Do You Know Your Natural Weight?

I believe there is probably a natural weight that's best for everyone. I'm not really built like my mom's side though. I see more similarities in my father's side, which is apparently unusual? I'm not convinced that, that natural weight is somewhat "overweight" for some just because their mother and grandmother were overweight. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's just hard for me to accept that with a healthy, natural diet and moderate activity, a woman can't be leaner than her ancestors.

I totally believe we have a natural weight. When you find yourself eating to live (not living to eat) and you're doing so intuitively, you're going to find you will see your body moving toward a natural weight...whether it's losing weight, gaining weight, or staying the same. When you're living a healthy lifestyle and exercising regularly (not training for a competition), your body will settle into a weight. If you're pushing your body to its limits to hit a certain weight, it's not at its happy weight. I'm allowing my body to do just that...just letting it happen along with my lifestyle changes.

I do think we have a natural weight. I haven't really tried to find mine; I've always assumed that those digits on the scale were unnatural and needed to change. But I like the idea of finding your natural weight and being content with it.

I've seen the photos of my paternal grandmother - - they've always said that my form and figure was hers. As a teen, I didn't see it. But recently, I caught a glimpse in the mirror and it was clear that I do, indeed, have her shape. I suspect that if we were to look up our natural weights, they'd be much the same. Regardless of the "diet," my weight has hovered at the same figures. Even with a personal trainer, the weight has stuck. I guess that's as natural as it gets.

I do think I have a natural weight.... it's probably about 35 pounds less than where I am now. That might be way off, but that's what I believe in my head anyway. I take after my father's side of the family and they are all quite heavy.

I really liked this section a lot, because natural weight versus ideal weight is something I have struggled with. For me, the maximum weight for my height is about 10lbs less than where I usually am. Per those charts, I would be over the weight for my height. Except I have never been that weight as long as I can remember, and at my natural weight, I wear an 8-10. I can lose those last 10 lbs with extreme dieting, but I drop to a 6 which doesn't always look great on me. At the 10lbs over the "ideal" weight, I am in shape, eat well, ski on weekends, walk/jog 5ks with my family, etc. I think the idea of natural weight needs to be looked into more, rather than trying to shove everyone into an ideal weight box.

I've always been less of my mother's daughter, and more of my father's. I see my build in his side of the family. However, as I get older, I relish that, because I am more muscular and in better shape than my mother, who has stayed skinny but totally out of shape for her entire life. I am at my natural weight right now... which is heavier than I used to be pre-kids (by about 3 pounds), but I find that if I try to get any lower? STARVING ALL THE TIME. My body just wants me to be a few pounds heavier... and I'm cool with that.

I think I am at my natural weight now, perhaps a little over since I haven't been very active in the last 6 months. In high school I weighed around 120 (I am 5'4") and now, at 41, I usually hover in the 140s. I do not have children. I eat mostly whole foods and am fairly active. I try not to stress about weight too much and focus on overall wellness.

While I did find this last portion of the book to be helpful and really interesting, I didn't measure anything on myself. My diet consists on mainly whole foods with minimal processed items and has for years, so I think that my weight now is most likely my natural weight. My mother and her mother both had children at fairly young ages, so for me being just shy of my 28th birthday childless at this point it is difficult to compare their bodies to my own. My family members do often tease me because I am quite small for my family weighing maybe 110 at 5`3 because they are all a bit larger. But going back to previous discussions, genetics aren't the only thing that effect weight; diet, exericise, and lifestyle choices all have the ability to impact our body. I'm a very active woman that runs 60+ miles per week, routinely does yoga, and also regularly strength trains where I am the odd man out in my family. I think that if my relatives were to be as active as I am, then it would make sense that my weight and size is slightly smaller.

For myself I try to not get caught up in what I think I should be, especially when it comes to weight, and instead accept who I am. While I liked this book and the perspective that it has given, I have always felt that our lifestyle has just as much impact on our body types as our genes do. I personally wouldn't recommend to women to measure themselves like a dead body to figure out the "ideal weight" because I feel like this is counter productive and can really mess with a persons head. Besides, with normal persons such as myself I think that there is most likely a huge margin for error when it comes to self measurements.

I did find this section interesting. I can see similarities between my mom, grandmother and myself, but I'm definitely built naturally bigger than both of them. I do think this is a good concept to learn, because it's true, the number I want to see on the scale is not the number that my body can comfortably stay at. It's just easier to accept that I'll carry a few more pounds rather than beat myself up over it!

