OK, so for the last nine months or so I have been maintaining without any difficulty at 63-64 kilos with the occasional dip down to 62 (about 135-140lb like it says in my profile). I rely mostly on the fit of my pants as a check, only going on the scale about once a week. I'm very happy with what I'm eating, with lots of lean protein and vegetables and fruit, and whole grains, although a lot fewer "bread" type servings than before I lost weight. I was very inspired by kaplods' posts and found that after settling into this way of eating for about 2 months I no longer had cravings for sweet foods, pastries etc that used to bother me terribly before. And they're very filling foods. So although my LoseIt app says I should be eating about 1950 cal a day, it's really averaging more like 1700; at the end of the week I'm often 1000-1500 cal short for the week total. But I was holding steady in weight so I figured maybe the LoseIt estimate was wrong or I was counting wrong. The last two weeks I did make a little more effort to hit the weekly total properly, going over 2000 for about 4 days in the 14. Nothing special, some extra servings of yogurt, and I tried out a new bread recipe.
Well, about a week ago all of a sudden my scale is down at 60 kilos -- 132lb. That's SIX POUNDS LESS. And it's staying there. I couldn't figure out at first where it came from -- like I said, not the pants. Finally doing measurements I figured out I have lost an inch from each of my arms in the last month. (Not muscle -- I do upper body weights, but haven't done any kind of drastic change in exercise lately.) I was not even a whooshing person when I was losing, it was a pretty steady 0.5-1lb downward a week.
I'm not sure how to feel about this. 20 pounds ago I would have been very excited at this sudden bonus. And only last month I posted on the "My arms are too big" thread. But people have been giving me the "don't lose any more" lecture again the last month or so (now I know why). And it means I haven't really figured out my maintenance calories the way I thought I had. I don't really want to eat "more", either by eating more caloriffic things that might make me fall off the wagon, or making myself eat when I'm not hungry. I'm not skinny by any means, I did a calculator last month that says I'm at about 26% body fat, which I was disappointed to learn doesn't even move me from the "Average" to the "Fit" category! But I don't really want to lose more, I'm fairly happy with the way I look.
Anyway, feel free to ignore this long post, I'm PMSing now and it's a stressful time at work. I just don't have anyone in my offline life to say this to that would understand at all.
First off, any unexpected weight loss probably needs to be looked at by your general practitioner to make sure there is nothing underlying that needs a look. Have you had blood work up done lately?
When I increased my calories during maintenance, I lost about 5lbs as well, but it evened out after that. It seems strange, but sometimes our bodies are holding on to a little fat because we are not eating enough. When we increase cals, it lets go of that fat.
Adding 200 calories/day isn't difficult at all (obviously haha!). A handful of nuts, an extra tablespoon of olive oil, an extra fruit would all be healthy ways of making sure you are hitting your maintenance target.
I hate sweatpants too! I don't have a GP here because I am a little leery of the local hospitals, but I get a checkup every summer in the US and everything's always been fine. If this strangeness becomes a trend rather than a blip I'll get checked out. I'll try to add the calories a little more regularly; it's just that I don't want to fall into bad habits again. And JayEll, it's the most basic kind of mechanical scale! I wondered if it was a change in humidity or temperature, so I double checked on the scale at the gym.
Really, I'm not that worried about it. It was mostly the circumstances this week. You know how when your weight loss first becomes visible, all of a sudden everyone has an opinion on it? I'm paranoid about that starting again. I work in an academic environment, and when I was losing, there was a lot of negative stuff -- weight loss is anti-feminist, calorie counting is obsessive, you're setting a bad example for the students because you're encouraging anorexic tendencies. Yes, for real. Even though I never brought it up in conversation myself. Last week there were two people I hadn't seen in a while; one kept going on about how skinny I was, really I need to stop losing. The other was a woman who used to inspect my plate at faculty events and ask "Should you be eating that?" Thankfully, she moved away. Yesterday I saw her for the first time in three months, and guess what were literally the first words out of her mouth? "Oh, you haven't gained the weight back." SERIOUSLY WHO SAYS SOMETHING LIKE THAT???
And then, like I said, TOM. One more week till spring break. I'm just gonna come home quietly, make myself a stiff drink (hey, that's 200 calories!) and count the days.
Last edited by bronzeager; 03-19-2011 at 07:52 AM.
I work in an academic environment, and when I was losing, there was a lot of negative stuff -- weight loss is anti-feminist, calorie counting is obsessive, you're setting a bad example for the students because you're encouraging anorexic tendencies. Yes, for real.
Oh, boy did this resonate with me, because I have been reflecting on this a lot while reading posts on 3FC and trying to make sense of my own reflections on weight loss.
Yes, I know the personal is political. Yes, I know my body is a battlefield. But I never really **knew** either of these things until I was exposed to the multitude of attitudes from women in different parts of the U.S. & overseas on this board.
While scanning posts, I've identified in my mind (never written down here) how some attitudes toward weight loss align with actual political platforms, some of them near to mine, some of them far from mine. It's not for me to judge any of them, or to get into that further here -- this is a minefield that I do not wish to step into -- but suffice it to say, I think I may know EXACTLY what you mean.
And also, I must confess, I have to work at reconciling some of my behaviors with my professed politics & figure out how they fit. Or rather, how they express my own personal tensions.
about a week ago all of a sudden my scale is down SIX POUNDS LESS.
And it's staying there.
I'm not sure how to feel about this.
people have been giving me the "don't lose any more" lecture again the last month or so
And it means I haven't really figured out my maintenance calories the way I thought I had.
I'm at about 26% body fat,
which I was disappointed to learn doesn't even move me from the "Average" to the "Fit" category! But I don't really want to lose more, I'm fairly happy with the way I look.
bonzeager.
BOUNCESHAPPEN INSIDE EXCELLENT MAINTENANCE.
For what seems to be no reason at all,
I've seen many big UP-Bounces and big DOWN-Bounces.
My advice is to simply keep on doing what you're doing now.
Most likely, for no reason at all, eventually there will be a rebound bounce.
Weird unexpected whoosh...
But I don't really want to lose more, I'm fairly happy with the way I look. 
