Hey everyone! I got to thinking about this and I wonder if there are any thoughts. It is common for people on here to say that the last 5-10 "vanity pounds" in their weightloss journey took a long time to lose, and that they are stubborn. I'm wondering if it would be different for me, a person whose goal weight is on the upper end of the healthy BMI range? I mean, I could see if someone is trying to lose to the lower end of healthy, it being stubborn towards the end. Or, does it just depend on your body? Any thoughts on this? Does this ring true for any of the maintainers on here? Obviously, I have a large frame, and a size 12 shoe, so being at the lower end of healthy BMI would not work for me, so I don't plan on going there to find out
We are alike! I am also 5'9 and I'm not shooting for the lower BMI range which is like 135 (which would look ridonculous on me), but I'm aiming for 165 which is just below the highest end of the "normal" BMI. And that's a good question...I wonder if it would be harder for us if we were getting down into the 150s, 140s, etc.
I'm no where near goal, so I don't have any actual knowledge, but why let something like that stop me!
I think, as you get smaller, it's harder to create the deficit needed to lose weight, because you just need less fuel. Every pound along the way is harder than the last, so I think that if you stop at a higher point, it will be easier than if you stop at a lower point, but it's still going to be harder than what it was in the beginning.
After 24 lbs lost, fitday is telling me I burn 150 calories less per day than I did at the beginning. So if I were keeping everything else equal, a pound that took me a week to lose then will take 10 days to lose now. And if the calories burned drop at a consistent rate, in another 24 lbs it will take 18 days to lose that pound. At a certain point there's just not enough room to eat healthy, exercise reasonably, and create a calorie deficit for rapid weight loss all at the same time, and the rapid part falls by the wayside. And by rapid, I really just mean, what you're used to, which already feels pretty slow. Slow it down further and I'm sure it can feel like you're not getting anywhere.
I would say that if you've been exercising and have any muscle at all, the BMI charts really aren't very accurate. I've always heard that, but I got my body fat percentage mesasured the other day and I was kind of blown away. Right now, the BMI chart says I'm around 24% body fat, but when I got measured, it was really 21.9%. From that, the trainer figured out that I'm 115 lbs "lean mass" and 30-something pounds of fat. Going off of the BMI charts, my lowest "healthy" weight is something right around 115, which would clearly be impossible for me. Would I like to decrease my body fat percentage further? Yes. But for me, my weight at say 17% body fat is going to be heavier than what the BMI charts would say for that percentage- I might even be at the higher end of a "normal" BMI for my weight according to that- but I'm still going to have to work like h ell to get there.
I don't know if my rambling is making any sense, but I *think* my point is that the lower you're taking your body fat percentage, yes, the harder it will be to lose. Your body likes to hang on to that last bit, just in case- we evolved to prepare for that next famine. However, I wouldn't base my body fat % off of plugging your weight into a BMI chart, because they don't account for the huge amount of individual differences in muscle/fat/lean mass. Your goal weight might be further into that "healthy" range than you think.
I'm in the high range of healthy and trying to lose 15-20 more lbs. I thought I'd be at goal here but I'm not happy yet :P. It's taking FOREVER. But I'm more patient now because I'm happier with my body than I was 90 lbs ago.
ValRock you went home?! I'm headed back to the U.S. on July 31. How has being back home affected your weight loss motivation/difficulty?
I'm 5-10 lbs heavier than I want to be (130ish). I'm opposite to you framewise - my wrists are 5.5 inches around and I can fit into childrens' shoes. I got down to 123.5 for a split second but that didn't last long. It has been a terrible struggle trying to stay under 130 for any length of time.
The "Last Vanity Pounds" Question
