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Old 08-29-2005, 03:23 PM   #1  
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Default Deciding to gain weight

I read through LovesBassets' thread on when to stop losing weight and it started me on a train of thought about my weight loss and how I got here. I actually decided to "throw in the towel" over a year ago, decided I was as thin as I was going to get, and settled in to get comfortable. Then I lost another 10 pounds. Then another 5. And my body re-arranged things, so I'm a size 4 on bottom, and my ribs stick out both below and above my boobs. I can't tell if my bathroom mirror is distorting things, or if I really am too skinny. I'm thinking about gaining weight, on purpose.

Have any of you chosen that route, and what pushed you to decide to gain weight?

I'm indecisive, for many reasons.
  • If I go above my Weight Watchers goal weight, I wouldn't go to meetings and have that support anymore. (Though I guess I could set a higher goal.)
  • I would feel like I had failed.
  • My weight is definitely in the healthy range, at 5' 4.5" and 130 pounds.
  • I feel healthy
  • I am not having difficulty maintaining this weight
  • My bodyfat was 24% when measured 6 months ago, so if anything I should be trying to lower it.

Am I just freaking out for no good reason? Is this some sort of "yo-yo brain," where I've progressed through thinking I'm too fat to thinking I'm too thin, and my brain will bob up and down less and less until I settle on "just right as-is"?

Any exercise suggestions, to cover those ribs with muscle

Sorry, this ended up being more of a rant, but I'd appreciate any sanity you could throw my way.

-Amy
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Old 08-29-2005, 05:49 PM   #2  
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Hi Amy, I've been facing this dilemma as well. As much as I hate to admit it, I feel that I look a tad too thin now as well. I know that my weight is fine for my height; it's just my body fat% that needs to be raised a little. My lack of padding has produced the undesirable effect of a gaunt appearance and bones jutting out in places they should not. I too, feel healthy and am not having any difficulty maintaining this weight, but at the same time I'm unhappy with the image I may be projecting. I fear that people might assume that I've developed an eating disorder, even though I'm the healthiest and most fit I've ever been in my life. So, to the question of should you or shouldn't you try to gain some weight? Well, I'm afraid I can't answer that, being in the same boat and all. But I do hope we will receive some valuable insight from a few of our maintenance superstars here, and maybe they'll even throw in a little sanity to boot.

Beverly
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Old 08-30-2005, 02:52 PM   #3  
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I, too, have had similar problems... my family and friends have told me that I look healthy, that I should work to maintain, not to lose more or to gain more... except that I, instead of thinking I'm too thin, still think I'm too fat. I'm 5'5" and 127 pounds, and while my WW goal weight was originally 130 pounds, I changed it to 125 because I wasn't happy with how I looked at 130. However, when I reached 125 at the night of my prom, I STILL didn't feel thin enough (even though my best friend later told me that she thought I was too skinny then). Because my body proportions aren't typical (I have big thighs and butt, with a very small waist), if I tried to diet until my thighs were as small as I want them, I would be positively anorexic looking on top (already, at 125 my bones stuck out a bit too much in the shoulders and hips). This caused me to obsess about the difference of just a few pounds... was I too fat? Was I too thin? Should I maintain?

In the end, I just realized that this is due to a distorted body image, and I believe that your issues about feeling too thin probably stem from the same thing. During our respective weight loss journeys, we have spent long periods of time being "imperfect;" we didn't feel beautiful, some of us (myself included) were consistently TOLD that we were not beautiful... this kind of emotional abuse that we subjected ourselves to every time we looked in the mirror doesn't just melt away the way pounds do on a diet. I don't know if everyone felt the same way when they were overweight, but I felt hideous, and it took me a long time for my psyche to catch up with my body, because even after I lost the weight I was still too embarrassed to wear short skirts (even though I now wear a size 2 or 4 in skirts) and still cannot be persuaded to wear shorts. In fact, after I first lost the weight, I was walking downtown with my mom and was passed by an overweight woman in shorts who I thought had a similar body to mine. After she had passed, I asked my mom if she thought I looked like that, and she was stunned. "That woman must be at least 300 pounds, Sarah," she told me.

So the bottom line is, many of us still have warped body images, especially if our experiences as an overweight person were particularly traumatic. If you are a healthy BMI for your height, if your doctor thinks you are a healthy weight, and most importantly, if you FEEL healthy and feel that you are capable of performing any activity you would want to perform, than you are the perfect weight. Personally, I have found that I am overly critical of what I see in the mirror, and I try not to make my weight loss decisions based solely on that.

Another tip for you... try looking at yourself in the mirror with your hand covering the image of your face, or look at pictures with your thumb over your face. Now pretend that this is someone else's body. How would you feel about that person's body? Sometimes it helps to try to remove yourself from the situation... when it's not YOUR body, you tend to be much less critical. If you look at the picture without thinking about the personal stuff you attach to your body image and you think, "wow, she has a nice body"... well then, you have your answer.

Sorry this post was so long. Hope it helped!

PS- If you'd like to check your Body Mass Index, you can do so here: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/calc-bmi.htm
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Old 08-31-2005, 09:31 AM   #4  
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Thanks Sarah & Beverly, for letting me know I'm not alone!

I can relate to the short skirts. Right now I still think my calves are too big (very muscular) and can't bear the thought of wearing skirts less than ankle length. I guess it's just body image issues I'll have to keep dealing with.

Part of what started it was that I watched this exercise example:

Seated Side Lateral Deltoid Raises

and was impressed by the woman's awesome abs, but amazed I couldn't see her ribs. My tummy is no where near that defined, but the fact that my ribs are visible bugs me.

Since my BMI is A-OK (22) I guess it's more of a body image thing. Maybe I just need to build up my obliques? I'm thinking of upping my weight watchers goal too, and if I gain muscle (or water weight to due muscle repair) I won't have an outside party telling me I weigh too much.

-Amy
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Old 10-12-2005, 03:28 PM   #5  
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I'm about your size at 5'4, 125 lbs, and I have trouble staying at that weight all the time. I have big thighs and hips like mccrew and I wish some of the weight would come off there. I would have to agree that it may just be all in your head, but if you really want to work up the muscles I would go high protein and start lifting. I love the toned look that took forever to achieve!! I'm still working on it on my lower body, but remember, you always look skinnier with muscle than fat of course, so you probably just need to take another good look, and you'll realize you look fabulous after all. Talk to a trainer at the gym or ask the ladies who lift on the forum if you have more ?'s. Good luck
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