Discussion Board

Having been obeese and overweight all my adult life (now 53), how will I know when I have reached my "ideal" weight? I still have a ways to go, but I am thinking positively.

I just picked out a number by one of those weight charts that goes with your height.

I figure my ideal weight will be when I look in the mirror & like what I see. My goal is 132, but I think I want to get to 118. Just because that is always what I wanted to weigh in high school. But I also want to be able to maintain it easily, so will have to wait & see. I need to get to 132 first, but every lb. that leaves me brings me that much closer.

The weight Dr. McDougall gave me comes out to 18.9 on the BMI scale (I use the one at CDC website.) I argued that I hope to be nice and muscular when I get to that point, so surely that would make me weigh more. Nope, he said the same weight.

We shall see. I've got a ways to go yet.

I arbitrarily picked 130 as a decent settling point (BMI 22.3) based on high school weight (I'm 5'4"). I was planning to re-assess then.

I am hovering around that now and don't know how much lower I should try to go for. On the one hand, my BMI isn't very low at all, and I know I still have fat padding. One the other hand, my face and upper body are starting to look gaunt (my collarbones and shoulder blades stand out prominently) and I have drifts/folds of excess skin that I don't have control over that presumably weigh a few pounds. I am also fairly muscular, exercise regularly and ran my first half marathon a week ago. I don't think there is an exact answer.

So anyway, pick a number or a range that seems reasonable from a 1950's chart or one of McDougall's (not what's normal now). Or take what a modern chart has as a recommendation and subtract 10+ pounds. IMO the exact number isn't very important, within parameters. I mean that if you should be 110-120lbs, there's probably no real measurable benefit in one number over the other as long as you stay well within that range. Weight fluctuates on a daily basis by 0-3 pounds even when weighing first thing every morning so if you get yourself tied into thinking EXACTLY 114 or whatever, you could be risking a lot of needless unhappiness.

Good luck!

Chile, your post reminds me of one by Jeff Novick. I do not have the link but I think he cited a study (or studies) that indicate better health and/or longevity associated with a BMI below 20.

Based on my experience, I think the only way for me to reach and maintain that level would be to faithfully follow the MWL program. I have been doing that for a while but I have not yet reached that level.

I intend to reach it but I get discouraging words from my wife and others who think I am too thin. Of course, if you have a BMI of around 20 in the USA...I suppose most people would suspect you have a serious illness!

So you can expect to meet resistance if you decide to achieve and maintain such a BMI...but do it anyway and show them how healthy a lean person can be!!!

Just curious what your BMI is now, where people think you look too thin. I've gotten down to the lowest weight I've been since high school and I think my BMI is at about 20.5 (5'7" 125 lbs, female). I feel thin now even though I still have to get into exercise and tighten everything up that I can. Hard for me to imagine being thin enough to be at 18.5.

Thanks for your reply, TOH!

See http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

I am at about 20.6. You can look at our most recent photos (link below) and tell me if I look healthy or not! Ha ha!

The problem is that if we have carried extra fat and then lose it, we are still stuck with some of the loose skin/wrinkles etc.--not very attractive. However, I think the loss of beauty (HA HA) is a small price to pay for health and possibly greater longevity....

See

http://www.crsociety.org/

Pinkrose. Your link doesn't work.

They worked fine for me.

PinkRose, I think you look fine. If you are doing MWL & not losing, your body probably thinks you are where you need to be. I guess I am a little vain, if I let myself get too thin, I am afraid my skin would be really baggy, especially on my face. I have pretty good elastic skin, but still. Guess maybe men are not as vain or like I have said before, it is fine for a man to have gray hair, wrinkes, etc., but not so much for a woman. I mean a man has gray hair & he is distinguished. A woman, she is an old grandma.

I would have to get down to less than 115 lbs. to have a BMI of under 19. I can't even imagine myself that thin. But as I said, I am just going to play it by ear, get to my 1st goal weight which is 132, then go from there. I need a goal, more than likely I will keep losing.

That's my plan & I am stickin' to it!!!!!!!!!

