way to go Fluffy! that is my biggest motivation, to be able to wear the clothes i want to and not "outgrow" them again! thank Goodness, i didn't give them away because at one point i was like, i'm never going to lose this weight but finally found the right plan for me! thank you MRC!
if you guys get a chance, read Jennifer Hudson's book, I GOT THIS (How I changed my ways and Lost What Weighed Me Down) i checked it out of the library - i read so much and even though i have a NOOK and Ipad, i'm at the library every week checking out new fiction or non fiction...
the book starts out w/ her rise to stardom, American Idol experience, Dream Girls role, etc. but the best part of the book is in the last few chapters.
We've talked on this forum about things or people that keep us from reaching our goal and some of us even sabatage ourselves because maybe we don't feel like we deserve to be thinner, healthier and happier..
From the book
What about loving yourself enough to give it everything you've got and make the commitment to get rid of the things that have been weighing you down? "Will you finally give yourself permission to break free from the chains that have bound you or will you stay exactly where you are, thinking it's fine? Look, if you don't like the mirror, don't break the mirror. If you're tired of being on that diet roller coaster and are finally ready to get off that ride forever, you have the power, the choice, and now the tools to make that happen. Life isn't about what cards you are dealt--it's about how you play that hand. ....you are making a lifelong commitment to health. It won't happen overnight, but if you stick with it, I promise, it will come to pass.

Congratulations of signing the 30 pound board!!! woo hoo! you are doing fantastic and keeping the weight off and that's the most important part! two of my friends who joined before me and told me about this program have gone off the plan and regained - one of them was doing those drops we aren't supposed to talk about and she's heavier now than when she started. both of these gals did all the supplements too but kept drinking and eating what they wanted! thinking the pills were going to take care of all that. i'm so glad that i stuck to my guns about not taking the pills and just working the plan :-) i used to get cramps all the time in my legs and stretching really works and i've heard to step up the potassium...i take Calcium every day and i'm thinking even though im not drinking milk, cheese and my greek yogurt have calcium... our Chocolate truffle powder has 50 mg potassium and whey protein isolate (milk)...

Signed the 25 pounds lost board today, got measurements and body comp done too. So when I started this weight loss journey I told MRC my goal was to weigh 160. That puts me in a size 10 and is a comfortable weight for me. According to the body comp today they now want me to get to 150 pounds. I am not motivated to do this. I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel now with 7.5 more pounds to lose. Once I get to 160 if my BMI is not 24% then I may consider losing more. Crazy to think with these measurements I am still considered obese according to the charts! I am 51 years old, 5'8", and have a large build - size 11 shoes! I actually feel really good now at 167.5!

Measurements today were:
BMI = 25.5 (goal is 24 or less)
Fat percentage = 37% (goal is 30% YIKES!)
Waist = 32.5 in (happy I am below 35!)
Muscle = 28.5 (lost .5, counselor said be sure to have 4 HNS's daily and consider light weight lifting to get muscle mass back up)
Total inches lost = 38.5

I would be interested to find out what others measurements and goals are besides with number on the scale.

Wishing all the mom's a happy mother's day tomorrow and hope everyone has a great weekend!

camasma...
Congrats on signing the 30 pound board.. That is a great. You do not have to set records, you are getting there at your own p ace and that is just fine.

Bigdog.. I have friends that have gained big time. They took all the supplements but ate what they wanted and constantly cheated and that will not do it, it just won't. What they did was make MRC their own diet , their own way . One of those people I am talking about started again from the beginning and this time is going to stay OP and focus and is doing well. She has lost 35 pounds since she is working the program. Other two blame the diet and everything else they can on why they cheat, so have left the program. MRC diet works and they have you follow the diet for a reason, and it is not to be altered to one's own liking. Lot of money spent to just give up, isn't it? I tried everything in my power to help the two that failed, but to no avail, so gave up.

I have that problem in legs, also, and up my potassium and make sure my calcium is at a good ratio with magnesium. It has actually woken me up at night..

Fluffy.. Imagine down 5 dress sizes.. My goodness, this is so exciting.. Come to the board all you need. My sister has Cancer and my daughter is ill, so it is so difficult in the stress situation. I truly understand where you are at.. I will pray for your dad. We are here at any time for you. Enjoy your cute dress, you deserve it.

