These are the people I envy.

All around of them are around my height and all of them got to lower weights than me.

Ekicna==5”2” 105

Hungry Hungry Hippo==5' 92

Mrmoustache====4'10” 104

Banananutmuffin===5' 105

Angelsmom====5'1” 105

Petite Powerhouse=== 5'3” 108


If they can do it then why can't I? I guess it's on to my last resort, 800 calories a day. It's not going to be easy. Wish me luck.

Whenever I started comparing my weight loss to other people... It never was a good thing for me... Just made me feel like a failure... and was ultimately self defeating...

At five nine and 142 you are thinner than I am at 111. So I envy you as well.

800 cals a day? I'm afraid it may not work the way you want it. I eat more at breakfast and I'm still loosing weight.

I was going to post in your other thread, but saw that it was a vent and not a plea for advice. I hope you don't mind me posting some advice here instead, as I fear that you're treading into unhealthy territory. I understand the desperation, but it's not worth jeopardizing your health!

I really think you need to step away from all of this and look at what you have achieved. You've lost over 30lbs! That's huge! I know it's annoying when you have not reached a pre-determined number on the scale, but it's useless to compare yourself to someone else because each and every one of us is different, have different lives, eating and exercise plans, etc. The weight that is ideal for one person may not be for another. So while you may MENTALLY want to go lower, it may not be ideal for your body.

You've been maintaining! That's wonderful! So many people cannot do that and simply gain all of the weight back and then some. You have not, so you're already ahead of the game in that respect.

I'm also going to throw in the following that might help you a bit too:

Rather than try to go lower and lower with your weight, why not try to reshape your body? You said you could maintain at 2000 cals—why not eat that much and throw in some heavy weight training? The scale may freak out at first, but you'll begin to see changes in your body. While the scale may or may not go down, you'll "tone up" for lack of a better term and look as if you lost weight. When women weight train with heavy weights, they often get that toned look that many women chase.

One of the reasons I think I can maintain on over 2000 cals myself is that I do some heavy weight training. It also makes it easy to drop weight if I eat less than 2000 calories for a period of time (I got down to 107 because I didn't make sure I ate enough calories!!)

Weight training also helped me accept my own body and perhaps it can do that for you. It's really tough to feel down about my body when I realize how powerful it is.

800 calories a day is way too low. You will be robbing yourself of nutrition.I notice I am not on your list so in your eyes am I a failure ? I am exatly 5' tall and weigh 117 and am pleased with that. I have gotten down to 110 and that is really hard to sustain that low weight. The previous posters have given you some good advice. One of the best, do not compare yoursef to others.

What I have learned on this long journey is that unless or until you stop defining yourself by a number on a scale, you will never find happiness.

You are setting yourself up for all kinds of issues, both mentally and physically, if you try to eat only 800 calories a day.

You've gotten a lot of stellar advice here. I also think that 800 calories a day sounds like a recipe for failure. You said on 1000 calories a day (or maybe it was 900 I don't recall), you lived on coffee and energy drinks and were difficult to live with. Do you really think you can eat a balanced diet and get in all of your protein, fat, etc. that your body needs on 800 calories a day? You could be doing long-term damage internally to your organs if you stay that low-- and you might not even lose!

One thing to ponder. When you see others at a similar weight and height to you-- do you think they look good? Or do you think they look heavy? Sometimes I'm unhappy with my current weight (like today!), but I'll see someone at the gym or somewhere and think they look pretty good-- then I'll realize they are a similar size to me (or even larger). Sometimes our own eyes are much too critical of ourselves.

It makes me sad that you compare yourself to everyone and then deem yourself a failure because you aren't exactly their size.

I am sure you are a beautiful person and I hope you don't miss out on that too much longer by obsessing over a number on a scale.

800 calories a day is very low and I hope you are very careful. I'm not a nutrionist and don't have any formal training but I read a lot and study all of the information here and on other websites. I think you'd be shocked to know that you could probably eat 1200+ calories and then you'd lose the weight (or maintain) that you want. But mentally I don't think you are there yet. Your body could either be panicking that you are starving it (which you actually may be, esp. if the energy drink comments above are true) or your body really isn't made to be any lower of a weight.

I know you probably stopped reading all of our comments as I get like that too when I am obsessed with getting my way on something. But I sincerely hope you read all of our comments and even if you only gain one bit of selfworth or change your outlook in a tiny way, it will all be worth it for us to post here.

