how much should you weigh?

S

skyler1

New member
I know this question has been looming out there so figured i'd start a thread to see what others know and dont know so many we can use each other to figure out what makes sense. obviously bodyfat % is the best way to measure your fit-ness and healthiness but since i dont have a caliber to test it at home, i assume most of us are using those wonderful scales :( .

SO, i've read that your goal weight should be (100 + )5 lbs for every inch you are over 5 feet. Not sure if this is bogus or not??

Sooooooo, I'm 5'5'' and i technically should weigh 125 by that theory.

Anybody have any thoughts, theories, or stories here? how did you pick your goal weight?
 
I personally do not let a scale tell me how much I weigh. I use my clothes to show my body flows.

Even though I'm contradicting myself, I'm 5'5 as well. I weight around 145. My goal weight is 130 though. Right now I wear a size 9 in pants and I would like to get down to a 5. I've been there before but I gained back.
 
I don't think that sounds right. I am six feet tall. 160lbs would be very, very skinny for me. I am shooting for a BMI around 23 or so. I would be happy with any weight from about 175 to 180. I would like 175 but would even accept 183.

All of this sounds like dream talk when I am 240...:(
 
Hmm goingby the 5lb for every inch I'd have to weight 110lb at 5,2 which is very much at the lower end of the BMI index which lists my ideal weight as being 122.:D
 
I guess that is a guideline to give you an IDEA of what you should weigh... I'm 6'1 and me @ 165 will be hard to get to, but I think I could. 175 is my goal weight.... if I feel like I could lose so more weight once I am there, then I will try to get down to 170
 
I've always heard the 5 lb. for every inch after 5 ft. guideline too. However, I know that your frame size does matter there too. That's the guideline for someone who has a medium sized frame, but it increases by 10% for those with a large frame, and it decreases by 10% for those with a small frame. I have a small frame and at 5'6 I should weight 117 (which is how much I weigh now). I do not in any way look too skinny or unhealthy. Of course, this is kind of a general guideline just like the BMI is a general guideline. The only way to really know how much you should weigh is to get your body fat percentage.
 
I think it depends on what your definition of "ideal" weight is. If it is fitting into size 4 or having certain measurements, its going to be one thing. If it is certain fat %, then it is another (yes, you'd have to buy calipers, but I don't think they are that expensive!). If you just want to be healthy, then there is a rather large weight range at which your body can function at the optimum level and be at low risk of weight-related problems.

So, I think its a personal thing. For me, I don't know if I'd ever be able to get to size 4 and feel like I'm not starving or overstressing my system, so I am loosing weight in steps. My first step is to get to 125, and then measure my fat% and inches, and based on that re-evaluate whether I could loose more or whether I should maintain that number. It will depend a lot on how I feel energy-wise. My main goal is to maximize health, energy, fitness and strength, and whatever number on the scale that is I don't really know, but I hope that I would be able to feel it when I get there.
 
I think thats a really bad measurment. I went to a fitness instructor and he told me my ideal weight would be 70 kgs (154 lbs)... and I am 5'4. But.. I also don't have a small frame.. I weightlift and have really damn nice muscles on my arms and legs. Remember, muscle weighs more than fat. Ideal weight is not something that is a one fit all kind of thing. Personally I suggest going to a fitness instructor and asking him what would be ideal for you. If you have a thick frame like me... it may not be as low as you think.
 
I chose my goal weight based on when I was most comfortable with my appearance. Many many years ago back when I came home from a summer camp I was attending (I was 15 at the time) I dropped some weight from all the running around and swimming etc. I weighed 165lbs when I got of the bus, my boyfriend at the time looked shocked and very happy, I looked pretty darn good. So I thought I'd like to weigh that again. I consulted my doctor, he said that would be a healthy weight for me and boom it was done. Goal weight 165lbs :D
 
According to the 5 pounds per inch I would have to weigh 140, that's at least 40 lbs below my goal weight, mind you I want to have a pretty muscular body. 140... last time I was that weight was probably when I was 10-12 years old.
 
I'm just going by what the doc said for my height which is 5'7. She told me that anywhere between 118-145 is ideal, so I'm going for 120 :D
 
I'm 4'11" so does that mean I have to be 95lbs??

I don't think that theory is correct ... if you calculate your BMI a person for my hight has to be between 114 - 125 for normal weight.
 
i dont go by what others say, according my MBI im already in a healthy weight range...

but i set my own weight goal to weigh 70kg

i am currently 76, so not long to go, but i heard the last few kg's are the hardest to lose :(
 
iv decided to go by what the doctor says according to them my ideal weight is about 9 stone 4 so im aiming for 10 stone, nice even number after all..... im curently.... well a lot bigger than that lol... you would be able to see how much bigger on my ticker if i could figure out how to get it to show on my post, can anyone help me???? lol
 
ok,

So I'm 5ft 7 (169cm so I bit less than 5ft 7) so does it means I should weight 135 pounds? That is 61Kgs.

My current weight is 167 pounds and body fat according to the scales is 20%.

If I should be 135 pounds my body fat at that stage would be 16% body fat? Is that right?

Because honestly, I can't see myself at 61Kg (135pounds) AT ALL!!!!!

Please can someone comment my observation?

Thank you
 
I dont believe anyone should use "weight" to decide what is healthy and what isnt. BMI is the most important.
 
I think the weight charts are bogus -- they don't take into account your body type or your body fat percentage.

Calipers to measure your body fat are available for the grand sum of $17, including shipping. You can get a pretty good measurement -- certainly much more accurate than any scale will give you - from a single site on your body, the suprailiac skinfold. Along with the calipers, you'll get a conversion chart. Nothing could be easier.

Once you have your body fat pctg., you can get your lean body mass. From this, you can calculate your goal weight.

Example from my stats: current weight = 244; body fat pctg = 28

fat mass = 244 x 28% = 68.3 lbs.
lean mass = 244 - fat mass = 175.7 lbs.
my target body fat pctg = 11.7%
my target lean pctg = 88.3%
goal weight = lean mass / 88.3% = 175.7 / .883 = 199 lbs.

What this formula tells me is that if I don't want to be quite so aggressive on the body fat pctg., and I go for 17%, my goal would be around 212 lbs.

For a man my age, 17% body fat is still considered "lean", so that would make me quite proud.

The lean body fat pctg for men depends on age. If you're 20 yrs. old, it's 7% or less; of you're 58 like me, it's 19% or less. For women, if you're 20, it's 18% or less; if you're 55 +, it's 26% or less.

By the way, this also shows what's wrong with BMI, which after all, is nothing more than an index based on height and weight, and also doesn't have anything to do with body type or lean mass. If I got down to my 17% body fat at 212 lbs., I would still have a BMI of 28, which is considered overweight.

In reality, of course, as I get closer to my goal, I will have lost some of my lean muscle mass as well. I'm trying to prevent that by losing weight slowly (about 3 lbs. a month) and doing a full body weight routine every 4 days. But some of it is bound to go. That will mean I'll have to recalculate as I go along, and it's possible that a 17% body fat percentage would mean 205 lbs. as my lean mass decreases somewhat.
 
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It makes sense

It does make sense the caliper thing. But with your information I can calculate my body fat percentage don't I?

if your weight is 244 and bf is 28%. Then if my weight is 167 my body fat will be 167x28/244 so bf is 19.16%. Therefore my weight watchers scale that says I'm 20% bf is right!!! So I can trust my scale and save:) a few $$$ heheh
 
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