For people who have started to transition off the diet - how did you reach the decision that you were done?
For people who are still going, how did you decide to set your goal?
I'm having a rough time with the decision of whether or not to stay at 85 or push through to 90. My body doesn't seem to want to lose any more. (Just looked at my stats - I'm averaging like 5 pounds a month since January.) I don't want to give up, but on the other hand, I don't know if my goal was a reasonable number or not. There are a lot of arguments I could make on both sides, but, it would really help me to hear how other people came to this decision.
Thanks, everyone - it really helps to have other people going through the same thing to talk to. I'd post this in the 'life after' thread, but I really feel like you guys have a closer perspective to what I'm going through right now. When you've come so far, it's a different thing than when you've been on the diet for a couple months to lose 20 pounds.
I set my own goal. And as I am almost there-147 goal 140, I am beginning to think I was too low! I am 5'8" and can now fit nicely into a size 6 and a small top. I am fairly muscular as I work out a lot...
But, I then think, hey, 140 would be nice!
The last week has been tough and I have many self defeating thoughts of just eat what you want!!! Sigh.
For people who have started to transition off the diet - how did you reach the decision that you were done?
For people who are still going, how did you decide to set your goal?
I'm having a rough time with the decision of whether or not to stay at 85 or push through to 90. My body doesn't seem to want to lose any more. (Just looked at my stats - I'm averaging like 5 pounds a month since January.) I don't want to give up, but on the other hand, I don't know if my goal was a reasonable number or not. There are a lot of arguments I could make on both sides, but, it would really help me to hear how other people came to this decision.
I picked my lowest weight that I can remember, which is when I was 18... I will reevaluate when I get close. For me, it will be about how I feel in my clothes and whether I see areas of flab still or if I am sleek and muscular...
How do you feel now? Are you happy with the way you look? I think that speaks volumes and is more relevant than a number on a scale. Others have also suggested a body fat percentage test. I think that is a better judge of whether you have more weight to lose. Muscle weighs more than fat, so some people are just "dense" because of muscle and therefore weigh more.
For people who have started to transition off the diet - how did you reach the decision that you were done?
For people who are still going, how did you decide to set your goal?
I'm having a rough time with the decision of whether or not to stay at 85 or push through to 90. My body doesn't seem to want to lose any more. (Just looked at my stats - I'm averaging like 5 pounds a month since January.) I don't want to give up, but on the other hand, I don't know if my goal was a reasonable number or not. There are a lot of arguments I could make on both sides, but, it would really help me to hear how other people came to this decision.
Thanks, everyone - it really helps to have other people going through the same thing to talk to. I'd post this in the 'life after' thread, but I really feel like you guys have a closer perspective to what I'm going through right now. When you've come so far, it's a different thing than when you've been on the diet for a couple months to lose 20 pounds.
We are supposed to shoot for the weight we were when we graduated from high school. I was in great shape when I graduated and wore a juniors size 7 (I think similar to a misses size 4). I was in the mid-140's at that weight. So I would love to get to the 140's. But once upon a time....I was going to be satisfied with 175. So for now....I am going until mid-June and then phasing off. I might be back in the fall.
Make sure to update your progress this week ladies. I had a slow week. But was 100% (not 99%) on plan. I worked out to some degree every day...think that might have something to do with it.
I assume this means IF we were in shape in high school. Beginning of high school, I was 185. End, I was 155...
Yes, that is what my doctor said, but for most people over 40 there really were not weight issues among the youth. I can only remember one or two people in my whole high school.
I guess maybe to your lowest weight you felt good at.
My daughter for example was at her lowest at 175 since like 5th grade. She has never been a healthy weight. Not since birth. She hooked up with a heavy guy her senior year and took her 175 to 275....ouch! She is still struggling terribly. She did IP alternative from January 1 to last month and lost 60 pounds (she started in the 290's), but she stopped about 3 weeks ago. She started WW a few days ago. I am so fearful she will gain the 60 plus more back. Her husband lost 92 pounds in the same time and is about 10 pounds below his healthy weight....he is going to start weight lifting now.
Yes, that is what my doctor said, but for most people over 40 there really were not weight issues among the youth. I can only remember one or two people in my whole high school.
I guess maybe to your lowest weight you felt good at.
My daughter for example was at her lowest at 175 since like 5th grade. She has never been a healthy weight. Not since birth. She hooked up with a heavy guy her senior year and took her 175 to 275....ouch! She is still struggling terribly. She did IP alternative from January 1 to last month and lost 60 pounds (she started in the 290's), but she stopped about 3 weeks ago. She started WW a few days ago. I am so fearful she will gain the 60 plus more back. Her husband lost 92 pounds in the same time and is about 10 pounds below his healthy weight....he is going to start weight lifting now.
I was one of those fat kids as well...have been my entire life. I was 180-200 pounds through all of high school, when I graduated I was a size 16.
I am smaller now than I have been at anytime in my teen and adult life! It's pretty sad when I think about it.
I'm going by healthy body fat % to decide my end goal.
On a depressing side note. I had my first "falling off the wagon" last night. I went to a baby shower and of course they had soooooo many delicious looking treats! I decided I was going to be tough and not have anything....then I walked past the food table and they had a huge bowl of mixed nuts. I decided I would just eat 2 little nuts...well that lead to 4 giant handfuls! AGH! I haven't had any carbs pass these lips since I started, but I have no idea what that amount of fat is going to do to ketosis! I'm sure I probably had about 2000 calories worth of nuts last night!
I'm mad at myself, but decided to pick myself back up and have a perfect OP day today!