I think we do have a natural weight, but for me it is hard to figure out since I most definitely do not have the same body shape as my mother. My Mom is 5'5 maybe and I'm 5'11. I looked to her sisters who are both tall and we have similar body shapes.

I'd have to say that my natural weight is 15 pounds lighter than I currently am (lol).

I think there is truth to this. I'm losing weight, as I was no where near my natural weight, but I'm struggling with the decision of when enough is enough.

I find this very depressing. I gained a lot of weight from taking some medicine and now I look my mother--or at least I think I do. And I DON'T like it.

Oh yes, there definitely is a "natural weight" at work with me. It might not be the number that I like to see on a scale, but it is what it is. When I look at pictures of my mother and grandmother, I don't see my body. But when I look at pictures of my mother's sisters and my great grandmother, I see my body type very closely mirrored in theirs. I also glazed over at all of the measurements and bone density information and didn't get that technical into determining my natural weight. I think the main reason for that with me, wasn't that I found it too confusing or technical, but that I tend to obsess about my weight and measurements.

I think this is also true. I see the same body type in my family and not much fluctuation even with diets and workout. I have not tried to figure mine out yet but I generally know my body and stay around the size.

I honestly couldn't quite figure out the charts in the book, but I know my natural weight. My body stays at 127 lbs. If I'm training for a race or working out harder than usual for whatever reason, it dips to 124.5. Race over? A few months later, I'm back up to 127. It doesn't seem to matter what I eat.

Growing up, my mother was always horrified if I got above a size 8. Even more horrified that I could be one and still weigh more than 130lbs. I wasn't built like her, but it seriously affected my body image.

As I get older, and after having a baby, I've seen just where my body is comfortable at. I'd love to be thinner, but it's not easy and it won't stay there.

I absolutely believe that we have a natural weight... some of us strive to weigh less than that and some of us have a lifestyle that makes us heavier than that. To think that every human body was designed to be the same shape/size is kind of ridiculous. Now to get back there after baby... this booked helped me make some good changes :)

I haven't tried to figure mine out. I have PCOS and so my whole "natural weight" isn't something that applies to me; I could eat right and still would gain weight rapidly. So for me, no, I don't believe I have a "natural weight." But I'm defective. :)

I also think we have natural weights, but I haven't tried to figure mine out yet. On the one hand, it is irritating to me that I would have to figure out what I "should" weigh at all. But I understand the reasoning behind it, and I think it is just that body image has gotten completely out of control. I think many women believe they should be much thinner then would be healthy for them. I feel good in my body-- and I admit that I feel much better since I lost 20 pounds last year when I shifted to a paleo lifestyle-- and I am not too worried about what my genetic body composition should be. I would rather focus on enjoying life and making choices that feel good, including eating in a way that really agrees with my body. But I suppose it would be helpful to use the methods they recommend if I just had no idea what my natural weight should be. And by the way, my body type is very, very different from my mother's and both maternal grandmothers.

I do believe that we have a natural weight. Looking back on family photos, most of the people on both sides of my family were on the larger side. I also know that my frame is too large to fit into a size 2 no matter how much weight I could possibly lose. I really dislike the whole BMI thing. According to that, I should weigh around 120 pounds, and for my body, I know I wouldn't even look healthy at that weight.

I think we do have a natural weight. I'm naturally thin. People will say that's because I'm european... I don't think so because in France or England, we had junk food too. But I live in the city. In London, you can't drive because parking is very expensive and you have a to pay a daily congestion tax. In Paris, too many traffic, parking to expensive, gas almost 3 $ per gallon... So we walk a lot, we took the bus/tube (subway). I used to live in LA, CA, people take the car for everything so they are fatter than people in France so I think that weight is environnemental too. I'm average in France but in USA, I'm considered as a petite... Weird

I found the various methods of figuring out your natural weight to be really interesting. And all of them - when applied to me - point to a natural weight about 20 pounds below my current weight. And all of them also point to a BMI of a little over 25, so slightly "overweight" according to all of the BMI calculators out there. This made sense to me...I've always felt strong and healthy at that weight. I'm hoping to "reset" my natural weight from my current weight (which I've been at for the past three years) to my actual natural weight (20 pounds lighter) by following some of the suggestions set out in the book.

