Congratulations! You must be flying today!!

I'm pretty pumped up today!

We all know what a good feeling it is to get out of a weight class.

Though I'm also a little bumed because now I'm at the high end of the 120s and despite a victory it's still a long battle. A bit like, 'yeah, good, but it still feels like a long way to go'

I know it sounds low to others...But I have to get that low to look good and be healthy.
Because that's a BMI of 20.0, which I think is ideal.
At 18 I used to weigh 105 pounds and I looked 'average weight' and not 'slim' Having now turned 22 I think 110 is more age appropriate.
I'm apple shaped and ALL my weight is in my stomach. My body is so strange I have skinny thin legs and slim arms, but my stomach protrudes out like I'm 5 months pregnant. The fat goes directly to the lower part of my stomach. My waist circumference is 86 cm and being above 80 cm is considered dangerous because of increased risk of diabetes+++

Congratulations Isabella!!

congrats Isabella!

138 again, but after a 2 hour workout and the fact that TOM is still around I think I'm still retaining water. Getting worried though as I don't usually retain water this long, but I guess we'll see.

I've also been upping my calories in preparation for maintenance (just to 1400-1500 though) so maybe my body's getting used to the extra food.

I can definitely sympathise with you...everyone has different bodies and their ideal weight...i'm 5'9 fairly slim have always been around 118-120, and recently put on some weight so now i'm at 128 although some see this as a 'healthy' weight i feel as though I'm living in a foreign body and want to get back dow to 120... So good luck, I'm sure you'll feel/look fab when you reach your goal

Isabella- Thanks for explaining. I like to hear everyone's story about goal weight, b/c I find mine to be so tricky to "cope with". My brain sees my body and knows this weight is great for me, but I am fighting major number-phobia. :-( Congrats on the loss!!

I was BAD this evening. Buffalo Chicken Dip and I do not get along, which is why I just apss on it. But I had some with 7 or 8 tortilla chips. Not horrible except I had seconds, and a bigger portion the 2nd time. Doh!! I don't have mnay food wekanesses, but that is definately one of them.

I haven't weighed in for a few days. I like to do it early a.m., with no clothes, etc, and it is just so darn cold in my house! LOL

Isabella - congrats! I understand completely. My BMI is about 22 currently but I'm really unsatisfied with my shape. I also carry all my weight in my middle and constantly look preggers...I've lost count of the number of times people have asked me. I think I'd have to get down to 120 to feel better. There is also a lot of diabetes in my family and everyone is apple shaped.

Have you guys thought about working on body recomposition (i.e. lifting)? Switching up exercise routines. Both of you guys are at wonderfully healthy weights and speaking from experience I know how painstaking (and often futile) it is to try to squeeze those last few pounds off.

I too wanted to lose 7 more lbs. But I was stuck at 124-122 for FIVE MONTHS while in a caloric deficit and exercising regularly. It just wasn't going to happen, not without extreme methods

I'm working on lifting now. I don't think reducing what I have is going to work. I've dropped a cup size but my thighs are as wide as ever. For me, it' not about getting smaller, it's about reshaping myself. And it sounds like that's what you guys are most interested in too.

To be honest I stopped posting regularly in the Featherweights section because it made me focus too much on dropping pounds... everyone else around me was a little taller, a little thinner, and losing. It made me feel like I was doing something wrong. I WAS doing something wrong, it turns out... I shouldn't have continued trying to lose weight! Part of what I needed was to refocus my energy on strength training, part was to refocus my BRAIN on being happy with my bodies quirks and imperfections.

I'm saying this only because I think it's important to add a voice in the Feathers group to say there is a point when enough is enough and lower isn't better. Everyone in the Feathers boards are so wonderful and supportive, but I do think there sometimes is an unspoken pressure we put on ourselves to keep up with everyone else who just keeps losing. Nothing wrong with that, I just want to say there IS a point when losing more isn't going to do anything... reshaping our bodies and our mentalities is

indiblue - I can't count the number of times I've questioned my goal weight because I see so many here who are taller than me and wishing to weigh less (or already do) and I wonder if I should go lower. Meanwhile when I look in the mirror I'm pretty satisfied with myself. I'm not expecting perfection by any means. Can I go down to 125? Maybe, but I'm not sure what it would accomplish. I know I'm still at the high end of the normal BMI, but I kind of like where I am.

