How do you know when to stop losing weight

I am being told by everyone around me that I need to stop losing weight. But I am at 154lbs/size 6 - I don't mind being at size 6 but I am still quite heavy based on the lbs. Oh by the way I am only 5 ft 4 and a half inches, not too tall. I know I need to tone but still I believe I could lose some more weight.

Tue. May 6, 10:41pm

I am 5' 4" also, and 154 lbs is still too heavy for that frame. I would say you could still comfortably lose atleast 20lbs. Do a BMI test, I don't think at that height you are even in the normal range you are still in the overweight range.

by the way I am 5'4", and 140 lbs and I wear a size 8, I am not sure what line of clothes you are referring to that would put in a size 6 comfortable.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008, 10:55 PM

I am wearing Levi Straus jeans plus others.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008, 10:59 PM

Keep in mind the your friends and family are used to seeing you with more weight and they think you look overly skinny. But based on your weight and height you are probably not wayyyy tooo skinny. You probably look fantastic and you should be very proud of yourself.

I weigh 130 at 5'4. I still need to lose about 10 - 15 pounds. I am small framed and carry all my weight in my lower half. However, if you are very well proportioned you may not have to lose much more weight. I also suggest you check your BMI.

Good luck!

Tuesday, May 6, 2008, 11:33 PM

You must be in fantastic shape. Or maybe you have fat toes??
I'm the same stats as the OP, hourglass distribution, and am a comfy 10.

Anyway, assuming you're not supermuscley, just keep going until you're under the top limit of the healthy range (140-145 depending on your age), and then see where you stop comfortably - assuming you're losing weight the smart way, that is. You want to find a point where you can eat a satisfying amount of food for your lifestyle and not gain (usually 1600-2000 cals).

Tuesday, May 6, 2008, 11:34 PM

Another rule of thumb is: at 5 feet tall expect 100 to 110 lbs, then add 10 lbs for every inch over 5 feet. Remember, its the leanness you see and clothes fit that determines what's right for you. Don't let the scale tell you when to stop. You look at yourself, with a little help from your most sensible friends, and then you tell the scale what number is right for you to maintain. A couple of signs of being too thin: Hip bones poke out farther in front than your belly, even a little, ribs visible as ripply indentations, esp when relaxed, chin flesh is sunk up under the jaw, cheeks sunken, eyes sunken, collar bone indents look like cups not gentle dents, shoulder blades, esp the center ridges are sharply visible, Top of shoulder has a sharp bump, not a smooth round contour , hand flesh is sunken in bands on the back of the hand, upper arms are as thin or thinner than the elbow bones, same for knee bones and thigh width, completely flat butt - no roundness at the cheeks.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008, 4:56 AM

that rule of thumb doenst work past 5'3'' i think - since I am 5'7'' and 170 would be noticably overweight for me.
however I agree with some PPs that 5'4''/154/size 6 doesnt seem right - maybe OP has really large breasts?

OP are your friends overweight? Often other overweight people harbor ill feelings towards their friends that lose weight out of jealously and depression surrounding their own body. "too skinny" is relative.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008, 9:13 AM

With the height and weight you gave your BMI is 26.4, so according to BMI you are still overweight. Keep working you will get there, stop when you get in the normal range.

BMI Categories:
Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
Overweight = 25-29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

Link

Wednesday, May 7, 2008, 10:16 AM

I think it's time to stop losing weight when losing weight is all you can think about, you live by the scale, and/or you're below what's considered normal for your height. :)

There's no one number (with weight or size) to give you OP. Sizes are all over the place and not a good measure and a good weight for you may be too much or too little for someone else your height.

Listening to those around you can be tricky b/c there may be (unintentional or intentional) sabotage going on.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008, 11:42 AM

I agree with other posters in that you probably aren't WAY too thin. And family/friends are probably used to seeing you heavier, especially if you've lost quite a bit of weight.

My friends and family said the same thing when I was losing weight. They just weren't used to it. Now that I have been at my goal for a couple years everyone is used to it and I don't get the "too skinny" comment that often! However, I do still get it sometimes but I attribute that to the fact that people are honestly used to seeing people that are overweight!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008, 12:04 PM

The 4:56am poster is a bit off - it's 10lbs/inch for a male. It's 5lbs per inch for a female. In the 1950's/1960's, the ideal was 100 lbs at 5 feet, and 5lbs per inch over that. So, 5'4" would be 120 lbs, ideally.

However, also remember that at that time, women were discouraged from being athletes, and muscle mass was very unladylike. Times have changed since then, so if the additional weight is muscle, you are still ideal. If it is flab, then you are not. According to this standard, anyway.

