"healthy" vs. "ideal."

I've been told that there is a major difference between being a healthy weight and being an ideal weight. If there is, than what exactly IS "ideal?" I am 5'5 and about 135 pounds, and have been told that i'm at a healthy weight but then totally slammed for being about 13 pounds above the "ideal weight" by that same person.  

What were they talking about? What is "ideal?"

What lets you feel comfortable, healthy, happy, and at ease with yourself?

Thats ideal.

I am in a constant battle with this too... I think my 'ideal' looking weight is 110 lbs (any less than this on my 5'3 curvy frame is not good.. i start to get bony chest and lose my curves)....

110 is really not healthy for me though because i simply cannot maintain it and be balanced.  I think in reality at 31 years of age maintaining my weight at 115-117 lbs is more realistic.  I can eat 1800-2000 calories, work out every day and have a better chance of not binging.

Of course it means i dont have that six-pack stomach that i was getting compliments on left and right at 110... but it also means i'm not living in a private little nightmare of food fantasies and food deprivation.

Yes... aiming for 115-117 range is my goal for 2009... I want to kick the binging cycle in the bum.

when i was 15 i used to weigh 138 at 5'5" and i thought i was fat because i wasn't at the 'ideal' size this lead me to dieting one week and binging the next and running from one diet to another--yo yo dieting, anywho i ended up gaining 15 pounds, and now i'm fighting to get back to 138.

you're healthy, and if you aren't comfortable with 135, please please be careful with your new diet choices, don't make the mistake i did!!

Healthy - doctor's recommended weight, according to reliable sources, etc.

Ideal - the weight you really feel the best with.

There's a range of healthy weights precisely because there's no such thing as an ideal weight.  The healthy range is between BMI 20 - 25 and it depends very much on genetics, frame-size and muscle tone where you end up within that range.   Some will say 'ah well, you need to be precisely BMI 22 or 23 to be the ideal weight' but ignore these people because they're talking a load of rubbish...

It's better to be a healthy weight for life than some mythical ideal temporarily

Ideal tends to be what someone thinks they look good at. Now, this can be a healthy ideal. It could be 5'5 and 135lbs, for example. And yes, that's a healthy weight. 13lbs less, and you'd be in the healthy range of a BMI, still, but ideal is where you'd feel comfortable. Unfortunately, an ideal can also be very unhealthy, like a girl who thinks that 5'5 and 100lbs would be their "ideal weight".

A healthy weight is as Gi-Jane summarized it. The healthy range is between BMI 20 - 25 and it depends very much on genetics, frame-size and muscle tone where you end up within that range. While BMI can be somewhat inaccurate as it doesn't account for lean mass - just all of your mass (height vs weight) - it's a good guideline and the guideline CC uses. Some people will tell you healthy stretches below the 20 BMI, but when you have to diet to get down to a weight as low as a 19 or 18.5 BMI it can cause problems for your body. 

And ignore the person who slammed you. Anyone who has to comment on someone else like that is likely somewhat jealous and insecure about themselves. :\

I think the weight you should strive for is the weight that you are most comfortable physically and mentally. Women struggle so much because of the images put out there of what "Ideal" is. If you are eating healthy, getting enough exercise and your clothes feel comfortable on you that is where you should be. I find that when I am at too low of a weight I don't feel well physically or mentally. I have to have some tummy fat. I am working on accepting that. If I get low enough where my tummy is flat I feel sick. Don't let anyone tell YOU how much you should weight or what is ideal for you. People need to mind their own business when it comes to other people weight and just life in general. It is so easy for some people to look at others and judge. Some people are very good at that but those same people cannot see or deal with their own problems and issues. Be proud of yourself not matter what "ideal" is. Find your own ideal!

In theory, yes.

Ideal weight is something like moderate exercise. There's no one definition. It's much easier to see when it's not there, than whether it is. It is totally personal and roughly unique to each individual.

While my BS meter is high for what this "slammer" said, I'm not going to totally discount it offhand, because I don't know why she said what she said, or what data she used. It is possible that, based on some reasonable piece of information reasonably analyized, that the typical healthy weight for you is not correct, and you should be +/- X pounds.

Absent that, however, it is likely that said person was merely misinformed.