Short story long. On January 1st of 2006 I decided I did not want to be 510lbs anymore, I needed to lose weight (I had a 20 yr grade school reunion that me and a girl organized fir May). I was depressed. I had no friends. My sex life...well we don't wanna go there!. I was diagnosed type 2 Diabetes on 6/1/06. When I visited my doctor 7/1/06, he "suggested" I get down to 200lbs. When the fat started melting away, people have offered to "give me" stuff if I got down to 200. $100, lunch at Sweet Tomatoes, a bike ride along the path where I did my 5mi walk for ADA, ballroom dancing, etc. The prizes kept me focused.
In order to get down to 200lbs, I would have to lose 310!. In my blog I list the milestones along the way.
As I lose, I noticed the skin wasn't shrinking, this gives me self-doubt. That damn skin is a constant reminder of how I was. People comment, "your getting skinny". I don't see that. I guarantee I'm not the only one that feels this way, especially here on 3FC. I do weight training, aerobics, dieting, etc. Because of this skin, I have nothing to show for it. Because of that, I have been very curious about my body fat. I knew BMI in my case was not accurate. Calipers would not work in my case either
Yesterday I finally got myself "dunked" at Fresno State College. I am at 29.2% body fat. Still considered obese, but 18-25% is considered acceptable. 14-17% is considered Fitness (folks, thats an I not an A). According to the lab's printout, the goal is to get down to 200.45. HOWEVER this will put me at 15% body fat. I am thinking this is too low. I am thinking that I would be "happy" with 17%, but would be satisfied at 20%. 18% (according to this printout) would make me at 207.78lbs, 20% 212.97lbs. 25% I will be 227.17lb (right around the corner!)
I am now thinking that I may not see ONEderland. I have been at my longest plateau now for 6 weeks. Granted, I have gotten "lazy" for a couple of weeks. Since I lost my vehicle, I havent gone to the gym as much as I like. A 9 mile bike ride is 40 minutes. I work 64 hours a week. Okay, enough excuses!
So maintainers. Did you get down to your original goal? If not, what made you decide to change your goal? If you got down to it, have you been able to maintain it? Meaning, I understand the scale will fluctuate, do you give yourselves some leeway? I really want to see ONEderland, but I no longer think thats realistic. I am now thinking 210 would be my ULTIMATE prize. That would give me a 300lb weight loss. I am going to continue doing what I am doing, plateaus or not. I am going to get myself dunked again in 3 months, to re-evaluate my future.