Just want to point out that 135 lbs at 5'4" is normal BMI...

As is 149 at 5'8". But I'd rather it be 140 (so I jiggle a bit less).

Day three of book fair done. Two to go....
So tired...
Yesterday we had a Kindergarten tea and an evening event-- both with Clifford. I was at school from 6:30 am- 8:30 pm.

Today I woke up at 4:15 and I've been at work for hours already. Today after the book fair I have to pack and get ready to go.....

Oh boy..... kids are here already! Gotta go!

I'm up just .4 pounds from my last weigh-in, which is meaningless as it could be the cafeteria's slightly salty soup for lunch yesterday, or my sore chest muscles from bench-pressing two days ago.

But how many of us are dieting and maintaining for just health reasons? I am totally happy with how healthy my body is (I could do without the stress and lack of sleep and extra caffeine but that's temporary) but I look svelte and sexy at 129 lbs. and a little pudgy and lumpy at 136.

Aesthetics enters into this for most of us too.

Dagmar

Up two pounds this morning. No clue at all except for the puffy flesh around my ankles.

Oh, yes. I've always been concerned with aesthetics, most obviously in my surroundings & home furnishings, and also in my creative work, so naturally I'm true to type when I look into a mirror. The thing is, I am not an art object. My body serves many purposes other than decorative. There are limits to what I can do to shape it, despite what I've learned about dieting and exercise, and my success in getting rid of over 100 pounds. That success definitely gave me unrealistic beliefs about how much control I can exert over its appearance. Anyway, I know I must temper my goals -- but I forget that for long periods of time.

Dieting and maintaining for health reasons or aesthetics ?
With me it is a little bit of both. I feel better when I am at an optmum weight, and I also look better. Which came first ? The chicken or the egg ?

I definitely diet for aesthetics. I've never been obese, just overweight--and really, other than when pregnant, never been in a place that one would consider too overweight for good health.

I'm not yet with you maintainers.... I still have a way to go before I join you. But I like to peruse your threads to see what challenges I have ahead of me after I reach my goal.

In reading some of the recent posts about losing weight for health vs. aesthetic reasons, and what weight and height correlate to the optimal BMI -- I have a question. Many of us are losing (or have already lost) massive amounts of weight. With that loss we are left with excess skin, and that skin can weight quite a bit. From what I understand, there is no amount of diet or exercise that will take off that weight that is attributable to the excess skin. So, in that case, wouldn't the traditional height to weight ratio method of calculating BMI be a bit skewed?

Joe-- I think a doc would have to answer how much your excess skin weighs and then, yes, you would have to take that into consideration. I know that I have a fair amount of excess skin, but I doubt it weighs much as I didn't lose an extreme amount of weight. Some of it was from pregnancies and the rest from weight gain. After I reached goal and continued to exercise, the skin did tighten up a lot over the next year, but it is still there. I consulted a plastic surgeon but decided I could live with it. If I had lost over 100 pounds though, I'm sure I would have needed plastic surgery. Your age also comes into play (and genetics too)-- typically if you are younger, your skin has more elasticity and will bounce back better. Congrats on your loss so far-- feel free to join us here anytime!

Thanks Michele. What you say makes sense. I imagine that the higher one's starting weight is, and the older one is when the weight is lost, the more excess skin you are likely to have. When I reach my goal, I will have lost about 180 pounds. I know many people on here have lost weights far in excess of 100 pounds. I don't know if I will have surgery to remove the excess skin. I guess I will just have to wait and see what I look like when I reach my goal. But absent surgery to remove the skin, I am curious if my goal is realistic now because there will be excess skin. My goal weight (220) is based upon my lowest weight as an adult. 24 years ago when I was starting college, I lost 40 pounds to go from 260 to 220. I had no issue with excess skin at the time. Its funny to think that at the time I was 220, I still thought I was heavy. But now when I look back at pictures of myself when I was 200, I think how THINK I looked! Its funny how 24 years - and 180 pounds difference -- will change your perspective!

Joe, full term pregnancy and gaining and losing weight over and over does not do your body any favors. I have excess skin, I hate it, but because of other health issues I am not going to have surgery but under different conditions I would. For now I just hide it under clothes, I still look better than I did when I was over 200 pounds....but I know what is lurking under there.

My main goal is to lose the weight. I'm not sure I would do the surgery - for some of the same reasons I was hesitant about doing WLS. I will probably be ok with just hiding it under my clothes and be happy that I am at a healthy weight. I was just curious if my notion of what my healthy weight is will need some revision due to the excess skin issue. I guess I will just have to wait and see what happens.

Joe~there are several maintainers that have had the surgery to rid themselves of excess skin. In some cases it is a necessity. You will know when you get to goal whether or not it is necessary for you.

I was just typing that same sentiment.