I picked my lowest weight that I can remember, which is when I was 18... I will reevaluate when I get close. For me, it will be about how I feel in my clothes and whether I see areas of flab still or if I am sleek and muscular...
How do you feel now? Are you happy with the way you look? I think that speaks volumes and is more relevant than a number on a scale. Others have also suggested a body fat percentage test. I think that is a better judge of whether you have more weight to lose. Muscle weighs more than fat, so some people are just "dense" because of muscle and therefore weigh more.
My body fat % numbers are in the high 20's, which is in the normal range from what I've seen. All my numbers are in line, except BMI, which is one point into the 'overweight' range.
I'm happy with the way I look IN clothes. Naked, I still have flabby areas I'd like to get rid of. But that's probably because I'm not exercising.
My plan has always been to lose weight first, THEN start exercising, once I'm back on a normal calorie consumption level. I have two main reasons for this - one is that if I'm building muscle, the number on the scale isn't going down, and the other is that I have enough willpower for one or the other at any given time - diet OR exercise. I don't think I can do both at once. So, when I stop being a diet nut, I will start being a workout fiend. Maybe spend some money and get a personal trainer for a little while.
I picked my goal based on BMI and getting to a nice round number from where I started. I have a pretty solid build - even without the fat, I'm never going to be willowy. I have curves, and my basic skeletal structure is more solid than most.
I'm getting a lot of compliments now on the way I look. I'm not happy yet, but, maybe that just means its time to start toning?
Sorry to dump this on all of you, I'm just having a really tough time with this decision.
Start exercising! You look great! Exercising will help firm up the soft parts and you will feel good. I don't even notice the lack of calories.
Plus, if you are working out you might be more focused on keeping the great figure you've earned!! Congrats!!!
I was one of those fat kids as well...have been my entire life. I was 180-200 pounds through all of high school, when I graduated I was a size 16.
I am smaller now than I have been at anytime in my teen and adult life! It's pretty sad when I think about it.
I'm going by healthy body fat % to decide my end goal.
On a depressing side note. I had my first "falling off the wagon" last night. I went to a baby shower and of course they had soooooo many delicious looking treats! I decided I was going to be tough and not have anything....then I walked past the food table and they had a huge bowl of mixed nuts. I decided I would just eat 2 little nuts...well that lead to 4 giant handfuls! AGH! I haven't had any carbs pass these lips since I started, but I have no idea what that amount of fat is going to do to ketosis! I'm sure I probably had about 2000 calories worth of nuts last night!
I'm mad at myself, but decided to pick myself back up and have a perfect OP day today!
fat and calories won't knock you out of ketosis only the carbs and you probably didn't have enough carbs unless the nuts were coated.
fat and calories won't knock you out of ketosis only the carbs and you probably didn't have enough carbs unless the nuts were coated.
I agree with Darbs - nuts are one of the better things you could have binged on. Don't be shocked if your weight loss slows down this week, but, you haven't done that much damage. It takes several days of actual carbs to knock you out of ketosis. Get back on the wagon, and look forward, not back!
For people who have started to transition off the diet - how did you reach the decision that you were done?
For people who are still going, how did you decide to set your goal?
I'm having a rough time with the decision of whether or not to stay at 85 or push through to 90. My body doesn't seem to want to lose any more. (Just looked at my stats - I'm averaging like 5 pounds a month since January.) I don't want to give up, but on the other hand, I don't know if my goal was a reasonable number or not. There are a lot of arguments I could make on both sides, but, it would really help me to hear how other people came to this decision.
Thanks, everyone - it really helps to have other people going through the same thing to talk to. I'd post this in the 'life after' thread, but I really feel like you guys have a closer perspective to what I'm going through right now. When you've come so far, it's a different thing than when you've been on the diet for a couple months to lose 20 pounds.
My decision to phase off was mostly based on a 'third-party' situation where I decided I'd take my wonderful new body to a spa to celebrate my 'rebirth'. So I'm going on a spa trip starting on 6/9 and figured I need to be on maintenance by then. The nice thing about that decision is the spa I'm going to is all-inclusive and makes wonderful, healthy, fresh food. What a way to start maintenance and see success!
As for my weight goal, I probably should have put my goal at 135, but 145 seemed doable and comfortable. I'm finally in the healthy range for my height and that is what was most important to me when I started this. At first it was less about the 'how do I want to look' than 'I want to live a long time to be with my kids'. Now vanity has kicked in and maybe I'll shift my thinking...
Now as I'm on day 4 of phase 2 I'm realizing not much has changed for me and I am still losing. I saw my goal weight this morning on the scale. It was a nice thing to see, but the reality is I think I ultimately would like to go a little lower. I'm sure I'll see some more movement over the next couple weeks before I get to phase 3, but I've decided to celebrate the moment and reevaluate.
We talk a lot on this forum about this being a marathon, not a race. I've been inspired by so many of you who have stuck with this for so long. I think I need to get back to 'real life' and figure out how all this works when things are normal. So maybe I'll revisit phase 1 later in the fall, but maybe I won't have to! I don't consider it bailing on the program, but rather a walking interval in my marathon. I have been running for over 3 months, now let's walk for a bit.
I had the same plan of losing weight and then getting seriously back into exercise. I started a little last week and am trying to ramp things up now. I figure as I phase 'down' in one area I'll use that energy to phase 'up' in the other. I think the exercise will very likely put me where I want to be.
Sorry for the long winded response, but I've been doing a lot of soul searching the past month or so. I think I'm finally realizing I need to figure out who I want to be.
How do you know when you're done?
