Brilliant Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I have been the same height - just shy of 5'6" - since my teens. When I was 20, I thought about 118# was the perfect weight (and all my friends told me so). When I was 30, I thought about 128# was the perfect weight (and all my friends told me so). When I was 40, I thought about 138# was an OK weight (and all my friends told me so). So which is it? I am trying to exercise and eat right and lose a few pounds - maybe get close to 130. I don't think anything lower would be possible for me to maintain. I am trying to picture myself at 128 or 118 and can't imagine where the weight would come off. So why did I *need* to be 118 in college? Why do my friends say I look great? Are they all liars? Am I lying to myself when I look in the mirror? Does our body shape change that much? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom26 Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I was just wondering the same thing myself...I am 10 pounds heavier than when I got pregnant with our 1st 16 years ago yet I look at pictures then and think I looked heavy and am in better shape now than I was then. I am 23 pounds heavier than when I got married--I was very thin then but I'm only 5'2" and I can't even imagine losing that much wt to get down to my young married wt. According to the charts, I am a healthy wt but it does boggle my mind...I'd love to hear others thoughts on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I don't know. :confused: I was 123 in college and very, very athletic, and now 20 years later I am 125...and still want to lose 5 lbs LOL. I am muscular so I always feel I look too big. But DH says I look great so maybe it's just being a self-criticizing female. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Just wait 10 more years and you will have 10 more pounds. :glare: Anyhow, I am not really sure. Weight is weird. I have been 5'7 since puberty but I have weighed anywhere from 105 to 150. A few years ago I went from 145 to 115 in about 2 months. I did not look good. I looked emaciated and yet I weighed 10 lbs less than that as a teen when I apparently looked good. Even when I managed to gain back 10 lbs and reach 125, I still didn't look good. It wasn't until I hit about 135 that I started looking normal and healthy again. Now I weigh about 145 and I am starting to look a little plump. I one dd who is my height and she weighs 120 lbs. which is 15 lbs more than I weighed when I was her age yet she is a size 1 and I was a size 5. Of course, it is distributed a little differently but I have seen people the same age, height and weight that looked totally different and wore radically different sizes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilliant Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 I was just wondering the same thing myself...I am 10 pounds heavier than when I got pregnant with our 1st 16 years ago yet I look at pictures then and think I looked heavy and am in better shape now than I was then.... Yes, that's what brought this question on for me, too! We are pulling out old photos to work on a slide show of dd's life for her graduation/18th birthday. I am looking at myself in old photos, in which I weigh less than I do now, and thinking: "I look really fat!" (maybe it's the clothing choices; some of those high-waisted pants with pleats really add volume to the stomach area!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in WI Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I have been the same height - just shy of 5'6" - since my teens. When I was 20, I thought about 118# was the perfect weight (and all my friends told me so). When I was 30, I thought about 128# was the perfect weight (and all my friends told me so). When I was 40, I thought about 138# was an OK weight (and all my friends told me so). So which is it? I am trying to exercise and eat right and lose a few pounds - maybe get close to 130. I don't think anything lower would be possible for me to maintain. I am trying to picture myself at 128 or 118 and can't imagine where the weight would come off. So why did I *need* to be 118 in college? Why do my friends say I look great? Are they all liars? Am I lying to myself when I look in the mirror? Does our body shape change that much? I don't know if it's ok or we just give up. :lol: I never dieted or exercised when I was in my 20s. I ate terribly & drank too much and I weighed 125. I looked amazing on my honeymoon, if I do say so myself! :D Now, I've been dieting and exercising (aerobic+strength) like crazy to lose this baby weight (10 months post-partum), and the scale hardly budges. I was so happy to see 139 this morning, but I still have bulges over my jeans, bra-line, etc. It's driving me crazy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Metabolism slows down as we age. That's one of the biggest culprits, then add in other potential physical restrictions, and its a pretty 'normal' thing. Add in pregnancies, etc... I weigh less than I did when I married, (8 yrs this Sunday!) but its not deliberate on my part, just the way things happened. I've actually been bracing myself for a huge weight gain since developing RSD has seriously inhibited by ability to manage any physical activity longer than 15 mins at a time, but so far it hasn't happened...yet, anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nono Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Well, for me it's because my skin doesn't look good when I'm too thin. I used to be able to get to 110. I still could. NO I won't. It looks bad. Skin looses elasticity, and well, it hangs. At 45+ it's hanging. It won't get better. So enjoy a little more weight, within reason. It smoothes out the wrinkles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Well, for me it's because my skin doesn't look good when I'm too thin. I used to be able to get to 110. I still could. NO I won't. It looks bad. Skin looses elasticity, and well, it hangs. At 45+ it's hanging. It won't get better. So enjoy a little more weight, within reason. It smoothes out the wrinkles! This is excellent reasoning. I also like to think that holding on to a little extra weight as we age is an evolutionary advantage. Perhaps, elders used to have a harder time procuring enough food so their metabolisms slowed down to allow them live on fewer calories and store some fat for future needs. I just thought of that earlier. It works for me. