My First Post - Just an observation

Hayer1

I reached my ultimate dream super yay goal the second week of December! I'm 5'7 and at 136 pounds I felt amazing. I am in the best shape of my life and my body has never looked so good, I pranced around in my size 6 little black dress at all the Christmas parties. Yay me! I can kill a 5k and I love lifting the weights...

Most of my adult life I've yo-yoed from 185-150 and these new scale numbers and my new shape take getting used to. I read a lot on this forum (I love the positivity of the maintenance board), and I know most of us struggle with minds catching up to bodies.

So here is my observation: I knew that Christmas was going to be a *kitten* show. All the treats, two weeks off work...so I went two weeks full crazy (I'm talkin Nutella - which until last month I've never tried in my LIFE - by the spoonful). And yes, I am now up about 8 pounds. Paying the old piper. I knew it would happen and I own it, I figure that it's what I do with the back to work and reality that makes the maintenance happen. Easy on, easy off. I can get back to 136 in 6-8 weeks and I'm full on again.

Ok, that's not even my observation (sorry). Here it is (for reals). At 145 I feel FAT. Tight size 6/8 feels like my old tight size 14s. I feel flabby and jiggly. Yes, there is a measurable and visual change adding 8 pounds but if you told me anytime in the last 20 years "145 pounds is gonna feel unhealthy to you", I'd take that 145. All. Day. Long. And now, I might as well be 175-180 again. Just saying that it takes time to adjust to the new bod....but really no time to feel you're right back to square one. Even if you're not.

tanashai

true dat; in fact, I even have roughly the same stats now! 5'7", reached 136, then December hit.... lol! Now I'm 145 and feel blagh.

DavesGoal185

You know, that is a scary place, at least for me. I have been able to drop my weight to where I wanted to be 3 times now. I have fallen in to the(I can cheat a little and just lose it back off) trap. Losing weight is one thing. Keeping it off is sometimes much harder, especially when we slip back too far out of our acceptable norm.
I guess what I am trying to say is be careful. Make the decision that you are going to drop the extra weight and do it. Don't do what I did and continuously slip ever so slightly back to where I was. It really sucks.

proudjmmom

I noticed the same thing. I have been in maintenance for a year, and for the most part feel amazing with where I am. But, as soon as the scale creeps up, I feel like I am that 215lbs woman again. I am still scared that I will slip up and regress back to that person, but at the same time I am confident I can keep it off.

Hayer1

proudjmmom wrote: »

I noticed the same thing. I have been in maintenance for a year, and for the most part feel amazing with where I am. But, as soon as the scale creeps up, I feel like I am that 215lbs woman again. I am still scared that I will slip up and regress back to that person, but at the same time I am confident I can keep it off.

Right!!!! It's not an "OMG I just gained a few pounds I'm on the path to destruction". It's more of a realization that if you're feeling big, you're still small. You don't look very different, but you feel that way.

celtictiger73

DavesGoal185 wrote: »

You know, that is a scary place, at least for me. I have been able to drop my weight to where I wanted to be 3 times now. I have fallen in to the(I can cheat a little and just lose it back off) trap. Losing weight is one thing. Keeping it off is sometimes much harder, especially when we slip back too far out of our acceptable norm.
I guess what I am trying to say is be careful. Make the decision that you are going to drop the extra weight and do it. Don't do what I did and continuously slip ever so slightly back to where I was. It really sucks.

Oh man, that's exactly what I did.. used MFP to loose 30lbs 3 years ago, put on a few lbs during maintenance and then didn't try hard enough to loose it straight away, and now here I am back at the start.. sucks... Maintenance is super hard. I admire, everyone who can do it.

Joanjett88

This is so true, lol. I tried my best, but the last week or two over December into January kicked my butt because we had company staying with us.

I'm 5'7" as well and my lowest weigh in was at 131.8 lbs on Dec 19th. Jan 4th I weighed in at 140 lbs. There was A LOT of salty and carby food so as of this morning I'm still at 135.4. Just a little bit more and I'll be back in my range of 130-135, lol.

I completely agree with you about feeling "fat" when you gain a little. Just having my new clothes fit a little tighter makes me uncomfortable. Hard to believe that this time last year I was sitting around 175 - 180.

dopeysmelly

Hayer1 wrote: »

proudjmmom wrote: »

I noticed the same thing. I have been in maintenance for a year, and for the most part feel amazing with where I am. But, as soon as the scale creeps up, I feel like I am that 215lbs woman again. I am still scared that I will slip up and regress back to that person, but at the same time I am confident I can keep it off.

