Your "ideal" weight?

So I used one online calculator thingy and it said my ideal weight for my height is 141 lbs.

I can't even imagine losing another 25-ish lbs. I think I could stand to lose that much for sure, but that doesnt even seem attainable for me. Obviously I'm going to do what I'm going to do, but that number put a bug up my butt. lol

Plus the word "ideal" just bugs the crud out of me. Ideal for whom? For me personally? For my peace of mind? For the medical community? For my heart? For my bones? Aesthetically? What do they mean ideal?!?!

Ideal for insurance companies to cover you with little risk.

For me 10st (140 ibs) is my supposed ideal weight (I'm 5ft 6).
Which means I would need to lose 123ibs or 8.5 stone (which is an entire thin 5ft 5 woman).

"Ideal" is a bit of a wooley term. Since when did one size fit all? Its an archaic method and I don't personally think weight should be the barometer.

Fat% Muscle and bone density should all be taken into account. Something better then BMI.
Think I will invent something, The Body Complex Index (BMI would have been fine but its not all encompassing).

Instead of weight / height squared.
Something like (Fat % - (Muscle % + Bone Density)) / height squared

I might even win the nobel prize

I hate the terms "ideal" & "normal".... that's the one that really gets me.  I'd rather have a total evaluation of weight, muscle & body fat that determines what is "healthy."  We're all built so differently.  What if a former SMO person has 15 lbs. of excess skin?  A generic bmi calculator can't take that in to consideration.

I've seen the same results (I'm 5' 10") and can't help but thinking that 140 would look pretty damn skeletal on me.  The lowest I've ever been was 175 (and I looked pretty damn good IMO) even though I was still "padded". 

So I could see me being 160, maybe even 150, but I want to look good for *me* , not an arbitrary chart.  Now if only my butt and thighs would follow my upper body's example and start shedding this pudge!

Those charts are all rated for small figure, not medium or big boned at 15 pounds for medium and 30 for big boned an that is your ideal weight

There's no way an online calculator can take in every aspect of your physicality. It's like relying on an online dating service to choose your mate based on your answers to certain questions. You might get "possible matches", but not a perfect match cuz there is no such thing. There can be multiple possible matches. I don't put a whole lot of faith in some of those calculators which do not take into consideration all the different body shapes, ethnicity, age, etc...  If you find one like that, let me know.

Go by a real honest look at yourself in the mirror. We pass a certain point where it's not about health anymore (cuz we've achieved that by losing X amt. of pounds) and we continue losing based on how we are looking.

I have 19 pounds till I have a "normal" bmi. BUT, I need a tummy tuck & boob lift and know that surgery will take off X amt. of lbs., so that, in reality I'm close to goal now. But I have people telling me not to lose more weight, so there's that. I'm not ready to stop losing weight and will re-evaluate when I hit the 140's (hopefully next month).

I'm still pre-op and now that I have a date this thought of "normal/ideal" is actually waking up at night!! At 5'10.5" my normal should be around 150-170lbs. I haven't seen that since junior high!! I am muscular, I know I have denser bones than the average person...so really WHAT is my normal?? I picked 180 to put on my ticker. Maybe that will be great for me..if not I can change my goal.

As a previous poster said..we are all built so differently one chart can't encompass all the differences..UGH!..LOL I think I am just going to go with how I feel...

My "ideal" weight is 118-123lbs. I got down to 119, and my husband freaked out because my spine was sticking out without hunching over. Honestly, I was pretty freaked out as well. Least to say, I feel good and look good at 125lbs. The average weight for today's American woman my age(33) and my height (5'2") is 137lbs so I'm okay with bouncing between 123-130ish. I definitely look too thin below 120, and I'm in agreement that the "ideal" word really gets to me. There are way too many contributing factors for me to rely on that word "ideal" to gauge my success.

Mandy - knowing that you have some significant muscle mass, I would say that your personal ideal is going to be a bit higher than that "ideal" for the insurance companies.  Don't pay attention to an arbitrary number.  Pay attention to how you feel in your body and how your clothes fit.  YOU ARE NOT A NUMBER....you are so much more than that!!!!