Probably closer to 150-160? That's still somewhat heavy for someone 5'8" doing endurance sports, but will make running and riding hills feel almost effortless compared to now.

I don't know why your doc would tell you not to weigh less than 185. That would be considered overweight for your height and will cause undue stress on your heart. And even for someone with a "big" frame, you can still healthily drop weight a lot lower than that.

Unless you are one of those people that have a ton of muscle weight I would agree with xc800.

I'm 5'10 and was 230 a few years back. I've been as low as 170 (currently 185 grrrr). Even when I was 170 I knew there was a bit more weight to shed.
I find it interesting that you are 205. Dropping from 230 that was the first weight where I got stuck and had to make a few changes to take it lower.
Losing weight is a challenge. Calorie deficits are miserable in my opinion.
I will say that because of my desire to be lighter, my diet has improved by leaps and bounds the last 3 years. That's probably the best thing that has come from my venture into triathlon.

Agree with the comments above...especially if you want to be Kona qualifier competitive...weight management will make a big difference and you could stand to be a lot lighter.

I'm also struggling with my weight right now...I'm around 185-190 currently at 6'0''...I wanted to be racing IMLou around 175, but don't think I'm going to make it there...
if I ever really go for a qualifying attempt, I'd probably need to be more in the 165 range as far as I can tell, which is unimaginable to me right now.

Nice work on shedding the 30 though...definitely a great start.

Agree with comments above.

To give your doctor the benefit of the doubt, he may have been high balling his optimal weight estimate to give you a target goal that would be viewed as achievable in the intermediate term. I'm sure that he has many patients who if told at 205 lbs. that they should really be down in the 160s would just give up.

I know that when I was up near 220 the best I could visualize is working hard to just get under 200. Once I got there, I was able to point to the 180s. I finally got down to 170 which is a bit closer to a good race weight for 6'1". Perhaps taking it in manageable steps would work for you. Not that it happens to everyone, but I've seen friends try and take off too much too quickly and they end up running calorie deficits that are unsustainable, leaves them weak and grumpy, and they eventually stopped. Maybe set yourself some type of intermediate goal such at hitting 185 in the next four months. If my math's correct that would take a ~1.5 lbs. drop per week? Just a thought

Using a readily-available BMI calculator, 5'8" X 185lbs will eventually give you a BMI of . . . 28.1?! That's still overweight (25-29.9). So yes, ~150lb neighborhood would put you in the "normal" weight range. To go from 235 to 205 to 185 to 150 is going to take years.

I agree with all of the comments above. May be worth getting a body fat analysis as there are some good targets/averages out there based on age and fitness level. Weight on a scale is only a small piece of the puzzle. As for 5'8", I'm pretty lean and relatively small boned. I'm between 5'8" and 5'9" I weigh about 143. (Though the other day one of my neighbors said he saw "this chick on a bike" and realized after passing them it was me .....

I'd say don't worry too much about your weight. Eat well and work out. I am 5'8" and I weight 146Lbs. I usually go up to 155 lbs when I don't work out much or when I lift weights.

As those before me, I agree with most of what has been said and can add:

1 - I just shed about 10lbs and saw some times on training routes (run) improve significantly. :)
2 - Don't worry too much about BMI....its often off for athletes due to increases muscle mass.

[quote=TriLiving]May be worth getting a body fat analysis as there are some good targets/averages out there based on age and fitness level. Weight on a scale is only a small piece of the puzzle.[/quote]

Get a body fat scale (google "Tanita").

+1 on the body fat scale by Tanita. BUT, I find that mine is't very accurate, or at least there's a big difference between what the scale displays and the reading I get from a caliper test. That said, it does provide good directional guidance.

i'm 6-5 and my racing weight is 185
i'm a little north of there now :)

I agree, 140-155 is probably the best weight to be super competitive in long-distance triathlon.

However, lets keep in mind that triathlon weight is "skinny" by almost all other measures.

Hopefully you can continue making progress in triathlon and body composition. 25 pounds is awesome.

I agree, 140-155 is probably the best weight to be super competitive in long-distance triathlon. At 5' 8", I got down to 138 for ironman (but I think it may have been too low).

However, lets keep in mind that triathlon weight is "skinny" by almost all other measures.

Hopefully you can continue making progress in triathlon and body composition. 25 pounds is awesome.

I agree, 140-155 is probably the best weight to be super competitive in long-distance triathlon. At 5' 8", I got down to 138 for ironman (but I think it may have been too low).

However, lets keep in mind that triathlon weight is "skinny" by almost all other measures.

Hopefully you can continue making progress in triathlon and body composition. 25 pounds is awesome.

tanitas are often great ways to gauge if you are losing body fat. However, they arent always the most accurate. Sure if u check urself everyday you will get a sense of how you your BF% is doing. Your hydration level alters your BF%. This is what I found when we did our BOdy Analysis in college, along with many others using different styles of TANITA. Using skin cailpers are generally more accurate as long as the the technician is relatively effective. Hydrostatic weighing (dunk tank) is very accurate. If you have a local university around, im sure you could get it done there. Many times students need to perform this procedure as part of their lab to random subjects. It's very accurate.

[quote=big 3]Unless you are one of those people that have a ton of muscle weight I would agree with xc800.

I'm 5'10 and was 230 a few years back. I've been as low as 170 (currently 185 grrrr). Even when I was 170 I knew there was a bit more weight to shed.
I find it interesting that you are 205. Dropping from 230 that was the first weight where I got stuck and had to make a few changes to take it lower.
Losing weight is a challenge. Calorie deficits are miserable in my opinion.
I will say that because of my desire to be lighter, my diet has improved by leaps and bounds the last 3 years. That's probably the best thing that has come from my venture into triathlon. [/quote]

I think you stole my identity! :) I'm 5'10 and was 230lbs 2 years ago. I got down to 213 got stuck there, then 205, got stuck there, and now I am at 185. Ideal race weight for me is 172-175 (6% bf). I'm a bigger guy with broad shoulders.

[quote=dkhartung]+1 on the body fat scale by Tanita. BUT, I find that mine is't very accurate, or at least there's a big difference between what the scale displays and the reading I get from a caliper test. That said, it does provide good directional guidance.[/quote]

Totally inaccurrate. When I was 197lbs, my nutritionist said I was at 18%, and now that I am at 185lbs, the Tanita scale says I am at 23% bf. Based on my lean body mass calc. I am somewhere around 13%. I think the scale doesn't work well for endurance athletes. Must be something with the water retention, lactic acid, etc. But like you said it does work good for guidance, especially when you step on the scale at your weight is higher then you thought, but the bf is lower then you expected.