I just left Fitday.com. I looked at their height/weight chart and it is different from others I have seen. I am 5'5" and have set my goal weight at 125lbs, yet according to their chart this is barely in the healthy weight range. Other charts I have looked at show my goal to be right in the middle. I know that each of our bodies supposedly will eventually find its best weight, but now I am a little confused. I am very small boned, and am wondering, do I need to set my goal weight even a little lower to keep myself in a really safe weight range.

I appreciate any and all thoughts you have on this.

You really need to get closer to what you want to look and feel like to know what is right for you.

My goal was 145 when I started LCing but what I wished for was being in a size 10.

Well I was a size 10 at 160lbs.

So knowing this and my body as it is now, I know I wish to lose another size. More body fat - not neccessarly more lbs.

This will be an ongoing changing process for you.

Pick something realistic now and then look at yourself as you get closer.

All the best to you.

I am 5'5 and my goal weight is 145. I wear a size 5/6 at 145 and that is plenty small for me. I am medium boned (says the doctor), and at 35 years old, think 145 is about right. I wouldn't worry so much about what the charts say, just take it 5-10 pounds at a time and see how you feel! Those charts give quite a range of weights because people are built so differently! Your loss so far is wonderful! I can't wait to get to where you are now. Take care!

Ideal body weight is a very individual thing. I am VERY small boned yet I have a lot of muscle, so when the charts tell me I should weigh 120-127 (5'6"), I am actually more comfortable at 135 and a size 8. Pre-pregnancy I weighed about 125 and was a size 5 or 7 but my body has changed and I don't think I would look right at that weight anymore (too skinny for me).

Your ideal weight should be the weight that makes you comfortable in your own skin!

I'm having trouble with this too. Three times in the last two days, several people have told me that I don't need to lose much more weight or I will be too thin. Now I'm at 176, so I KNOW I need to lose more and a size 12 is comfortable on me, but I feel better at an 8/10 (preferably an 8). I've struggled with a goal weight and chose 135 because its less than I was even in high school (148) and in high school I thought I was fat...lol. Of course at 148 I was in a size 12 and since later at 155 I was in an 8, I know my body has changed. I just don't know what to shoot for. We need goals in order to get there, but everyone is telling me that another 41 lbs. would make me look anorexic. Maybe I should shoot for 148-149. Hmmm...I'm off to change my goal weight...lol.

L

I think a lot of people have misconceptions about what we actually weigh. People look at me like I'm nuts when I say I have fifty pounds to lose. Then I tell them I weigh over 190 and they can't believe that either. Jeez, all I have to do is look at a picture of myself and know I look fat. I bet you will look great at 145!

I think maybe you're reading the fitday chart wrong -- 125 is actually a little below the midpoint of the healthy weight range chart. That chart is based on BMI, and "normal" weight for 5' 5" (e.g between 18.5 and 24.9 BMI) is 111-149 lbs, which pretty much tallies with the Fitday chart.

That said, I think it's much better to set weight goals by body fat%, since that is much more reflective of frame size and musculature than the number on the scale. Lots of people set weight goals that may not even be realistic, based on their lean body mass. For example, I'm also 5'5", but I have 107 lbs of lean mass, and I would only be at 14% if I weighed 125 -- and that's a very low body fat, almost dangerously so -- so that's probably not a very realistic weight for me. However, if you've only got 97 lbs of muscle mass (the average for 5'5"), 125 would put you at 22% bf (with "ideal" being 18-22%), and you might even want to go a tad lower, especially if you're young. I'd definitely recommend that you get your body fat measured at a gym or a doctor's office, or purchase a Tanita body fat scale, and use your lean body mass to determine an appropriate goal.