The FastDay Forum

Echoing the hopes for your daughter @Gillb. And praying that you are okay too. Our weight loss experiences pale in comparison to what you are going through.

This is a question I've been thinking about a lot lately, as I approach what I set, somewhat arbitrarily, as my goal. I looked at my range of healthy weight, using the new BMI calculator, and picked a number in the middle. I figured that I have an average build so that made some sense.

But now I feel that I could stand to lose a little more than the 3.5 pounds I have to go, as of this mornings weighing. Maybe revise my goal another 3 pounds lower. That would put me at a weight I probably haven't been at since my early 20s at least. And I've never been really heavy, just somewhat overweight, in the decades since then. So that would go against what everyone on here has been saying - no one seems to want to weigh as little as they did when they were young. But I think I still would not be skinny at that weight. At all.

It's hard to figure out the most appropriate "number". The advice from scientists is somewhat contradictory.
a) women should keep some "padding" on their frames as they age. It protects against fractures if they fall, for one thing.
b) breast cancer rates are higher among even slightly heavier women. One protection against breast cancer is to be quite thin (Note: my mother had breast cancer at about my age, and just found a lump again, and is being biopsied next week.)

Of course, the strongest advice is to exercise. I need to work on that one...

@Carorees, you might have some insight for me?

Speaking of falls, wendyjane, I took a tumble yesterday (on my way to exercise class) because of some uneven pavement. A skinned knee and some slight aches and pains. Good thing I was wearing a winter jacket and gloves! I think a little extra weight and muscle from years of exercise helped, too.

Thoughts and all the best wishes for your daughter Gillb... Hope she will win the fight against cancer.

For me my goal is in the upper part of normal BMI (25) - I don't have any wish for going down being "slim", because I will never be. I am a pearshape and most of my fat is stuck on my thighs and hips. At the moment my weight is 72,6 kg (last week results) and BMI 25,6 so I am very close now.. will be satisfied to be around 69kg..

Pia

[carorees]

@wendyjane, I think that while being v thin might give some protection against breast cancer, it may increase the risks of other potentially fatal illnesses. The study I linked to above looked at mortality figures, not illnesses. As survival figures for cancer keep improving, perhaps the stats on BMI are altered by this. As we are hoping that fasting will itself give some protection against cancer, and since we know that not being able to sustain the weightloss is a big risk factor, I think we should aim first and foremost for a weight we can sustain easily.

Some down-to-earth advice from you, @Carorees. Seeing that my body seems to be revolting against just losing the last three pounds, I should be patient, get to the original goal (which will put me at a BMI of 22 using the new BMI calculator), switch to maintenance mode, and see what happens.

One of the reasons for not aiming for my weight of 40 years ago is because I suspect the fact that I used to smoke kept my weight down-I haen't done that for over 40 years either!

I have posted on this before but I set my target at a much higher BMI than most seem to aim for - I am 5' 5" and my target was 10st 7lbs, a BMI of just under 25. I am lucky to have an hourglass figure and at target I am a comfortable UK size 12. This weight suits me and I have maintained it quite easily for over three months now, so I think this is the right weight for me. If I was younger I would probably aim to lose another 7 - 14 lbs but at 51 and relatively unwrinkled I feel I would look older if I lost much more.

Gill, your daughter is in my prayers.
After years of reading slimming magazines I noticed that the successful slimmers looked great if there goal weight was their height in cms minus a metre ,for example I am 170 cms so i would look healthy and slim at 70 KGS. The bmi range for my height is 58 kg to 72 KGS. I figured the 58 kg people would be a petite framed woman and the 72 kg would perhaps be a man but after reading this thread I think that anywhere in there would be fine and its personal choice. My goal is 69 KGS and then maybe 66 KGS as this was a comfortable size 12 in my 20s and 30s- we shall see. A happy dilema for me to have next year.
Xxx julianna

I would like to be thin enough that all the fat around the middle is gone for good.

@wendyjane --best wishes to your mother--hope all will be well.

As I'm nearing my target weight, I'm surprised at how bony I am up top (shoulders, neck, face). I wish I could force the weight off my waist and thighs. I'm feeling like I need to start trying to tone up now while I'm getting rid of the last few stubborn kgs.

Well done MaryAnn. If I had your BMI I would be happy, perhaps. I wonder about your post, forcing weight off waist and thighs. I don't know your age but I wonder if we all want to look like 20 year olds and maybe women my age will always be a bit thicker around the waist and thighs? What does child bearing do to our bodies? We do get bombarded by pictures of perfect youth and maybe, I need to learn to accept my body as a 60 year old body; tone up, certainly, but I need to be realistic about it.

Gill, so desperately sorry to hear about your daughter. May you be given strength to do all that you have to do, and may she be given courage and well being.

The last time I was slim was aged seven, after a particularly vicious bout of measles! Predictably my mother fed me up after that, and I've been in the overweight category ever since. I do not want to be slim, really; I don't think it would suit my personality or natural build. I began at 13st 10lb, and am now 12st 13lb, and will probably stop somewhere between 11st 7 and 11st 12, maintaining with 6:1.

I just want to be healthy. As the single mother of a gorgeous daughter who has chosen the precarious career of acting, I need to be around for as long as possible!

I'm just ruminating on this @Manderley. Is it a French calculation? I have always marvelled at the beauty of my French colleagues and how perfectly petite they are. Maybe this calculation is your secret vs. BMI?

I don't know if it's typically French, just that it was what the doctors said 25 years ago. I just search on the internet if it was still accurate and it is. However, I was shocked to see that, for young girls the weight should be 20 kgs less than the height. So it would make my ideal weight at 41

I also discovered all kind of formulas with different ideal weight, it's really crazy. It's in French, but I can give you the link, if you want (and translate it, of course), one even calculate your ideal weight with the circumference of your wrist