Wishing everyone a wonderful day. Nice day here today in Florida. Nice breeze and just delightful.

Patzi

Faery. Your bmi is 24.3 which is average not obese if your weight is 160. My bmi is 24.9. Which is average. Weight is 164 and height same as yours
Ck out this link. http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmicalc.htm
this dang iPad is driving me crazy - i typed in a message and hit a key and deleted the whole thing...not once but twice!! so now going old school and switched to the laptop for some speedy typing :-) when i weighed in at the center and got my body comp done, i asked them for a copy of the print out. i then realized they had my height wrong at 5'7" and my goal weight at 147!! it has always been 165. i am very close to your age and 165 is a good weight for me and a weight i can maintain. i may lose a little more - but 147 seems to be a bit unrealistic and if you are comfortable with where you are at - then stand your ground and tell them that. i have curves and nothing is going to change that - that's my body and i actually like it! my DH did a double take last night when we went out because for once i had a short fitted jacket on that didn't cover my bootie and some form fitting capris on w/ some very cool platform sandals :-) i love shoes by the way! Yes, i was all that and more!!!!! haha this past week, two people and even my boss was like wow! you are so skinny...i was like, Who me? Really? but i've noticed some of my "jealous" friends looking me up and down and are like...hmph... oh, well i want to say, keep eating those chips and dip and that bag of m&ms you keep on your desk...oh well....

Signed the 20 lb board today, and got a green bracelet!! So excited

DH took me to buy new clothes a couple days ago, and was down 2 pant sizes and 1 shirt size. I kept trying on clothes that were too big, I guess by habit. It was nice to be able to fit comfortably into a size I haven't seen in at least a decade. I hope they will be too loose soon.

Congrats to all the looser's, keep up the good work. Happy mother's day to all moms, grand-moms, etc.

Have a GREAT on plan weekend all!!

Faerychic, this is exactly what I am wrestling with. At 39%, my bodyfat is too high, even though my scale weight isnt bad, and my BMI is within normal now. As I understand it, the ratio of lean to fat is important to track because muscle is what keeps our metabolism stoked to burn fat. That's why men lose so much faster: they have more muscle.

When your bodyfat is above 30%, my understanding is that it becomes way more difficult it to keep off what you have worked so hard to lose. Most diets do cause you to lose a lot of muscle along with the fat. That's why she told you to step up the protein and lift weights. Last time I had lost just a few pounds but actually GAINED .5 pounds of muscle, which was why I suddenly seemed a lot smaller than the previous five pounds.

I think this whole concept is incredibly important to understand, but unfortunately it isn't very motivating- we like to see that drop on the scale each week. If you had them do your bodyfat every week, the drop would be so small each time that it wouldn't feel like progress. But in fact, it is the progress that matters most in the end.

I don't think they do a very good job explaining all this. But there are many sources of information. I have liked reading online stuff by Tom Venutto. You might google him.

I'm still not sure what my weight goal should be - maybe about 150 like you. Ugh, that seems like a long ways away. I have really stepped up the weight training in hopes that I can get that bodyfat to go down faster. I train 3 times a week and only do cardio twice now, which is probably the opposite of what most people do. I love how it makes me feel. Its too late to get rid of the batwings, I am afraid, but oh well.

Bottom line, I think your counselor may be right. You could always stabilize AND weight train, maybe that would change the ratio without all the dramatic fixation on lower scale numbers that we get into... Just a thought. At any rate,I'm sure you look fantastic as a size 10 at your height! I am fitting into more 10s all the time and am so happy about that.

Fluffy, my Father in law was diagnosed w/ Pancreatic cancer jan. 1st this year and we have been through a lot w/ the Doctor's visits, two hospitals, putting my MIL in respite at an Assisted Living facility (she has Alzheimers)- trying to work and take care of them ran my DH and i ragged for sure. we are their only family in town so did it all. thank goodness, found some great support in their friends and ours... He had the Whipple procedure and it was a success and is now doing Chemo to make sure the cancer doesn't spread. some cancer was in the lymph nodes... he has remained very positive throughout all of this and the main reason is because of all the support from the caregivers at the hospital, assisted living, etc. and the family's calls and support... anyway, make sure you check w/ local cancer support groups - for you, your dad and family. they are trained to help you through this. you are not alone! and post as much as you want. alot of us have been through this w/ our families.. Prayers for you and your family!