That standard is in the normal range of BMI for women between 5'0" and 6'0" (I didn't test it for any shorter or taller; probably works then too), but is in the lower half of the normal range for shorter women, and gets up to the middle as the height/weight increases (BMI of 21.7 if you're 6' tall and 160 lbs, vs. BMI of 19.5 if you're 5'0" and 100 lbs. Normal BMI is 18.5 to 24.9.)

Wednesday, May 7, 2008, 12:47 PM

when you feel great, have energy & stamina, clothes fit well and people compliment you all the time on how nice you look

forget about the charts that list what you should weigh at a certain height

Wednesday, May 7, 2008, 5:15 PM

OP here,

Thank you 5:15 I do feel good about myself, I don't believe charts work well for me.

9:13 yes most of my friends are overweight but not all, I agree that some are jealous but not all.

4:56 my mother says I have the cheeks sunken, although I don't see it and others around do not, but all that is good to know, thanks.

11:34 I thank you, I find it funny about the fat toes because I know its not in my fingers because I went from size 8 ring to size 5 ring, so maybe toes could still be fat. lol

Just for others info I have a 28 inch waste, 36 inch hips and 38 inch bust, so yes top heavy.

Thank you all for your comments

Wednesday, May 7, 2008, 9:04 PM

I am just curious - how much weight have you lost?

Thursday, May 8, 2008, 9:00 AM

Op here- lost 70 lbs

Thursday, May 8, 2008, 10:37 AM

wow - good for you!!!! Keep up the good work, stay healthy - keep healthy as your focus and what feels right for you, not what is right for others, including your mother - mom's sometimes send wrong messages.

Thursday, May 8, 2008, 10:40 AM

Am I the only person who has noticed the sly digs on this thread? People can be the same height and look the same weight but weigh 10,15,20lbs different. Im 5'4'' and 132lbs and if i lost 10lbs I would look awful and I know this as I have been there. The same goes if i put on 10lbs. And why cant she be a 6 if she weighs 154????
OP if you feel comfortable in your clothes and your hip to waist ratio is within the healthy range (look it up hunni) then go to maintaining. If you would like to lose a bit more its up to you. Dont listen too much to what others say as some can be jealous and others think all people are the same. The wrld would be a boring place if we were all the same. Congrats and stay healthy.

Thursday, May 8, 2008, 1:17 PM

Thanks, pp, you are so right! This is a site to be happy for each other rather than jealous!

OP, a size six is great! And you lost an incredible amount of weight. My advice would be: maintain your current weight for a while and let your mind catch up with your current body. Get used to your new, tiny shape! Get comfortable with it and enjoy it! And then figure out if you're happy with it or if you want to make that a size four! :)

Thursday, May 8, 2008, 1:29 PM

Good idea pp, that's exactly what I did. I had lost about 100 lbs and kept it off for several years. A bit crept back on and I decided I wanted to lose that plus some more. I was a size 6 (5 ft 2 and 140 lbs) and wanted to get down a bit more. I was pleased that I had maintained MOST of my loss for so long and adapted to my new size. Then more recently, about 6 mos. ago, decided to take it further. Lost another 25 lbs and feel really good and am now between a 2 and a 4. However, to 4:56, you really can't go by the description you gave either. Some parts of my body like my hands and my shoulder blades, tops of my shoulders etc sound just like you describe but I STILL have a bit of a "shelf" above my butt (I have a disease called "noassatall" LOL!) but I do have the shelf above it! And I still have thighs that need to go away so you really can't tell by other parts that may be skinnier because as I'm sure you've heard before, you can't spot burn/lose and you can't choose where you lose! If I could, I'd take it from that shelf and put it back where my boobs used to be! LOL!

Great job to you OP! Congrats on all your hard work, you should be very proud of yourself! Go with what ever feels best to you! Remember, it will take time for other people as well as yourself to get used to seeing the new you!

Thursday, May 8, 2008, 3:36 PM

bmu says im fat, but im 6' 200 lbs and all muscle, the bmi doesnt take much
into consideration

Thursday, May 8, 2008, 9:33 PM

OP- Thank you I believe I will stop right now and see how I feel about it later, I know how to lose the weight so I got that going for me. I guess no point in getting way to thin. I do need for my mind to catch up, I definitely don't see what others are saying about me. My mother actually said I look as small as those 3 girls left on Survivor, and I believe 2 of the 3 are way too thin so if I truly look like that maybe it is time for me to stop. lol Others say I look fantastic, currently I have a shape, I believe and don't want to lose that so no I won't be a size 0 but I never really wanted to be. THanks again all.

Saturday, May 10, 2008, 10:21 AM

If you eat healthily (not starving yourself or binge-eating) and keep up some regular exercise, your body should find its healthy weight. And only you know when you're happy with how you look and feel. That should be a better guide than charts and numbers.

Monday, May 12, 2008, 6:07 AM

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