What do you think of the weight is just a number mentality?

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OP, you could have PCOS. It's a fairly common endocrine disorder that, among other things, can make it difficult to lose weight.

Emotions can be part of on line issues, as well as wait loss.

Thanks everyone for the food for thought ....

I'm new here - but very opinionated.
The initial question is 'Is weight just a number?' Simple answer - yes.

Personal example - I was referred to a fitness clinic. They took all my stats - heart rate (working and resting), measurements, fat/muscle ratio, fitness level, etc. Then they gave me a fitness program and monitored me throughout the course. At the end of the program they took my stats again. Going solely by weight. I put on weight and my bmi went up. Going by the other stats - I lost 6kg of fat, increased muscle, massively increased my fitness. My heart was able to work longer and harder with less effort. All the other stats showed progress, except weight and bmi.

The basic fact is, despite the constant focus on weight and bmi (this is a massive industry), for most people it means nothing.

I really get annoyed at people who keep harping on about calorie in/calorie out concept - this has been disproven, but most people will never let facts get in the way of a good argument.

Weight loss is not simple. There are tons of issues that come into play including genetics, metabolism, past history (starvation type dieting actually makes it harder to lose weight), as well as medication and medical conditions.
An example of medication - I was put on an anti-depressant drug. I took it for three weeks. During that time I could not keep food down and lived on complan for four weeks. I still managed to put on weight - my size ballooned. For me, if the drug says may cause weight loss or weight gain - you can guarantee I will put on weight. They also make it very difficult to lose weight. Lifestyle issues like stress also affect body chemistry and its ability to lose weight.

When it comes to weight and bmi.
In general underweight is dangerous, especially if you have to seriously control what you are eating to maintain that sort of low weight. To all rules, there are exceptions and there will be a few people who are naturally very slim and will struggle to put on weight.
The preferred, overweight and moderately overweight sections of the bmi scale - as long as you are eating a healthy diet, exercising and don't have weight related health conditions - don't worry.
If you are morbidly obese and higher - you probably do need to look at losing weight. However, the best way is to improve your lifestyle and make gradual changes (i.e eat whole foods, balanced diet, portion control, exercise) rather than stressing out about it as stress affects cortisol levels and that will prevent weightloss. It is also advisable to talk to a health expert as going about it the wrong way can cause more health problems.

You can be slim and unhealthy. You make look physically acceptable to today's western standards, but your body composition can be 50%fat. You can be larger and have a healthier body composition. The biggest key is to eat healthy real food, in moderation (ie allow yourself some treats like chocolate, alcohol, whatever) and undertake some fitness activity be it actual sports or lifestyle activity like gardening etc. If you in the moderately overweight section and do want to look at losing weight. The first thing to check should be your plate size. I think 7" is the recommended size of a dinner plate.

Of course you can be slim and unhealthy, and of course starvation is bad for your health—that’s the sacrifice you’ll make if you want to lose weight badly enough. If you don’t, you’re deciding there’s something more important to you than weight loss, so you’re still choosing. It is a choice.