Let me firstly say thank you for everyone's support so far. It has been a tremendous help in my first week of LCing to read about other people's successes and struggles, and has given me inspiration towards my goal.

Sorry to hog the space by asking lots of questions, but I've got one more quick one if some one can help.

I am 5ft 11 and am currently about 178lbs. I've set my target goal for 155 (although I'd probably like to be a little less). Does anyone know the healthy range for this height, given that I am quite a muscular and reasonably large build.

It's a little scary setting the goal of 155 even. I don't think I've weighed that little since I was 12. Anyway, your thoughts are appreciated.

Cheers

SG

Hi Stargirl! Height/weight charts are pretty meaningless, in my opinion. Determining if your body fat % is within an acceptable range for your gender is much better. There are many threads on this site addressing how to determine your body fat %, and the results vary widely! Having a large frame as you do...be sure to use a method that takes into account your wrist measurements, height, & weight.

It sounds like you feel that you are at an acceptable weight for your height and body structure. I can't imagine anyone trying to get back to the weight that they were at age 12!!!! You know your body....listen to it & don't worry about numbers on a scale.

Hi Stargirl,

Although not always appropriate (depending on the individual's build) BMI (body mass index) scales are pretty universally used.
A healthy BMI is either 20-25 or 18.5-25, depending on who you listen to (more confusion).
BMI is calculated from your height in kilograms divided by your height in metres squared.
All of this is a long way of going about saying, yes, 155 is an excellent goal for someone of your height. This would give you a BMI of 21.6. In fact, you're officially not overweight now, although that gives no-one the right to say you cannot lose weight if you wish!
A BMI range of 20-25 for a person 5 feet 11, is 143 to 179 pounds. I didn't sit down with my calculator I used this site.

Good luck StarGirl.

Rosebud

I think BMI might be close to accurate if you have average build, average bones, and don't exercise much

It's a tool designed for a quick rough estimate to the average condition of individuals.

It does not factor things like gender, muscle mass, small frame, medium frame or large frame. The old tables from insurance companies at least offer those options.

Many athletes would be classified as obese under the BMI formula, due to their muscle mass.

Unfortunately, there aren't many accurate methods to detrmine body fat. But there are some that are close enough. Even if they reading is somewhat off, they are quite good as a reference point. Like the body fat tables in Protein Power. Some are available online, like this:

http://www.linear-software.com/online.html

Wa'il

Melissa,

thank you for your response and advice. Just to clarify I was always a very fat kid, and my comment about returning to the weight I was a twelve is more about anxiety related to setting a goal that I have never achieved as an adult. It is hard to imagine myself as something I've never been before.

thanks again

SG

I hope to weigh considerably LESS than I did when I was 12! I was over 200 pounds by the time I was that age.

If you truly are large framed, then the Met Life tables would indicate that you should weight somewhere in the 155 to 175 range. More if you are quite muscular as well.

I would also recommend working more with body fat percentages in your case - and using a method that involves numerous measurements including the wrist or elbow bone width.

But even more so, go with how you feel about yourself - being careful not to let yourself fall into the trap of feeling the way that society has conditioned you to feel. Not easy.

Good luck!