Hey guys. Check this out. Found this website where you can calculate body fat ratio. Let me know if you think it's accurate. You enter your height weight and age. For the height I think 5'8" = 68"
I chose the test on the far right where you enter inches for neck, hips and waist. Calculated 29.17 % body fat for me. Anything over 32% was considered obese.
Didn't Gina mention the way the MRC scales calculate isn't always accurate?
Let me know what you think. Make sure you choose the womens test


http://www.linear-software.com/online.html

this site calculated my fat percentage at 30.10% which equals 50 pounds!. MRC said it was 37% - that is quite a difference.

I think I will stick to my original weight loss goal of 160. My weight loss weeks end on 6/29 and I will stabilize at whatever weight I am at. I figure I should be at goal by then or at least real close! I started a boot camp class last month and will work with them on getting my body fat percentage where it needs to be. That makes more sense then to try and get to 150 with MRC. I would think if I start adding muscle at 160 I would lose some fat in the process right?

Apparently my knee measurement was up a half inch yesterday, from 15 to 15.5. The counselor was so worried about it and re- measured 3 times. Wanted to know if maybe I have been on a walk before I came in..............it's probably from all the lunges & squats I have been doing!

Bigdog, great calculator. I came out as 32.8. That's a. Lot different than 39% on the Tantia thing. Not sure what to make of it. I would buy that software if they had an iPad app.

Your story was a good one about getting checked out up and down by porky co-workers! We finally hit the 80s here and yesterday I wore a tank top in public. I admit I wasn't entirely comfortable because I do have those batwings but the total look was way better than most 50- plus year old women I see.

This year I am going to enjoy summer clothes! I may even buy a little dress too, Fluffy! I'm seeing cute ones everywhere.

Faerychic, I think your plan sounds good, especially with the bootcamp to build muscle. For myself, I'm still torn. 150 seems so far off. And maybe not realistic to maintain. 155, more attainable maybe. As get close to 160 I do fel that for me, that's not quite the place to stop. I think my frame is smaller and I want some wiggle room. Literally!

Faery and Camaswa. If you can ask the staff at the gym you go to which fat ratio calculator or machine they use let me know. The gym I used to go to used the calipers to measure... The boot camp sounds really fun! I walk a few miles every am but really want to start weight lifting again. Thinking I need to join the gym again. I have free weights but don't seem to be motivated to use them at home. But in the past I'd join the gym and end up not going....hmmm. How can I motivate myself?
Re the batwings - yep if I wave at someone they are still waving! I never wear sleeveless stuff and really need to tighten up

So glad I didn't give away my too tight or could not fit in stuff! Found two crates of summer clothes and I can fit into everything! Feel like I have a new wardrobe! Now that is real motivation to keep the weight off!

Happy Mothers Day everyone!

Wow! So many board signers in the past few days! Congrats!!!

Congrats, everyone! On the body fat thing, mine is still quite a bit high at 32 or 34%... I'm trying to work on weight training to see if I can get it down. Not sure I'll weigh the 148 they're predicting for me, but that's okay. I'm okay with myself, sculpting the areas, eating sensibly and feeling good. I'm not perfect on the plan (i.e Sundays are my downfall) but I get back on and keep moving... that's the point, right?

It's a lot easier to lose and continue on the program if I don't stray, but (like with this weekend's concert) I also know that I need to see if the sacrifice is worth derailing me for a few days - most cases it's not... this weekend, it was so now we're on MetaQuick for a few days to see how I feel.

BigDog - is there a way to add weight to your daily activities? Yesterday was my no exercise day but I had eaten off plan so I decided to go for a 3 mile walk. Took my handweights (2 pounders) along to do some curls and lifts while walking - made a difference in my shoulders. Anyway, I wonder if you could just incorporate some light weights into your cardio or other activity if you'd be more motivated to stick with the weights? ... just a thought...