Hubby sitting here so I handed him the iPad and asked how you look at your current weight, he said "hot". I hit him...hard. Lol.
I have some bad joint and back problems and arthritis and osteoporosis already, so I'm still going to lose a little more, hoping it'll take more stress off my joints and bones. If it wasn't for that, I liked the way I looked at around 165.

First let me say that you are GORGEOUS in all of the pictures you posted! If you want to stop at 190 because YOU feel comfortable there, then do it! I believe that this journey is about feeling comfortable in your own skin. Besides, if you get down to goal and decide you want to lose more, nobody is stopping you from doing that!

My goal weight is at the heighest possible healthy weight according to my bmi, but my true goal size is 6 so I plan on stopping whenever I get there, I know I won't feel comfortable in a skinny body, so that's not my goal. However, I will see what happens when I get down to a size 6 and if I'm happy, I'll stop. If not, I'll keep going.

I have chosen to not set a final goal at this point. At 229, I know that I want to lose more. Will I feel the same at 190? I have no idea - I'll have to figure that out when I get there, or at least get closer.

And interestingly, my diet (Dukan Diet) includes a calculator to determine one's "True Weight." It's based on age, how much you currently weight, the most you've ever weighed, how many diets you've been on and some other factors. And when I started this plan at 261 lbs, it calculated my "true weight" around 180 with the comment that while it was higher than the goal weight I had selected, it was "a realistic and healthy weight that you can attain and maintain for the rest of your life." Now, I don't know if I'll achieve 180, and I don't know that I would definitely want to stop there if I do get there.

However, I do believe that the number on the scale is important, but not the only thing. And finding a number where indicators such as blood pressure and blood work are good, that allows for an active and healthy lifestyle, and happiness with your own body are factors that have to be balanced along with finding a number that can be maintained long term, even if it's not the ideal weight someone could weight. And the plan I'm on happens to very much agree with that philosophy - even when it's written by a doctor who has devoted his decades long career in medicine helping people lose weight.

All of this is to say that, Lottie, I think that you will know for sure whether or not 190 is right once you get there and you can decide then, it's not something you have to know for sure 30 lbs away from that number. Also, don't forget that you can stop at 190, maintain that for some length of time and decide that you do want to lose more, I've seen many happy and successful 3fc posters whose journeys have followed a pattern like that.

I did the dukan's thing and it says my true weight is 175, another number I am perfectly happy with. I feel like somewhere between 175-190 is where I want to be.

I'd like to be able to buy bras IN THE STORE without ordering, ha, so maybe that is how I will pick my final weight, when I can do that.

kat, too funny :P thanks

and thanks everyone! My 3fc ladies are so wise. :P haha

Lottie - one more thing - my comment about offending people was aimed at ME not wanting to offend YOU with my "boobage" comment. I meant that you can certainly carry an extra 10 pounds better than I can, all else equal, simply because I have the chest of a chubby 14 year old boy! LOL.

All other comments aside, I believe that finding and maintaining a good weight is the best goal. One where you don't yo-yo up and down. One where you feel good. I said I was going to lose 100 pounds. If I had to stop right now, I'd be OK with how I look and feel. I am at a huge disadvantage to you in that I am 60 years old and had been 250 pounds probably longer than you've been alive. Things just aren't going to snap back into place for me the way they will for you. So, I might not lose much more. If I start to get too baggy, I'm done. Time will tell, but my ultimate goal is to get to a healthy BMI and stay there.

And while I don't want to get into it with anyone about their views, I do feel an underweight BMI is not healthy, either.

One last thought on the whole concept of "normal" weight and BMI - if you were to be analyzed in depth, your individual numbers would take into consideration your bone structure and athleticism. Picture a 6' tall, 230 pound man with a pot gut and spindly legs. Now picture a 6' tall, 230 pound man who lifts weight and is a body builder. BMI for both is just over 30 putting them in the obese range. Clearly they are not the same.

Do what feels good, healthy, and comfortable for you. And I just LOVE your sense of style and wish I had possessed your self confidence at your age. You will do well.

Lin

Edited to say - at some point, STOP picturing the 6' tall, 230 pound body builder or it may interfere with your productivity for the rest of the day.

