> > A friend and I are on a diet buddy plan. We were talking lately about what our goal dress sizes are. I don't really have a goal size as of yet.
> > I would like to ask all of you what do you think is the most HEALTHY and attractive looking size/weight for a woman ? What do you think is too big and in turn too small?
>
> Since you're talking about what size and weight LOOKS best, I have to say it depends entirely on the individual. I'd say most normal people find Way Too Fat and Way Too Thin equally unattractive, but you can't really quantify where either one starts, since people's body types and general appearance vary so much that you could get two people exactly the same height and weight but one will look great and the other won't. That's just one reason I prefer to base my own goals on fitness and health first, what *I* think makes me looks attractive second, dress size third, and weight, well, never. Muscle weighs more than fat, and one of the things I consider attractive is a strong-looking toned body, so if that's the look a person is trying to achieve, they need to measure their progress by muscle-fat ratio tests instead of the scales.
>
> A healthy body fat range for the average female is normally considered to be between 20 and 24% (I think) with competitive athletes being around 18-20% or lower. 20 to 24% body fat will put you well within what the average bloke would consider "attractive body shape", no matter what your weight is.



Everybody considers something different to be attractive.

I've been twenty pounds overweight, twenty pounds underweight, and right on what I consider to be my perfect weight, and at each level, more than one person has told me I look great at that weight and the other weight was too thin/too fat. I've had different people say, out loud, in front of me, "Didn't you like [Mousie] better when she was curvier (read as: ten pounds heavier)?" and "Yeah, [Mousie] is pretty, but she could stand to lose ten pounds" in the SAME DAY.

I know it sounds cliche, but your perfect weight is the weight at which you're comfortable. When I am what I consider ten pounds too heavy, plenty of people tell me I'm crazy for trying to lose. I dated a guy one time who hadn't seen me for three weeks, during which time I had lost five pounds because I wasn't comfortable in front of him. When he said to me, "Have you lost weight?" I proudly told him "Yes, about five pounds." He shook his head and said, "No. Put it back on," and promptly took me to dinner (nice side benefit, eh?).

I know when I look good. I'm probably completely unaware when I'm too thin. And I know I'm unaware of when I look good but feel fat. Get to a weight it's easy for you to maintain and at which you're comfortable in your clothes. Then go eat a slice of cheesecake. Or an apple.

M