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 I don't feel any differently about acceptable weight as I age. I have swung within a few pounds of 112 since I was 17 (excepting pregnancy and the months following, I gain a LOT when pregnant), and that's where I plan to stay. Lower than 110 is getting too thin and higher than 114 is too big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 I think it can be various things- there is a hidden epidemic of underactive thyroids- that can slow things down. Add stress and burned out adrenals, insulin resistance...basically, the typical American (and Australian) diet isn't conducive to long term health. In fact its killing people fast and we are the first generation that probably wont live as long as our parents- due to preventable, degenerative diseases such as diabetes. Also, we live in a toxic environment, eat toxic food, put toxins on our skin- our liver has to deal with that- and shoves the toxins into our fat cells as well. I was stacking on weight last year till I went on Weight Watchers and then the NoSDiet - the thing is as you get older, unless you are athletic, you really need to eat less- but we don't tend to. And permasnacking is unhealthy because our bodies never get a break from digesting. I weigh 5kgs more than I did till my mid thirties- but thats better than the 10kgs more I weighed till around December. I recognised that if I didn't reign in my eating habits, I was just going to keep stacking on the weight because even a kg a year (2.5 pounds) is a lot of weight over a decade or 2. I like my weight now- I feel good at 57 kgs. WHen I was only 52 kgs- through my twenties and early thirties- I thought i was fat and was far more self critical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knit247 Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 I am 5'8". I was 126 lbs./sz. 4 and fit at high school graduation. Eight years later, when we got married, I was very fit and weighed 134 lbs. / sz. 4/6. Five years later, when I got pg. with DD#1 I was 160 lbs. / sz. 10. Actually I was in a sz. 10 with the buttons on my pants undone b/c I refused to buy sz. 12s :lol: That was too much for me to weigh - I was starting to look pudgy. After DD#2 was born I went from 220 lbs. (at her birth) to 160 lbs. in a little over a year. I felt fantastic, was easily in a sz. 12 and headed towards a sz. 10. For some (mental, not medical) reason I suddenly ballooned myself up to 223 lbs. :banghead: For the past 4-5 years I have stayed in the low 200s / sz. 16/18 - and I hate it. I am currently using the NoS Diet (on-and-off, if I am being honest) to lose weight. I started losing right away, freaked myself out again for some reason, and re-gained the 9 lbs. that I just lost. My goal weight - from when I was in Weight Watchers - is something like 120-160. I am aiming for 140 lbs. and believe that that will put me in a sz. 10 (maybe an 8 for skirts and dresses - my waist is small even when I am overweight). I can not imagine how sickly I would look if I got down to my high school weight of 126 lbs. So - that is my long-winded answer to the question! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom26 Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Yes, that's what brought this question on for me, too! We are pulling out old photos to work on a slide show of dd's life for her graduation/18th birthday. I am looking at myself in old photos, in which I weigh less than I do now, and thinking: "I look really fat!" (maybe it's the clothing choices; some of those high-waisted pants with pleats really add volume to the stomach area!) That's so funny b/c I have one picture in mind that I think I look fat too and I weighted like 110 pounds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 mentioned that as women age, they put on a bit of weight, and that weight tends to serve them well to ease the transition through menopause, as fat cells produce small amounts of estrogen (and other hormones? not sure...) I have decided to work on fitness, range of motion, flexibility as priorities rather than being a certain weight or having a certain sculpted shape--especially the shape part--I just couldn't be bothered. Strength and stamina to do what I want, the flexibility to do it safely, and overall good health are my priorities. The one thing I lament and can't seem to fix is the way my balance (inner ear sensory mechanisms) has changed. I can work on balance for everyday tasks, but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to swing again (on swings at the park :glare:) without feeling nauseous. Sigh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThelmaLou Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 I had a friend whose mom always said that it looked bad to be too skinny as an older woman. She thought you should gain a few pounds over the years. (And she wasn't just saying it because she was overweight. In fact, she was fairly thin.) That being said, I do think there are some advantages. My mom had an overweight friend who had some pancreas problems. Once she was admitted to the hospital, she started dropping weight very quickly. I shudder to think what would have happened if she hadn't had those stores of fat to draw from. I can see that because of illness in your later year you could use some extra fat stores. Makes sense to me, anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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