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Real Life Nutrition Questions Answered

Real Life Fitness Questions Answered

Emma Brown
Nutritionist

Janet Aylott
Nutritionist

Kelly Marshall
Fitness Consultant

Q.

What should my target be?

I wonder if you can help....as long as I can remember I have fluctuated between 11 and 11.5 stone - which is the top of my BMI as I'm 5'7". In March I noticed I was 12 stone 5 and so decided to do something about it. I expected to struggle to get below 11 stone as I assumed this was what my body 'liked' but set my target to 10 stone to see how I did.

I'm now at 10 stone 4 - so 10 stone is in sight, but I'm learning why people get addicted to weight loss, cause I could keep on going! What is the best way to decide on what my target should be? I'm happy that I am in a much more healthy range now - with flexibility to put on a few pounds without worrying, but equally I can see that in some ways it wouldn't hurt to lose a bit more.

I have noticed that people have very different ideas on here about what targets should be - just by looking at people. Is there a good way to decide? Should I just wait for my body to stop? Should I keep going??

It's probably a silly question, I just wondered if there is any advice you could give.

A.

Our expert says...

This isn't a silly question, it's a very interesting one and I'm glad you asked it. Because, as you point out, basically anything from 8 and a half stone to about 11 and a half stone could be considered an ?ok? weight for you and as you seem to be losing weight without too much trouble you now need to decide what?s a good weight for you to settle at. Many people seem to just naturally reach a plateau somewhere around a BMI of 22- 25 and if that happens to you, you may find that fairly soon the weight loss starts to slow any way, which could settle the question for you.

What weight you aim for can depend on your genetics, where you carry your excess pounds, your age, how much muscle you have and so on. I think the best attitude is to lose weight for health and if you??re lucky enough to be able to lose a few extra pounds for cosmetic reasons on top, then great! The problem comes when people have a weight in mind that they absolutely want to achieve as this can cause disappointment and a feeling of failure when it either doesn?t happen at all or doesn?t happen within the time scale that's wished for.

Without knowing your frame and how you carry weight can only give sketchy advice, but maintaining in the 10 stone to 10 stone 4 pounds range would seem perfect as it leaves you flexibility either way. Of course if you still think you?d like your clothes to be a bit looser and would feel more confident with a bit more weight loss there?s no harm in trying to go for it, but if you find it increasingly hard that wouldn?t be at all surprising.

Your attitude seems a healthy one but do remember that it is possible to become so obsessed with losing weight simply because you can - and beyond what is actually an attractive weight for you! I?d ask close friends and trusted family what they think, and if you continue to lose weight ask them to tell you when they think you are going to far!

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