I've been lifting since before I began losing weight and it does wonders for the body. I love it. Unfortunately I have neglected my core and it shows. I've trained my upper and lower body and those are both toned and muscular with just a little fat...while my core is flabby! I attribute it to my own neglect, but I'm working on that and hopefully can reshape that area of my body (I'm sure some of it is extra skin, actually...).

Even though I just got here, I can kind of feel my body fighting me. I'm hungrier all of a sudden and I wasn't this way just a few pounds ago. For the first time it's become very difficult for me to stay within my calorie allotment! I don't want to gain the weight back, so I really don't want to push myself down much further and risk eating everything in sight. I think 135 will be it and then I will focus on maintaining and losing any additional inches through strength training.

^^ This! ^^

It was thinking, "I only need to lose ten more pounds!" which caused my relapse each time it happened. Because my body would resist and weight loss became very difficult even with an extreme low-carb, vlc/CRON diet. Eventually I became discouraged and just gave up, gaining all the weight back and then some, each time.

So this time I am doing it differently. Yes, I still want to lose a few pounds. But I look pretty good with my clothes on. It's my flab and saggy skin that's the problem when I am unclothed or in a bathing suit.

I decided not to focus on the last thirteen pounds. Rather, I am focusing on learning to maintain. I am focusing on building a new muscle base for metabolism so I can eat a reasonable amount of food for maintenance - forever. I am focusing on developing the machinery to process calories, by building muscles and re-setting my BMR using JUDDD. I am focusing on feeling great, getting strong, and improving my heart health as I enter my mid-life and menopause. I am focusing on how my body can improve as I build it into a fit vehicle for my soul. Because my soul deserves a fit body.

I went from being a daily weigher to weighing once a week. I have a feeling if I just stopped weighing for a few months, but diligently kept up low-carb JUDDD and my gym program, I'd find myself very near my goal weight as a natural consequence of developing permanent, healthy habits FOR LIFE. I re-read the Atkins book sections on maintenance (I hadn't read about Atkins maintenance in years, since I always tried to OWL right up to my goal weight). Now I realize THAT was what was causing my failure!

I am a HUGE fan of weight lifting, either all along or added in the pre-maintenance phase, as a final touch to a person's weight-loss journey. I think making a permanent habit of fitness and healthy, controlled eating is key to maintenance.

OK I'm stepping off my soapbox now.

indiblue - those are great points and I always like your posts...I do find that it's a lot in my head that I need to be 125 lbs and that I'm actually at a very healthy weight.

indiblue- I'm so glad you posted! I've been having the number struggle, but if i can't eat less than 1800 cals without dang near fainting, it's obviously my body's way of telling me that this is the bottom for me. I'm going around the 23rd of this month to get my body fat tested again, and as long as it is 20% still, I will know that this weight/size is where I'm meant to be. I love working out, I love muscle definition....but I can't do either of these at a calorie deficit anymore.

I wonder if the Featherweights section needs a Maintainers thread.

I realize there is a whole section for Maintainers who are wise and supportive and wonderful. But that doesn't preclude us from having one here. Many of us have never been overweight, or significantly overweight, or only overweight during/after pregnancy, etc. We haven't gone through the whole journey of losing 100 lbs and keeping it off for years.

And maybe a Maintainers thread will help keep the Featherweights board more balanced in terms of coping with our imperfections and body image issues. It gets easy here to compare yourself to others since we're all clumped together on the weight spectrum, only a few pounds separating us. Sometimes I here feel like I'm in a room of really thin people who are all getting thinner and maybe we need to have at least one area for people who are happy where they are.... or working on being happy where they are

I also want to say I'm really happy to hear that a lot of other people feel the same way I do... that we are caught up in the numbers game but KNOW that's not the right way of doing things. And that being strong and building muscle can't be done in a calorie deficit. And that there are more important things than the number on the scale.... being really happy with our bodies is one of them!

PS Here is my whole struggle recently... lots of longterm maintainers gave me great advice. It helped me a lot, maybe it can help others as well: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/livi...ng-myself.html

indiblue - I think a maintainers thread is a great idea. I do find I compare myself to others who weight a lot less and are still losing too.