[MinaC]

Hey everyone,

I'm Mina. I'm 20 years old (21 next month), 5"3, and currently weigh 180 pounds (180.2 as of this morning). I started Weight Watchers in January weighing 202 pounds (), and I eat following the flex (points) plan. I joined after gaining around 20 pounds since May 2007; I've gone through some pretty stressful events with work and school over the last year which I'm happily getting under control now. These days, I'm in the best shape that I've been in for a long while - I do 30 minutes of yoga daily (the Namaste program, if anyone's familiar w/ it - I love it!), usually walk 20-30 minutes to, from, and around my college campus, and jog/powerwalk on the treadmill about 5 days a week for 30 minutes a pop (usually 15-20 min. of jogging at 4-4.5 mph and 10-15 minutes of powerwalking at 3.5-4.0 mph).

I am thrilled to be losing weight - my goal is to look great when I go on medical school interviews during the fall-winter of 2008. The thing is that I don't know what weight to aim for. These are my current measurements, after having lost a little over 20 pounds:

diameter around shoulders at their widest - 42 inches
diameter around fullest part of bust - 39 inches
diameter right under bust - 34 inches (I wear a 38DD and have always been full-figured)
diameter at waist, ~an inch above my belly button - 30.5 inches
diameter around hips, fullest part - 38.5 inches
diameter around upper arm at its widest - 13 inches (flabby)
diameter around lower arm at its widest - 9.5 inches (somewhat flabby)
diameter around wrist - 6.5 inches (bony)
diameter around upper leg at its widest - 21 inches (muscular)
diameter around lower leg at its widest - 14.5 inches (very muscular - bicycled a lot for years and have really pronounced muscles here)
diameter around ankle - 8.5 inches (bony)
pant size - I fit comfortably into all my (Old Navy) size 10s again! I can button and zip a pair of really high-waisted Levi size 10 jeans, but too tight to wear.

Obviously, I've got a large or extra-large/plus-size or borderline plus-size body frame/really large and robust bones (and I'm finally OK w/ that) and an hourglass figure. (My bust and hips started out at 44 inches apiece and have gone down by the same amount every time I measure.) I gain weight easily (I've yoyo-ed between 160-200 the last few years) but then again I can carry it more than many other women my height. I'm finally starting to believe that it's not the number on the scale that matters as much as how my clothes look.

My main body concern is my midsection. I can't wear a lot of tight-fitting shirts that show off my relatively-narrow waist because I've still got this pot belly that sticks out a few inches. While I feel great at 180 and am thrilled to be reclaiming my clothes, the reason I'm not stopping is because I'd like to tone my midsection more.

Wow, that was long...if anyone read this much, thank you! If anyone here relates to this and can offer suggestions for what I should aim for as a "final" or goal weight, please let me know! Thank you so much again.

[Lovely]

Hi there Mina &

I'm a WWer, too! Congrats on the amount of weight you've lost so far. Amazing ^^

Definitely check out the 20-something's and the WW area (under Diet Central). I can't say what an appropriate goal weight would be for you since it's often very individual. I believe that as you get closer to where your body is maintainable that you'll notice.

Have a look around & post wherever you're comfortable!

Best of success!!!

[karmuz]

HI! WELCOME!!

Wow - we have REALLY similar measurements (my waist is a little bigger, my hips a little slimmer but really only about an inch)
I can't say where you'll be comfortable, but i'm aiming for 150 to start, and then i'm going to reevaluate and see if i can get to 140, but i'm afraid that might be TOO small for my frame. Like you, I am busty (I wear a 34E) though I'm not much of an hourglass (I have a thicker middle and slimmer hips), but i'm very muscular and have a very large frame.
It really is where YOU are comfortable. I'm comfortable now - i fit into a size 8 many places, unless the pants are a "normal/high" rise, and then i'm a 10 or a 12 but have similar concerns about my midsection. I'm going to up my walking/running and do some more core exercises and see where that gets me over the next couple of months.

[ellis]

Welcome, Mina!

Wow, good going with the exercise!!

I'm with Karmuz. Aim for small goals, and then reevaluate. Sometimes we set impossible goals for ourselves, and that can set us up for disappointment.

[BlzMaxGnrCCJkMly]

[MinaC]

Wow, thank you guys so much for the warm welcome!

Originally Posted by karmuz

HI! WELCOME!!

Wow - we have REALLY similar measurements (my waist is a little bigger, my hips a little slimmer but really only about an inch)
I can't say where you'll be comfortable, but i'm aiming for 150 to start, and then i'm going to reevaluate and see if i can get to 140, but i'm afraid that might be TOO small for my frame. Like you, I am busty (I wear a 34E) though I'm not much of an hourglass (I have a thicker middle and slimmer hips), but i'm very muscular and have a very large frame.
It really is where YOU are comfortable. I'm comfortable now - i fit into a size 8 many places, unless the pants are a "normal/high" rise, and then i'm a 10 or a 12 but have similar concerns about my midsection. I'm going to up my walking/running and do some more core exercises and see where that gets me over the next couple of months.

Yay, glad to know we're not alone! Congrats on your weight loss - it must feel amazing to fit into size 8s!

I've stuck w/ walking/running throughout my weight loss so far, and the good thing is that the inches have come off uniformly from my bust, waist, and hips that way. lol the unfortunate thing is that I'm pretty bony around my hips now, and my bust probably won't be shrinking any smaller than to the D cup I was when I was around 150 pounds in high school, but I've still got that midsection that only goes away little by little! I know I should be doing stuff to target my midsection, but I'm not much of a sit-up kinda gal, lol. Running/walking/yoga are all good all-body exercises!

[LittleMoonRabbit]

Welcome!!! Yes, we all have our trouble spots. Mine is definitely my thighs. My stomach isn't bad at all, but my thighs are quite.... substantial, lol. Good luck with your weight loss and post here whenever you need to!

[BlzMaxGnrCCJkMly]

you may be surprsied after you start losing weight that you may not be as "big boned" as you thought! i used to think that too but i have realized that i am not i am actually a small boned! my stats on here are just what i started at when i joined here, i have lost more weight than it shows!

[karmuz]

Originally Posted by MinaC

Yay, glad to know we're not alone! Congrats on your weight loss - it must feel amazing to fit into size 8s!

I've stuck w/ walking/running throughout my weight loss so far, and the good thing is that the inches have come off uniformly from my bust, waist, and hips that way. lol the unfortunate thing is that I'm pretty bony around my hips now, and my bust probably won't be shrinking any smaller than to the D cup I was when I was around 150 pounds in high school, but I've still got that midsection that only goes away little by little! I know I should be doing stuff to target my midsection, but I'm not much of a sit-up kinda gal, lol. Running/walking/yoga are all good all-body exercises!

Lol!! I'm not much of a sit up kind of gal either but i try to do a couple every morning when i get up, though i'm probably not doing enough to help, lol!
the great thing about being a big boned, muscular gal, at least imho is that you can build up that muscle really quickly and "carry your weight well"
I started gaining when I was around your age (omg, like i'm some old woman - i'll be 29 soon...eek!) but previous to that i wasn't the most fit person and at around 140lbs, physically BIGGER than I am now - my waist was 2" smaller but my bust and hips were larger, and i wore a size 12 almost all of the time.
I applaud you on making changes for the better now, and being dedicated to becoming a more fit and healthy person. The exact number on the scale means so little in comparison to the literally hundreds of changes I have made in my life over the last several years, and the quality of my life NOW. Even so, I wish I had realized the direction i was moving in at a younger age and done something about it then - but at the same time i have a richer life in many ways for having gone through what i have.