To Honeybunch...

[getnfit@38]

Hi Honeybunch

I read your reply on my "running post" and wanted to respond, but I wasn't sure you'd check that post out again.

I don't have a clue how much more weight I'm "suppose" to lose or what my real ideal weight will be? I've been overweight since the very beginning of time (not an exaggeration, as I found out a few years ago that as a baby, I was so overweight, I couldn't manage my weight on my legs and did not walk until I was 15 months old!) My mother began feeding me at 1 month old, she said I slept better on a full belly!
But by 4th grade, I was already in the 100's, so I've always been so far over a "normal" weight, that I'm not sure what number is appropriate for my body.
I figured I'd just let it (my body) tell me! I'm not as number focused as I was in the beginning. I'm more "how I feel/how I look" focused. So I figured I'd just continue to eat healthfully and exercise, and when my body gets to the point that it's maintaining and not trying to go any lower, then I'll go have my body fat % measured and see if they are in sync.
I've seen so many charts/graphs, and they vary by 5-10lbs depending on what chart you're looking at, but I've seen 147lbs listed as the "high end" for my height (5'4"), and given my previous weight, 147lbs looks pretty doggone good to me!
Any suggestions on how a person can tell if they're at their "ideal" weight? Is it a doctor thing? Or should I focus more on the body fat %?
You know any advice from you I log as "gospel!"

Donna

 

[Sonnenschein]

Donna,

I sure hope you don't mind my butting in on your post to Honeybunch. I was just excited because I did the same thing you're doing--let my body decide where to stop losing--and I'm really satisfied with where it has settled. I'm 5'4" too. On the way down, I hit a couple 4-6 week plateaus but they broke on their own and I finally settled at around 137 (give or take 2 lbs either way depending on the time of month). I've been here for 9 months now. My BF % is 18-23% depending on what method I use to measure it. Something I really love is that with continued weight training I'm still seeing improvements in my muscle tone and definition, so there are still new treats to be had even after the scale stops moving.

I wanted to tell you that I love reading about your progress, you're such an inspiration to so many! --Karen

 

[getnfit@38]

Karen...

You have given me such a lift today! When I got to the part of your post where you mentioned that on the way down you hit a couple of 4-6 week plateaus, it made me feel so much better about my progress. It is so much slower than previously, and some days I get so bummed out after I weigh in and there's no change! I remind myself of how far I've come, but sometimes it's not enough to make me "bounce back." But I will remember your post, heck, I might print it out and post it on my wall to remind myself that "it's only a plateau, it's not forever, it will pass." Thanks for your post, I'll cling to it tomorrow am when I do my weigh in!

Donna

 

[honeybunch]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jul-08-02 AT 05:28AM (Est)[/font][p]Your personal, very own ideal weight, I think, should depend on how much muscle you carry, how large your frame is, etc.

I carry a lot of muscle, especially in the legs, and I once had a doctor tell me I'd weigh 10 lbs. less "if I had different legs"! For that reason, and since I think I have a medium frame (wrist measurement, etc.) I can safely go to high end of the medium frame weight range on the charts.

It's just a guideline, of course, and certainly not gospel. If I were prancing around in your mocassins, I'd go for the 147 figure and see how you feel. If you have a really hard time maintaining it with your good habits (which we KNOW you're going to keep), you may want to re-evaluate and allow a few pounds more.

Jeez, you've done SO well, we certainly want to encourage you through those nasty plateaus.

Now, when you feel comfy about it, are you going to share some before and after pics with us?!

 

[TarHeelMom]

To Donna

Donna, just to chime in -- HB's so right. Just go for 147 and see how you feel. The "right" weight depends so much on your age, frame, genetics and physical condition -- there just ain't no magic number.

I am also 5'4", but I'm a small frame (teeny wrists) and at 138 pounds and carrying everything extra around my midriff, I'm too heavy. My bodyfat percentage is up, too, but I don't have to know that because I can see where the pounds have deposited. I know from long experience that for me, 125- 128 WHEN I'M FIT is a great weight for me. If I'm not fit, if I'm above 120 I swear I look and feel chunky because I tend to gain only in the midsection. But I've been fit for a while now, and frankly I've been carrying these extra pounds, give or take 3 - 5, for about three years. So 120 is a dim memory and is going to stay that way.

In my college days and 20's when we all yearned to be just plain skinny and didn't know diddly about being fit, I panicked if I topped 110 pounds. I'd just starve til I got back below that magic number. And on me, without an ounce of muscle, 110 is slim but not scrawny. But I look back at photos of me at that weight, and from the perspective now of liking a more toned build, I don't like or yearn for that look anymore. At 46 (47 next week!), not being fit (cardio and muscle) is just not part of my life equation any more, and I've learned that on my frame being in good muscular condition can literally add 10-12 pounds without changing my clothing size. I've also learned to live with a few extra mystery pounds that started showing up around age 39 - 40. Ah, the wonders of perimenopause. These stowaway pounds don't change anything that matters to me (the way I feel, the way I look, the way my clothes fit) when I'm in peak shape, so I've decided I'm not going to worry about them anymore.

So I'm aiming for the mid-to-high 120's now, and I'll know without getting on a scale when I'm where I want to be. Major cardio, lots of strength training and Weight Watchers (food journaling is TOTALLY key) are slugging this weight off of me, but it's very slow going. My internist actually told me that my basal metabolic rate (which I paid to have him test) was "nearly asleep" -- yay -- and I'm in good shape albeit 10-12 pounds over "goal", so it takes a huge amount of work and food discipline for me to see any change. But I'll keep at it.

The point of all this rambling on is just to encourage you to almost ignore those charts, stay on course and stay upbeat. You've already accomplished so much -- I'm in awe -- and I've no doubt that one day you'll post to tell us that you LOVE the way you look and feel and have decided that you're at your goal.

Keep us posted!



http://www.clicksmilie.de/sammlung/sport/sport003.gif [FONT C OLOR=Blue]Kathy S.[/FONT]
in Atlanta where it's just too bleeping hot & humid to move!

 

[getnfit@38]

Yes, I am going to share some before & after pics. If I had the ability to scan, I share some before and present pics, but I don't, but if anyone else is "curious/interested" enough to scan them for me, I'd be willing to mail my pics to you and you could post them for the forum to see.
I feel I'm among friends!

And I too have a medium frame (according to wrist measurement), and really, the numbers don't "plague" me too much, I just really want to be as fit as I can get, and do interval #10 with Cathe like she does it (without having previously dialed the 9 and 1 on the phone so I'll only have a 1 to enter in case of a heartattack!)

Donna

 

[getnfit@38]

RE: To Donna

Thanks Kathy,

I can't wait for the day I post and say, "from here on out, it's about maintenance! not losing!!!! wooooo-hooooo!!!!!!"
Until then, I'll take it slow and easy and let my body figure itself out.

Donna