I posted a reply yesterday but don't see it here now so I'll try again.

The links worked for me. Apparently I am now at 19.6 BMI. I'm not sure I want to focus on what would get me to 18.5 right now, which would be thinner than I can remember...down to 120 or less at 5'7". I need to focus on exercise now which is something I've never liked, other than a little walking which is not enough at this point. It's an important piece that I've struggled with as much as nutrition and which I also need to overcome.

I think you look fine. Like me, you have a thin face and arms which people immediately see and think, oh you're so thin. I agree that if you're eating MWL properly (including to satiation) then your body will decide at what weight it wants to settle and I can't imagine why that wouldn't be just fine.

Let us know how it goes!

I originally picked 140, which is what I weighed in college. That's a BMI of 22.6. But as I lost weight, eating 99% MWL (1% regular plan), I decided, as I passed the 140 point, that since my plan was to keep eating this way (i.e., mostly MWL) forever, I would just wait to see where I settled.

And I settled at 120 (19.4 BMI). Maintaining this weight has been easy since I have changed NOTHING. I continue to eat MWL w/ occasional Regular Plan meals and very occasional feast days (which to me means still vegan but may have some added fat).

Has worked great for me!

It is being said on this board that it must be under 19, 18.something. Being told to skip breakfast, eat 2 meals a day. I am a breakfast eater, I dont always to eat it the second I get up, but I usually eat within an hour of getting up, working or not. I feel for myself, that not eating breakfast would set me up for eating too much later or just going off plan because I get hungry. So I continue to eat it & then dont eat usually until 2:00 or sometimes later. But heck, I dont eat dinner here & there, guess it might be the same thing, but it just isn't something I do everyday.
I remember when you were concerned that you were not stopping losing weight. I also remember Nettie, I think it was her, said the same thing, she got to her goal, but her body said it needed to lose somemore weight. You look great, ET & are an inspiration to us all.

I am doing what you did, setting a goal, then just continuing to eat as I had been, see where it leads me. But to get to a bmi of 18.whatever, I just can't see me weighing less than 115. I am 5'5", I would say I am small-small medium boned, if that makes a difference. But we'll see, because it has been so long since I have even been in that area, let's see, probably when I was in the 8th grade, I think I weighed 110 lbs, so I am keeping an open mind, but not focusing so much on the bmi, just the # on the scale & how I feel & look to myself. This is different for me, it is not a diet, the diet will end & I will gain the weight back. This is a lifestyle & I have made a lot of changes already, I am planning when I will go off McD. I plan on staying on plan for the rest of my life, however long that is.

Whoa. WHO on this board said that it "must" be under 19??? I've never seen that. The lower end of the healthy BMI scale is desired. Beyond that, I've never seen anyone dictate a BMI and certainly not skip breakfast! Jeff, maybe--he has suggested things like that. But that's his own forum, and while a subset of MWL/McDougall, that's not what Dr. McDougall recommends.

Thanks--I remember that too, LOL! But it did eventually stop. I probably could lose more if I NEVER had a feast day and I NEVER had occasional meals w/ tofu or avocado. But I don't want to do that b/c I can't--and won't--keep that up FOREVER. And forever's what it's all about!

Well, that sounds like a pretty good weight to me, but a few pounds above that will be fine, too. The key is to not "diet" to get there. If you are doing something it will be impossible for you to maintain long-term, there's no point in it--why try to reach a weight goal you'll never be able to keep?

Well, that sounds like a pretty good weight to me, but a few pounds above that will be fine, too. The key is to not "diet" to get there. If you are doing something it will be impossible for you to maintain long-term, there's no point in it--why try to reach a weight goal you'll never be able to keep?"

That is what I originally said, that I want to maintain my weight without a struggle. So I will keep my focus on the 132 for now, then see what happens. The other thing, I dont want to be so thin that my face hangs down to my knees. That is a little vanity speaking. I have some Swiss in me so I have some good skin genes, but still, you know what I am saying!!

I am going to have to find a picture of someone who weighs around 115 & then paste a picture of myself on them, maybe then I can get an idea.