The FastDay Forum

I'm 5 foot 8 and a half, and was just wondering the other day what other people my height are, because I was struggling to come up with a realistic target weight.

I've set it at 10 stone (I'm now 10 stone 6lbs after losing quite a bit!) but I was googling for celebrities to see who weighed what and what they looked like at that weight and was quite surprised how little they weigh and still look healthy - Katy Perry for example is apparently 5 foot 8 and weighs only 130lbs (9 stone 4lbs).

Is there anyone else out there my height with a goal in mind?

[wildmissus]

I'm 5' 8" and apple shaped. Currently 13st 5lb, which is too much. Some years ago, when I was 29/30 I got down to a healthy 10st 2lb but it was bordering on too skinny, as judged be my and others. I am now 45 and there is no way I would want to go that low because I know it would make me look ill. I am aiming to settle somewhere between 10st 13lb and 11st 7lb which takes me to a healthy BMI. Remember celebrities aren't 'real' but you and I are.

I'm 5ft 7 and a half, and started off at 73kg.
They say for my age that you should weigh a stone heavier than you weighed when you were in your 20's.
That would make my ideal weight about 10 stones to 10.4.
I'm going to keep going until I can get my waist measurement to within normal limits as I carry my weight around the middle now that I am post menopausal.
I don't honestly think it looks good to be too thin when you get older. I don't want to be scrawny!!

I hope that's not true Bellalou - it was in my 20s that I tipped the scales at 13 stone (my heaviest!)

I think that's where my problem lies really, in that I've never been properly slim all my adult life, so I've got nothing to benchmark my current weight against.

I'm a pear shape so above the waist I'm looking pretty slender now, it's just round my hips and thighs there's still definite podge! I might well get to 10 stone and think I look ill, but I've got to see just once if that's the case or not!

I'm 5'8", a few years ago my weight hovered around the 11 stone mark. I then lost 10kgs and have maintained my weight at around 9 stone 10 ever since. It crept up to 63kgs after Christmas so I decided to try the 5:2 diet. I'm down to 60,5 kgs now (134lbs) and target weight is 57 kgs (around 9 stone), a BMI of around 19. Even at 9 stone 10 I still had a tummy and it is gradually disappearing. I believe Liz Hurley is around 5'8" and 9 stone and she doesn't look ill at this height/weight.

That's interesting Franglaise. I've hovered around the 11 stone mark for many years and figured that was my 'natural' weight.
But now I'm at 10 stone 6lbs I actually feel and look much better I think. Although there is still too much excess stuff round my hips/thighs (will be the last place for it to go I think thanks to my body shape) so I don't think 10 stone is too unrealistic. I'd far rather be towards the lower end of the healthy BMI bracket than the top if only to give myself room for inevitable fluctuations!

I feel a lot better at the lower end of the BMI scale, and just want to get rid of that excess stuff around the tummy and thighs, as you do. If you get to 10 stone you should be a size 10 in clothing and that feels good:) At 11 stone I never felt fat, but was definitely 'big', everyone said how much better I looked after losing 10kgs. I read the Fast Diet book and Mimi Spencer started off with a BMI like mine, 21.4 and felt a lot better when she got down to 19, so hence my aim to get lower. As long as i don't look too thin and haggard (at 47 that is a risk!)
But 10 stone is fine for 5'8 and you will really notice the difference from being 11 stone before. Good luck!

I'm 5 foot 7 and a half, I'm aiming for 10st 7lb ...11st 4lb now,
I was 9st 2lb 20 years ago, and have to say I looked anorexic (but wasn't)...
I will see how I feel when I get to 10-7 in myself and my clothes.

Crikey, I've never been a size 10 in my life! I've always associated size 10 with shorter petite people!!

What body shape are you LynnO?

Oh god no!!! I didn't mean size 10, I meant 10st 7lb
I suppose I'm more pear shapish, even at 9-2 I was still a size 12...wide hips.
mine is more round my middle now (menopot)30 inches last time I measured, but it's slowly going down "back to normal"

Lol! Wish I was! I do think it's interesting to know how others are doing though! If only I was 5ft 8 I'd be about the right weight! Maybe we should have some height related sub support topics!

And there's me always wishing I was shorter (got married in flat shoes so I didn't tower over my husband!)

Lynn0, I was referring to Franglaise's post suggesting that if I got to 10 stone I could possibly be a size 10 in clothing I would never have thought it possible (wide hips also) but I've just been to Next and tried on some size 12 clothes and they really do fit perfectly So maybe there is a size 10 me on the distant horizon there somewhere?

I tried on a pair of 'relaxed' skinny jeans in a 12 and they were so lovely and flattering I almost bought them there and then! Always find proper skinny jeans that bit too uncomfortably tight round the middle normally but these were just right. I didn't buy them as I was conscious they might not fit in a couple of months....

[wildmissus]

Wow, how different we all are. I have slimish legs/hips/bum, a bulging belly, not very big boobs and plenty back fat. At 13st 5lb I am wearing size 14 all over (M & S/Per Una). Yes, I do admit everything is a bit neat round the waist. The comments have been really useful. I don't think I'll get too hung up on target weights. I'll aim to lose half a stone at a time. I agree that I don't want to be at the top end of BMI 25. I guess I need to wait and see how I feel and look when my weight is low enough.

I'm a size 38 in France, which is size 10 in the UK...I think. I have bought size 36 clothes too, Esprit jeans for example which are quite generous in size. It is possible, even for us tall girls. In France there is quite a lot more pressure to be on the thin side (French men like it) and you have to look really hard to find clothes over a size 44 (16+) - they just aren't easily available.

And there's me always wishing I was shorter (got married in flat shoes so I didn't tower over my husband!)

Lynn0, I was referring to Franglaise's post suggesting that if I got to 10 stone I could possibly be a size 10 in clothing :) I would never have thought it possible (wide hips also) but I've just been to Next and tried on some size 12 clothes and they really do fit perfectly So maybe there is a size 10 me on the distant horizon there somewhere?

I tried on a pair of 'relaxed' skinny jeans in a 12 and they were so lovely and flattering I almost bought them there and then! Always find proper skinny jeans that bit too uncomfortably tight round the middle normally but these were just right. I didn't buy them as I was conscious they might not fit in a couple of months....

oh soz good for you with the size 12 jeans

I have a pair I can get into, but look like a muffin...gone wrong!