5'4 & 140lbs. What size should I be?

[PookieMom]

I started mid January at 242. I am now 178. I've gone from a size 24 to a size 14. Ultimately I want to lose 102 lbs. Goal weight would be 140. Seems reasonable but I'm starting to worry that that's too much. I'm 5'4 and according to the BMI scale 140 is the absolute highest in my range but what size would that make me? Right now my t-shirts I work in are mediums. I've had a few people stop me and tell me not to lose anymore, that I look healthy the way I am but I am still considered obese. Not overweight, obese. The charts anger me so much but all I want is to be is normal to them. It makes no sense, I know, but that's my issue.
Also, my mother as a motivation offered to pay my husband and I's plane tickets and 3 nights in a hotel in Las Vegas if I lost 100lbs. She has recently changed her mind and said she would go ahead and order them when I get to 160 so she's even starting to think enough is enough.
I guess my question is for anyone that is 5'4 and 140lbs, what size are you? Or anyone's opinion on my situation would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading through this ramble!

[alegna]

BMIs seem skewed for some body types. I would go by other indicators instead. I would eat healthy and exercise and see where you end up leveling off.



-Angela

[Teenytoona]

It's hard to say. There are so many variables: how much muscle mass, if you're top heavy or bottom heavy, general shape, etc. I was at one point 155 and 5'3", I wore a size 8-10. Everyone told my I looked like I weighed less. I was (have always been) bigger in the bust area, so maybe that skewed it?

I think 140 at 5'4 seems realistic. Of course, I'm going for about the same number. Had you said 100 or so, then I'd say, weeelllll... maybe...

[Linda on the move]

I'm 5'3", weigh 135, and wear a size 6. I agree that a lot of it depends on your build, your percentage of body fat, the cut of the clothes, etc.

If going by the BMI is driving you nuts, get your percentage of body fat checked. It's a more reliable indicator. (my local Y does this for $5) May the higher weight really isn't fat and you are healthy the way you are.

I lost 70 pounds and a long the way people told me that I looked great, should stop losing, etc., but I discussed it with my doctor and decided to go for the weight that was healthiest for me. I'm sure that people who thought I should stay a little heavier meant well, but I was going for health, not approval, and this is my best weight.

I look great now, but along the way I couldn't imagine that I would wear a 6. I was really happy when I got down to a 14. 14 seemed like a nice, normal size to me. The truth is that in a size 14 I was still carrying around a lot of fat -- increasing my chance for heart disease and breast cancer.

[hibana]

PookieMom, at your height and weight, how on earth can you be considered obese? I used this calculator which gives you a BMI of 24, which is in the "normal" range. Not that BMI is the final answer for healthy weight...

Sorry I can't help with the size thing. I'm about your size, and I wear anything from 6-14, depending on the brand and cut of the items.

[Linda on the move]

her goal weight is 140, which would be a 24 BMI, but her current weight is 178 which gives her a BMI of about 31.

[AngeliqueW]

I'm 5'4" and I weigh 149 and I'm in a size 10.
I'd like to see 135 lbs, but I'm not focusing on the scale. My goals are strength, flexibility and energy. I figure if you can be where you want in those areas, your body will be at it's optimum weight.
Congratulations on all the weight you have shed. I'm sure your body is much healthier now.

[PookieMom]

Thank you for all the replies! I'm definitely going to call the Y and check about the body fat percentage thing. I think that would help a lot in trying to set a good goal for me, not for the chart. For now I'll leave my goal as 140......but not argue against the Vegas tickets at 160...

[erinsmama]

Well, I am 5 ft 3.5 in & I got on the scale this am & it said I weighed 160. I usually take a size 8-10 depending on the clothing. I am not all that curvy in the hips though & have kind of an apple shape with a big bust. I also have been working out & have a muscular type build.

I am considered about 20 lbs overweight too. I'm working on losing some weight...

[readytobedone]

Originally Posted by PookieMom

I started mid January at 242. I am now 178. I've gone from a size 24 to a size 14. Ultimately I want to lose 102 lbs. Goal weight would be 140. Seems reasonable but I'm starting to worry that that's too much. I'm 5'4 and according to the BMI scale 140 is the absolute highest in my range but what size would that make me?

well i'm 5'2" and the BMI chart's upper number for me is 136. so i think with 2 inches on me, you should get more than 4 pounds!

i'd guess at 140 you'd be a size 6-8, but that's just a guess. at 136 and 5'2" i'm a size 8-10 and am perfectly happy at a consistent size 8 (which with losing a few more pounds i can achieve, i think). HTH!

[tapiocapudding]

I'm 5'3.5". Right after having DS I was about 140 which = about a size 10-11, but my proportions were all off. At 5'3.5" and 115lbs I'm size 5-6. I do think it really varies based on muscle mass etc and you're better off to go by measurments. I'm light but my measurements are higher than the average person of my weight since I have less muscle and weight is distrubuted more around my stomach.

[cortsmommy]

I'm 5"4 and I currently weigh 170 and I wear a size 12. When I was 140 a few years ago I wore a size 7. It all depends on your body type though. When I weighed 125 I wore a size 4.