I do believe quite strongly in the concept of a natural weight (with the caveat that our society's processed diets make most hang out at a higher weight). As a dietitian, I worked for several years with people with eating disorders and it was clear to me that most have a small weight range that one's body pushes itself towards.

I am pretty certain about my own weight range - I have returned to it after two pregnancies (where I gained 53 and 44 lbs - let's talk about pregnancy weight gain set point!) and have hung around the same 7-ish pounds since I was 18 in spite of eating fairly bad when younger and eating healthy & exercising when older. I'm curious to see if the measurement steps in the book would give me the same weight numbers I've observed in my life.

I think that every body has a set point where it would like to be. I also think that your lifestyle and activity levels can make it vary by a small amount, maybe 5-10%. Anything more or less than that in either direction seems like it would be drastic- overeating or purging or pregnancy.

After years of going up and down with my weight, I have realized that my "natural weight" is 160 - this is the weight that I have always not only felt most comfortable at, but that my body seems to do best at ... I lose weight and get to it easily and can maintain it ... until stress happens and then, wel, it's just out the window for me!

I absolutely believe that we have natural weights - and I was so glad to see this addressed in the book. In highschool, I was an average "thin" girl - 5'2" 118lbs. and now, I would look incredibly sick at this weight. A lot has to do with the way my body has changed. But a few years ago, I went on a very lowfat diet, exercised like crazy and couldn't get below 135 lbs. I looked great at that weight, but was still considered overweight by the charts. Plus, I had to work waaay too hard to stay there, so it wasn't realistic for me at the time. Knowing (and practicing) what I know now (which includes eating a healthy-fat diet, rather than a lowfat diet), I'm dropping pounds and looking forward to seeing what my natural weight is at this point in my life. I'm okay with not being 118 lbs. again...and quite honestly, I'm okay with being whatever size I end up being...as long as I'm doing the healthiest things for myself. I've come to terms with the fact that - as long as I'm healthy, I can accept the way I look.

I do seem to have a natural weight or size, which is of course a little bigger when I am less active. I am a sustainable size for my family...but it does seem like I have to be a bit more careful with my food choices as I'm getting older! ;p

I think we do have a natural weight, but I'm not sure I agree with the measurements issue, and I think that natural weight changes as we age.... which I think I remember the authors insinuating as well. I have yet to look at the old family photos though...

I hate that they include BMI at all when considering your "natural" weight. Honestly, as a trainer, BMI is rarely if ever a good indicator of health or appropriate weight gain/loss. I do believe in the concept of "natural" weight, but I'm not sure I agree with the authors on how it's calculated.

I do think we have a natural weight but I wonder how much impact environment has as well.

I feel as though while the methods presented in the book are in fact true to theory, it is really based on an individual basis. Bone size probably gives a good indication of the body size you should naturally have. I was a little lost in the directions for measuring bone size to calculate weight, but I think you can pretty easily estimate just from observation. For example, I have very tiny wrists and my sister has larger wrists. We both eat pretty much the same foods and exercise often, but our body shapes and sizes are very different, and by comparing our bones it's a dead giveaway that that would be the case. On the other hand, I'm not sure I fully agree with the method where you compare old family photos. There are so many factors that play into genetics and it's hard for a lot of people to tell where exactly their genes are coming from. My sisters and I have very different body types from my mom and my grandma on both my mom and father's side. The women on my mother's side were (and still are) very petite all around and have very tiny waists. The women on my father's side were average height and curvy with larger hips, though not overweight. My sisters and I are all pretty tall with ranging weights (pretty skinny overall), and have fairly low waist to hip ratios. Where did that come from?! I think the best way to find your natural weight, if you aren't already at your natural weight, is probably by comparing your bone size, eating habits, and activity level to figure out what is "normal" for you.

I agree with the idea we all have a natural weigh and as I've aged my weight has changed but I can pinpoint exact points in my life when that's happened. When I graduated from high school and started college I gained about 15 lbs. and then stayed that way for over 10 years, even after the birth of my first son. Then I went to work behind a desk, gained 30 lbs., had two more kids, gained another 10 lbs. and that's where I've been the last 4 years.

I really like this idea - though I agree, the book was a bit science-y in their explanation. When you hear about people like Demi Moore who apparently is 95 lbs at 5'5" - that may be someone's natural age, but photos show she was curvier and healthier in her youth. I'm pretty sure my natural weight is at least 10lbs lighter than I am currently...

