I hope it's okay to start a separate thread for this topic. I think it's something people may want to weigh in on over time (no pun intended) and I'd like to have the answers grouped together for comparison.
When I started IP, my coach decided on a goal weight for me that was about 15 pounds over my "fighting weight" I had maintained up until my mid-forties or so. At that weight I was healthy, active, not too skinny, had no trouble maintaining weight, and felt great. After two kids and then menopause, I put on a bunch, a lot of it in that dangerous area around my middle. A near-starvation diet over many months a couple of years ago got me back down but feeling tired and depressed, and I put the weight on again almost immediately.
So tonight I approached with her the topic of lowering my "goal weight," since I'm now within shouting distance of it. She asked me what I'd like to weigh, and I told her a number (115, the number reflected on my ticker in my signature), which is about five pounds OVER my old normal weight (the goal weight she set for me was 125). She said NO, that was too much. So then I said, all right, as long as my measurements are the same as they were then, I don't care what I weigh. She hemmed and hawed and said we would talk about it, that it was normal to put weight on as the years progressed and our natural weight "should" be somewhat higher.
I think I disagree. My father-in-law, bless his soul, did not have an inch of fat on him and was muscular and active into his nineties. He walked five to ten miles a day and ate heartily and well. He had the body of a man half his age.
So--IS it "normal" to weigh more as you get older? What about the idea of aiming for your earlier measurements? I'm curious about others' take on this.
I think your goal weight should be just that....YOUR goal weight. Granted, the professionals can advise you, but you know where you feel best. That being said, I think you should aim for the 115, but adjust upwards if you feel the need.
My own goal weight just reflects "normal" BMI. I will re-evaluate when I get closer.
I hope it's okay to start a separate thread for this topic. I think it's something people may want to weigh in on over time (no pun intended) and I'd like to have the answers grouped together for comparison.
So--IS it "normal" to weigh more as you get older? What about the idea of aiming for your earlier measurements? I'm curious about others' take on this.
Spilled my guts on this topic over the weekend... do I need to copy here or do a link!
When I was starting IP I happened to go to my Dr. around the same time and asked her what a good goal weight would be for me. She asked me what I wanted my goal to be, when I told her she said that would be OK, but when I got there I could lower it, depending on how I felt. I was OK with that and I think that the most important thing would be HOW YOU FEEL about yourself. I know many people in their 70' and 80's that did not get heavier as they got older. I think it totally depends on your lifestyle as you age...that is only one of the reasons I started IP.
So--IS it "normal" to weigh more as you get older? What about the idea of aiming for your earlier measurements? I'm curious about others' take on this.
If "normal" means that one tends to become more sedentary, less attentive to what they eat and why, etc., etc. Yeah, it's normal.
But doesn't this program prove that we can chart our own course?
Spilled my guts on this topic over the weekend... do I need to copy here or do a link!
Oh, Novak, I'm sorry, I wasn't able to keep up with the board over the weekend; my kid's getting ready to go back to college so it was Ikea, pick up the horse trailer, yadda yadda....a link would be great, but I can just search your posts.
Spilled my guts on this topic over the weekend... do I need to copy here or do a link!
How about a link, Novak?.. it won't be very long before that thread is buried several pages back... it was such a great post, I'd hate for it to get lost...
When I look in the mirror & can say, that's me, that's what I'm supposed to look like, then I'll step on the scales & that number will be "normal" for me... I've set my goal at 130, but I really don't know why... optimum BMI, I suppose... I reserve the right to change my mind...
Midlife Meggie: Well, your weight of 115 is within the healthy BMI, even if its a little on the low end. I, too, am being told that mine is too low at 125, but its where I remember being happiest.
I do know that at my weight now, I'm in smaller clothes than I was at this weight before...if that makes sense. Basically, because I'm losing fat and not muscle, I think that I'm smaller at this weight than I was before.
I'd say go to where you're happiest, no matter what the number is.
I think the norm is that people are exert themselves less, have more stress, and have health issues that crop up as they age. I think as a society it is more accepted that we don't look as we did when we were younger. As a result, the scales used to determine normal weight are adjusted in the direction the "norms" dictate.
I don't think there is any problem weighing less than others your age if you are healthier or more active in your lifestyle. I think it is fine to weigh less than you did at your lowest as an adult if you eat better and are more active than you were.
I do know that at my weight now, I'm in smaller clothes than I was at this weight before...if that makes sense. Basically, because I'm losing fat and not muscle, I think that I'm smaller at this weight than I was before.
This is absolutely the case, and one of the things I find so fascinating about IP. My body type has changed in a way that no diet or exercise has been able to do for me previously... not even when I was training for and running 1-2 marathons a year. My sister's experience is exactly the same. Amazing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by showgirlaz
I think as a society it is more accepted that we don't look as we did when we were younger.
I do know that at my weight now, I'm in smaller clothes than I was at this weight before.
Jessica and Novak, I'm curious about this. When you say you're smaller, are you smaller according to your actual measurements, or just the clothes sizes you fit into. Because I've found that today's size 4 is about the same as a size 6 or even sometimes 8 was a few decades ago. When I weighed 111 in the nineteen-eighties and early nineties, I fit comfortably into a size 8.
Jessica and Novak, I'm curious about this. When you say you're smaller, are you smaller according to your actual measurements, or just the clothes sizes you fit into. Because I've found that today's size 4 is about the same as a size 6 or even sometimes 8 was a few decades ago. When I weighed 111 in the nineteen-eighties and early nineties, I fit comfortably into a size 8.
Morning Meggie,
I'm in the same situation as Novak and Jessica: I'm back to what I weighed a few years ago, but my measurements are definitely smaller. I use to run and lift weights, so I had a fairly decent body shape (IMHO - lol). I've only recently started lifting weights again so my body isn't as toned as it use to be, but I'm smaller at this weight then I previously was. The way I'm currently eating has most definitely changed my measurements - which has nothing to do with the inconsistency in clothing sizes. I'm thoroughly enjoying the way my body is remorphing itself - regardless of the scientific why behind it.
Good luck in discovering YOUR ideal weight and size. You'll know when you get there.
If "normal" means that one tends to become more sedentary, less attentive to what they eat and why, etc., etc. Yeah, it's normal.
But doesn't this program prove that we can chart our own course?
Loved your answer....yes, that does appear to be "normal" for a lot of us....me included. It's only when I start to get winded taking my dogs or their walk, that I decide it's time to get some weight off. I'm sincerely planning this to be my last diet!
I am right there with you. Prior to IP, I was on LA Weightloss. My goal weight was 10 lb less than the number I have in mind this time. My doctor said he would prefer I have a goal weight 5 lbs. above that goal weight. He said one of the most important things to consider is that you goal weight be a weight that you can MAINTAIN without constant struggle He said it is better to be a few pounds heavier and hold that weight rather than go up and down. Given my history- I think I put the YO in YO-YO. I think I'll go with 10 lbs. more than my LAWL goal. That weight is the weight I reached and my body would not let lose of any more poundage. I was running about 35 miles per week.
As to body shape and size, I can fit into the clothes I wore at that old weight. Some are snug, but if I get to the goal I have in mind, I am thinking my body will be a complete size lower. I guess I'll talk it over with my coach and together we'll come up with something. BMI is weird for me. I must have more muscle mass because people always are shocked when I say how much I weigh. They mostly think I weigh 15-20lbs. less.
Deciding on your goal weight