I hope you find some inner peace, it must be very stressful to live obsessing over this like you are.

Mags, I can practically feel your pain and frustration through my laptop screen.

I believe others do, as well, which is why you are getting so many answers. We don't want you to start tearing at yourself and hurting yourself, when what you most need from yourself right now is kindness.

Let me pick up where we left off the conversation in your other thread. You answered me this way:

I want you to dream bigger than that. Is there anything **else** other than losing weight that you can do to change your life? To make things just a little better for yourself? Any small action ... at all? That hasn't got to do with your appearance?

I ask you this because I remember when my weight was never low enough ... and I, too, wanted to be 110, then 105, and then was trying to get below 100 pounds. Well, I was so obsessed with seeing that number that I developed anorexia, and then binge eating disorder as a reaction to how harshly I was treating with myself, as one part of myself tried to break free of its imprisonment. I needed both therapy and medication to get away from those extremes.

One thing I discovered about myself made sense to me. You know how some male prisoners who are locked away develop an obsession with bodybuilding? I think it's because they feel closed off from any other possibilities of growth or change while they serve out their sentences. So they focus on their bodies, which at least, they still own and control. I believe I did the same thing. My life was very small & constricted at that point and I could not see how it would ever, ever get better or change. So I put all my energy, creativity and focus on changing my body, and once I discovered I could make it change, wow, I just kept trying to shape & hone it, further & further & further. I didn't drop that body shaping project till I refocused my efforts on other aims, in bringing about other changes in my life. (It's a long story but I took a night class, then re-enrolled in school, moved out of my living quarters, changed jobs, did some freelance writing, changes careers entirely ... it was a time of tremendous upheaval. All started by my weight-loss effort. Well, no, the weight loss effort was a symptom, not the cause.)

You may not be anything like me ... but I feel a great hunger for change and a lot of will & energy in your posts.

Listen, you have permission to let go of the weight thing. When I say "let go," I don't mean going in the opposite direction, toward obesity. I mean you are allowed to say, "I'm finished with the weight-loss project. Now, what else can I focus on & make a change in?" Because I think the weight loss project teaches us some skills we can apply in other life projects, like focus, support, acquiring knowledge, committing, following up, cause-and-effect, and patience. Can you use that to change some other thing in your life in 2013?

Oh, and as for me, for sanity's sake, I don't very often look at other members' weights. If there were a function that would allow us to selectively block this display, I would do it. Comparisons send me back near the border of rampant eating disordered behavior, where I try not to linger. There be dragons there.

Saef, I enjoyed reading your post. I hope Mags reads it and really thinks about it.

(I will admit, I am shocked to read that Mags is married. I really thought we were trying to help a 19-20 year old. I have to think about this...)

I agree with those that said perhaps give weight training a try. The number on the scale is not the best indicator of progress. I weigh almost 130 lbs and if I went by the scale, I'd be...sad. I wear a size 2 in clothing because weight training has allowed me to lose body fat and the problem areas are gone.

My mom used to tell me that comparison was the thief of joy. She was right. Compete only with YOU.

I hope I didn't overstep and this is my .02 cents, for what it's worth. Nevertheless, congrats on your progress and have a nice holiday.

No I don't consider you a failure. I don't envy your weight but I do envy the fact that you were able to go six pounds beneath your goal weight. You might have found it difficult to stay there but you did get there. And aren't you one of the people who can lose at the standard 1200 calorie level?

Fitmom, 130 pounds on you would be like 105 pounds on me when our height difference is accounted for. Would you be happy if you weighed 141 pounds? Or would go be striving to get lower?

Saef, your comment about prisoners being obsessed with working out really hit home with me. I feel like my life is a prison. My days are filled with endless unpleasant tasks and I see little hope of changing things.

The aspect of my life aside from my weight that I most want to change is my job. I hated my job when first got hired there and it's only gotten worse over the years. I've been looking for another job for a long time, but haven't had any luck. I live in a tourist area where most jobs are minimum wage and/or seasonal and that wouldn't be enough to support me and my husband on. Education or training sounds like it would be a good option if I could just give up the nasty habit of sleeping.

So right now I'm just hoping for that pink slip. If I went into details about my job you'd understand why.