I like the idea a lot, I just haven't been able to figure out how to get there. We've just started making the Clean Eating change, b/c of this book. I am too scared to see the scale creep upwards to just let go and eat the way they say to. I am still adhering to a lot of my former weight-maintenance habits, including weighing every day, which... I know, I know... I need to let it go. I have just worked too hard to get to where I am now to see all that weight come back. Frankly, I'm scared!

"I have to confess I find the idea of natural weight rather fascinating. I also feel that I may be biased to towards the idea of natural weights because I feel I am at mine and I rather like it." I couldn't have said it better; I feel exactly the same way. While I could lose five pounds and wear a size smaller, there's really no point. I'm happy with the size I am and it seems to be the size my body wants to be because no matter how much or how little I eat, I seem to stay within the same range of 10 pounds.

That said, I do think people need to carefully think about the natural weight idea and not use it as an excuse for being unhealthy. I think being your natural weight should feel *good* both physically and emotionally!

I have to confess that this whole natural weight thing doesn't give me much hope. If I look at pictures of my grandmothers, they were both very small women. They both hovered around 5 ft tall. They both worked really hard as they grew up on farms and continued to do gardening and yard work until the day they died. I know each of them hard a hard time finding clothes that were small enough as they got older. My mother is 5'7", but still quite thin and probably a size 2. I am 5'10" and a size 10. I was a size 4 when I graduated from high school and have never had children. Even when I was biking over 300 miles a week, I still never got below a size 8. Maybe I was adopted. ;)

I have mixed feelings about a natural weight. I have weighed the same for my entire adult life (110- 115 pounds). My mother, who is only an inch shorter than me, also weighed exactly the same as I do, even after having me. She only started to gain weight later in life (after stopping smoking and having a hysterectomy). So, looking at just us, I agree that my weight is natural. But, then I think about my dad’s side of the family. They were all over weight; with one of my uncles being beyond obese (he weighed over 700 pounds when he died). My dad had an entirely different outlook on food than my mom does, and I know that if my father was my mother, and was responsible for feeding me and teaching me eating habits, my weight would be completely different. As it was, when I was 13, my dad retired and my mom went to work. My dad would constantly force me to eat – the words I am not hungry didn’t mean anything to him. I found it easier to eat than to keep fighting. When he passed away, I dropped 10 pounds right away, which I never gained back, because I ate the way I wanted, not the way he wanted me to....

This was one of my favorite ideas in the book. I really do feel like people have natural weights. My body shape mirrors my mother's, and while my sister's is slightly different, it mirrors some of our aunts'. She will never weigh as little as I do or be as tall as I am. But she's perfect and right in line with one of the female types of our family, as am I.

Also, my body seems to revert to the same pound set regardless of diet or exercise, so long as neither is extreme.

While the idea of a natural weight is interesting, for many people looking at their relatives can be an excuse for obesity. Just because your family is obese and suffers from heart disease, there are certainly things you can do to improve your weight and health risks.While genetics is certainly an important to consider, it seemed to me as an excused reason to remain overweight. I also feel that you can re-set your natural weight. My body really tried to keep me at a heavier weight after children, but now 5 years later, my body tries to keep me at a much lower weight without dieting or counting calories. As a previous poster mentioned, this theory needs to me considered with a healthy dose of common sense ;)

I didn't do the measuring, but looking back at family photos I can see why I'm the way I am. I'm curvy, to put it mildly, but so were my mom, my great grandmother, and other relatives as far back as we have pictures. I'm not proud of my weight, but I eat healthy and take care of myself. So, while my natural weight may be heavier than others, I am what I am.

I totally agree- you can't fight genetics. Maximize what you've got- rock it and flaunt it. I know I'll never be super model skinny though I'm 5'8". My family is full of curvy women and that's not just associated with the current American diet, my grandmothers and great grandmothers were of an average build and weight, I just got my grandpa's "tall" genes (I'm the tallest in my family for some reason!)

Don't fight it- flaunt it!

I have not figured mine out, although I found the idea intriguing as well!

I agree with the idea of a natural weight to some extent...I also looked back at pictures and have a very similar body shape to my mom and grandma. However, I don't understand why some people's "set point" for natural weight would be unhealthy, and it seems that some people are just more prone to obesity and always struggle with it...did something go wrong in their genes to let their natural weight be too high, or is it a combination, as the book suggests, of yo-yo diets altering your set point?