know when its enough?

Nightwolf

Full Member
Everyones weight is differant, but how do we determine what weight we should be? I mean how do we judge it ourselves? I believe the BMI system is utter garbage, as my suggested weight is totally ridiculous for my body type, I would look anarexic, and my partner is the same, her BMI thats suggestedis rubbish. What do you measure off of what you want to be? is it clothes sizes? inches, or what?
 
Personally I go off what I feel is right for me, if I got down to my ideal weight (according to the BMI) then I think I would be look like a skeleton & be unhealthy, everyone is different & I do also think that your body will tell you when it is right to start maintaining what you have lost without being ill.
 
I think the most important aspects are to be healthy and happy! Weight is a very individual thing and everyone carries weight differently.

I totally agree about the BMI not being ideal. I'm 5ft 10 with a large frame and if i was to reach what they suggest i would look ill and can't imagine i would be very healthy.

I think if your healthy, exercise regularly and don't feel your weight is an issue then thats a good sign that your near the end of your journey.
 
I agree that BMI is not ideal as it doesnt take into account frame or muscle mass-so you can have a very fit runner with a BMI above 30 as they have a lot of muscle but are deemed overweight which is madness! Waist measurements can be useful, but for me it is how I feel, and my general fitness level-running up a flight of stairs without needing oxygen at the top! lol
 
My other half got up to 16 stone which was heavy for his 5 ft 10 frame. According to 'recommended guidelines' he should have been between 12 and 12 and a half stone. That's wayyyyy too skinny for his build. He's now about 13 stone 2 and is comfortable at that. He doesn't look overweight at all, but if he went to the Dr's they'd tell him he was.

Go by how comfortable you feel in your clothes and how you feel health wise. I think there's far too much focus in the medical world on 'magic numbers' of what you should and shouldn't be.
 
I've just been on a BMI website to see what weight I'd have to be to be in the healthy range and it was 11st. I don't think that's too bad. I want to get down to 10st which would put me smack bang n the middle of the healthy range. That seems achievable and reasonable to me :cool: I have 1st 8lb to lose to reach the 'healthy' level.
 
I'm at a "healthy" BMI but still feel too big. I've a couple of pounds to drop but I think I'm going to add another two or three to goal and work towards that, which will probably get me to a 22 BMI.

The lowest healthy weight for my height (5ft 0.75in) is about 7 stone and a little bit but if I was anywhere near that I'd look ill. My friend was 53kg (something over 8stone, I think) and she is the same height as me and was far too thin. Sad thing was, I was jealous!
 
My target is a clothes size... I want to be a size 12, which I was at 16 and I know what weight I was then, so that is my current target, but I know full well that it is likely to change as I near or reach it.

I would like to be a size 12 (am now a large 16) by then end of this year. Fingers crossed!!!

I honestly think you have to do what is right for you.
 
I've worked out that the lowest weight I could go and still remain in the 'healthy' BMI zone would be around 8 stone 7,which I reckon woud just look wrong on me! I think I was just over 8 stone when I was 16 and everyone kept telling me I looked far too thin.

Anyway my current BMI is in the healthy zone but I don't feel I'm quite where I want to be yet.. I'd be happy to hover around the 10 stone mark, give or take 2 pounds... but I don't know how I will feel or look until I'm there - it's so hard to predict the weight that will suit you isnt it?

Also another thing to bear in mind with BMI - it doesnt take into consideration you bust size! Boobs can weigh a lot!
 
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I struggled with exactly this question for almost my entire weight loss. I imagined that I wanted to be somewhere between 10 and 10 1/2 stone, a size 12 - but had no real idea if that would be achievable or realistic for me. So, in my head, my target was 10st 4lb, to allow me to be 10st1-10st7 target range.

But I remember being about 10st 11 for weeks and weeks and weeks - it was clear that my weight was staying the same, but my body was changing. I was now comfortably in size 12 jeans, and was getting irritated that I couldn't seem to get past the 10st11 barrier. I tried everything - I was being 100% already, but I used SE and EE - any plan to get it shifted.

What was becoming clear though was whilst I didn't know when to call target, I knew I wasn't there yet, and I had to keep at it for a bit longer...

Then, one morning a few weeks later, I woke up and caught myself in the mirror and liked what I saw. I was the shape and size I wanted to be. My decision was made, I would do 100% for the next couple of days and call target regardless of what weight I was.

I told the weigh in girl I was calling target before I stepped on the scales (which she thought was rather odd), and it showed me at 10st 9, a loss of 1st 13.5lb. My Consultant has never understood why I called target that night (nor it must be said has she ever asked), but always jokes that it was a really odd weight to call target on (surely another 1/2lb would have been neater!)

So how did I know what was right for me? - For the first time in my adult life I was 100% happy with what I saw. The numbers stopped mattering, and that made my decision for me.
 
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I go by clothes size. At a size 12 I was happy with myself even though I was higher than my "recommended" weight of 9.5 - 11.5 stone! At 10.5 I would be all skin and bone never mind 9.5!
 
I look ill if I go below 10st. My doctor once told me many years ago that my ideal weight would probably be about 10st 4lb. When I was about 19 and a huge party animal I weighed about 9 and a half stone and looked emaciated in my face. My body looked great but my face looked like I belonged in a concentration camp with gaunt cheeks and hollow eyes....not attractive. I naturally have chubby cheeks and high cheek bones and big eyes. So I do need a little weight on my face to look attractive.
 
I want to look like I do in photos of myself when I was in my early twenties. I was about 8.5 stone and looked great. Though at the time I was really wishing I could lose another half stone or more. Therefore I'll be happy to get to just below 9 stone as I don't think I'll ever look exactly like I did then, especially as I'm twice that age. If I could get down to 8.5 stone I'd be even happier, but I'll see how my weight loss goes and how I look.
 
In my early 20's I went to WW after having my 1st child and got down to 9st 8lb. I felt fabulous! And stayed there for ,,,,oh at least 2 weeks! I've never been below 11 and a half stone for 20 years, and now I want to get into the 10's and be a size 14.
 
I'm currently 11st 7 and a size 12/14.

According to BMI, my healthiest weight would be 10 stone (a BMI of 22).

Personally I want to go a bit further and get to 9st 7 as this was how much I weighed at 18 (nearly 3 years ago now!!). I was a size 10 and very body confident
 
I don't really want to go by the BMI system either.....I want to get to 10 and a half stone (which is my upper healthy BMI apparently), but if I get to a point where I'm body happy before that then I will stop.

I really do think you need to make an approxiamte goal but listen to yourself when hyou feel happy at what you are :)
 
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