[ryleigh'smama]

I am 5'5 and 131lbs I wear a size 4-6 depending on brand. People tell me all the time I should be happy where I am. I am. But my ultimate goal is 120-125 lbs. My current body fat% is between 23-25%. I work out hard, I run, I lift weights. I want to see myself pretty ripped with a body fat % of 18-20%. Purely selfish...but that's okay with me....I've spent 5+ years letting my body be for my kids, now it's mine again, and I'm LOVING getting fit.

[EdnaMarie]

Congrats. At 5'5" and 118, I wear a 2-4. I don't think that 140 is too small, but I agree with Alegna that you need to just live a very sustainable lifestyle and see where you even out. There is no point in dieting to 140 if that's not natural for you at this point in your life, and getting an eating disorder or screwing up your metabolism, which will ruin your health in the mid- to long-term.

Congrats on your weight loss so far, that's really great.

(ETA, obviously, I have a small frame... since people are writing their frame size...)

[CarrieMF]

It really depends on your body.

I'm 5ft 4. At one point when I was 166lbs I was in a size 18 pant & size 20 shirt. I am currently 187 & in a size 14 pant & large shirt.

[madskye]

I'm 5'4"--I was 134 and have lost 7 lbs in the last three months--so I am down to 127. I have a small frame. For me, I think 120 would be ideal. I have been as thin as 110 as an adult but I don't think that's sustainable.

That said, at 134 I wasn't that big--I was just personally uncomfortable and out of breath a lot of the time. I gain weight up top and it's not heart-healthy for me.

I wore an 8-10 at 134--now I'm more of a 6-8.

And yes, congratulations on your weight loss--that is awesome! I want to go to Vegas too!

[CathToria]

I'm 5'4"

140 is my ideal "skinniest" weight, and I wear a size 6-8 there. I've lost 30-40 lbs, but I still have 20-40 to go. I look and feel good at 160, but I look great (but still with some "meat on my bones") at 140

So, for me 140 is my ultimate goal, but in my heart of hearts, I know 160 is the perfect weight for me.

HTH

[delphine]

I'm 5' 5 1/2". I'm at 167 right now, but my ultimate goal is around 135. That would probably put me in a 6, which I think is a good size.

I wanted to comment, though, on people saying you don't need to lose any more. Back in 2006, I lost almost 70 pounds (from a little over 200 to 140). I noticed an interesting phenomenon with my peers and family. After I'd lost about 20 pounds, people started noticing I had lost weight and would comment on it ALL THE TIME. It seemed like every time I would see someone I hadn't seen in a while, they would say, "Wow, you've lost so much weight".

Then, when I started to get closer to my goal, there was a switch. People started saying, "Oh, you don't need to lose anymore. You're starting to look too thin. Are you sure this is healthy?" Etc. It drove me insane. Believe me, at a size 8, I was NOT too thin. Not even close. And, on the charts, I was on the high end of a healthy range. I think part of it was that people were just not used to seeing me that size, and it skewed thier vision of me. Though in most cases, I think people were trying to be supportive, sometimes I just wished they would find something better to talk to me about than my weight. It was like that was the only thing that people saw.

Anyway, I think there are a lot of factors in deciding what your ideal weight is. I second the opinion to go and have a body fat assessment done. It can also depend on where you carry your weight. I know I have read that excess fat around the abdomen is particularly dangerous. For me, it's about feeling comfortable in my own body. It's about feeling good when I go to shop for clothes. And, it's about treating my body well so that I can be around to see my kids grow up and be active with them.

Oh, and have a GREAT time in Vegas. What a great, supportive mom you have. (Though I can't complain, mine bribed me with new clothes if I would go through my closet and get rid of the multitides of clothes I have that don't fit...my closet was like a shopping mall, everything from size 6 to size 16).

[rhiOrion]

Women's sizes are a bunch of crap.

I wish they'd be more like men's, waist and inseam. Of course DH says that men's sizes aren't perfect, either.

I'm 5-5.5 and weigh around 133 pounds. I'm currently wearing a pair of size 6 pants that are a little tight. If I buy juniors sizes I have some 7s that fit better than than the size 11 shorts that I just had to buy.

I carry almost all of my extra weight on my stomach, and it's damn annoying when buying pants. On the plus side, a bit of the weight went to my boobs, too.

[crunchy_mama]

Several years ago I was 150 at 5'4' and wore a size 12 or so- so I would guess about a size 10. When I am not pregnant I am about 120(117 to be exact before this pregnancy) and was a loose size 4.

Don't worry about what others say. I always thought as long as I feel good am eating healthy and exercising my body will find it's right weight. I never, ever, ever go hungry even if I am trying to loose weight. Just try to eat healthy. People's comments about others size and weight is generally more about them than you. It is no more anyone's business to tell someone they need to gain weight than they need to loose. At 5'4' and 117 I felt totally awesome! I had got down to 115 previously but it was a different time and it wasn't healthy for me at that time and I felt it.