I just did the Dukan thing and got 145 pounds as my "true" weight. Not too far off from my goal of 140. We'll see what happens once I get into the 140s and how I feel about my body.

Haha! I don't think I WANT to stop picturing him!

Lottie - I think that for most of us health is the #1 priority. You have (with the exception of wanting to lower your cholesterol a bit more, which is a problem than can plague even the skinniest of people) apparently gotten a handle on that aspect of this thing. You are, by your standards and those of your medical professional, healthy. So with that done, all that is left is a vanity thing. That is a very personal thing. No matter what size someone is they will be attractive to some people and not to others, so the one person it is most important to be attractive to is ourselves (with our SO generally coming in a close second). If 175-190 is what you think makes you beautiful then that is what you should aim for. There will always be people who think you should be different than what you are. There will be some who think you should weigh less, some that think you should weigh more, some that hate your hair color/cut, some that think you should have less ink, some that think you should have more. Who cares what they think! As long as you are happy with you then you are exactly where you should be. Though, for the record, I too think you look great now and am sure that you will also be gorgeous at 190, 175, or anywhere between them.

I must also wonder why, if the issue is BMI, Magalo is aiming for an unhealthy BMI in the other direction and why she hasn't answered anyone who has questioned that. I would say that I don't mean to be offensive, but my comment is no more offensive than hers was, so I'm not really worried about it.

lottie, I can seriously relate to your post. First off, though, you look absolutely gorgeous!! For me I'm starting to get pretty happy where I am now. I still do want to go farther but I'm just not certain if I'll ever reach 140 or not (primarily picked so I'd be losing an even 100lbs and it was my HS weight).

One thing you might want to consider, though, is that you don't necessarily lose evenly (and in the spots that you'd like!). For the most part I'm pretty happy with my body BUT recently I've lost everywhere except my waist so it tends to accentuate that more. I'll definitely have to lose more now to even things up a bit. In reality I'm pretty happy in the low-170's from past experience but I've also had a kid since then so my body is different and that's going to probably affect my end goal also. Speaking of which, I'm not sure if you're a mom or want to have kids some day but that's something to also consider. I started my pregnancy at 175lbs and that was pretty hard on my body since I carried a large baby and gained a lot. Next time around I'm hoping to start at a much lower weight.

Also, you don't necessarily get to pick your goal weight. It might be that with all your healthy eating habits and working out that you just go right on past 190 until your body stabalizes somewhere lower. Who knows? I think, though, it's much better to pick a weight that you can maintain and are happy with than one that has a perfect BMI. Clearly at 190lbs you're WAY healthier than pushing 300lbs!!!

I do agree that BMI can be funny. I'm also a chesty gal, I lift quite a bit, and I'm big boned. There's just no way I'd ever make it to the lower end of my BMI. I've been 140lbs before but as a runner, never as a lifter so I'm not even sure if that's realistic anymore. According to the Dunkan Diet thing my "true weight" is 151lbs. I know I'd be really happy there so we'll see. It might be a better indication to get your body fat done. Especially with your proportions it might be a lot more useful to you when you do get to 190lbs than your BMI ever will be.


Same here but I'm pretty sure it's never going to happen for me. I have a small ribcage (I'm guessing it will be 30" or less at goal since I'm already almost at 32" now and I definitely still have back fat) and large boobs (maybe an H cup or so?). One can dream, though, right?

Gotcha, and I agree.

I'm not having kids. I'm 31 and happily childfree. They are just not for me.

I know what you mean, I keep losing from my waist and my ribcage, my boobs have shrunk a little, I've lost almost 80 lbs and have gone from a size 44 H to a size 38 G, I'll be ordering a 38 F next month cuz this one is as tight as it can go and it's not gonna last me much longer.

This past month though I have managed to lose an inch from waist, hips, ribcage and bust! woooo!

Girl you'll know when you get there. When you hit 190 take a look at yourself naked in the mirror and if you are totally happy with you and where you are at; your healthy, happy, feelin' sexy in your skin then rock it girl! If not, drop some more You rocks the curves girl, very Marilyn Monroe

For what it's worth, I asked my DH his opinion and he thinks you're hot. I won't use his exact wording so as not to offend

Ok I'll confess...I'm a dyke and well uhhhh yeah your supa hot