Right!!!! It's not an "OMG I just gained a few pounds I'm on the path to destruction". It's more of a realization that if you're feeling big, you're still small. You don't look very different, but you feel that way.

I'm with you guys. I feel like my old 200 lbs self about 50% of the time, and definitely when the scale looks like it's headed to the upper limit of my range. When I look down I still see the thighs and stomach of that person, not the shrimp I am now. I'm learning to ignore how I feel about my size or what I think I see, because it's just pointless - it bears no relation to reality at all. The only thing which matters to me is the number on the scale and how my clothes fit, and even those are subjective IMO. But, boy, it's tough walking away from the emotional/perception side.

On the plus side - I put on about 3 lbs over the Holidays (I'm 120-122 lbs normally), and I'm already back to 122.5 lbs as of this morning. I thought it would take a couple of weeks.

So_Much_Fab

OP, you're my height and right around my current weight. I've been here since April of 2011 and the lowest I got to was around 135 (my profile pic was taken right around then) and though I still had a little bit of body fat to lose I looked and felt fitter than I had in my entire life. Cue laziness, some life crap that threw me for a loop, and a year+ of no exercise and eating and drinking with no abandon and here I am right around 145. The problem with me is that when I gain it's all around my waist so though I can skillfully hide it and I don't look "fat" I feel like a big giant squishy mess. I just recently got back on track. I did it before and I can certainly do it again!

LINIA

Dear OP, Regaining 8 pounds--in terms of percentages, is somewhat substantial and the body/mind knows this. IMHO maintaining is much more difficult than losing---we all know how to lose the weight, we all know all the "dont's" but the fact is "our bodies want that cushion of weight for "famine"..." and of course the extra weight is a drag on us physically and mentally.
Many ppl here have lost nicely and regained every single pound, good luck to you as you set up lifelong habits that allow you to enjoy the Holidays in 2015 when they begin, but you'll be able to use your "plan" to maintain not gain.

conniegehrt

The feeling of fat, at least on some days, never goes away for me. I am the lowest weight in my adult life, 153 and I am 5'11", and yet there are days when I feel fat. I try to remember to keep it in perspective of this compared to my highest weight ever of 308. The big picture doesn't change the feeling but gets me through the day without saying, "what's the use" and doing something stupid.

palwithme

You are right. The holidays were a complete **** show.

kristen6350

Yep. I'm 161 right now (size 10), 193 at my heaviest (size 16) and 143 at my lightest (size 4). Right now I feel fatter than I did at 193. It's amazing how different you feel when you get used to being lighter.

You know how to get it off now and you know what to do to get it done. That's the difference.

Circa1964

I am 5'5" and got down to 130 which I was pretty happy with. I lost 20 pounds to get there and maintained it for about 6 years. During the past year and a half and a dose of menopause, I am now at 145 (15 pounds up), and it all seems to go straight to the belly. Maintaining is definitely tricky. We all can do this!!!

JayRuby84

I'm 5'8" and had gotten down to 158.9 from 172. After the holidays I'm back up to 163 and loathing it. Like someone told me recently, I just need to trust the process. Weight loss and muscle gain are not always linear. We CAN do this.

djscavone

Its also the time of year. Being winter with the cold, ice, snow, dark sooner, most of the outdoor activities stop or slow down so burning it off comes harder with the limited time. Its easier to cheat in summer and then swim it off, bike a few extra miles, or just mowing the lawn is good for a few thousand steps. I put on an extra 5 over the holidays and still struggle to get back to where I need to be.

Debbjones

Two years on maintenance and I when I gain 3 pounds (water weight, mind you... the food I consume and at my current rate of calorie consumption, I know it is water weight gain) I feel fat and "jiggly"! I think that plays off the fact I carried 180 to 194 pounds on my small frame (5'3") for nearly a decade.

I went from a size 18 down to a size 0 sometimes now a size 00. I know the perception "I have" that I am fat is all "my perception".

I would like to say, this will pass in time and maintenance becomes easier... but based on my experience, I don't find that maintaining my goal or "destination" is any easier than the weight-loss journey.

Would I trade the "skinny" me for the "fat" me? Oh heck no, not ever...

I guess a said a lot of words just trying to say, what you feel is not "uncommon". There are many people out there that attained their goal who now when they start to regain the weight "feel fat". The flip side of that is to just accept the extra weight and then be one of the statistics that most people who achieve a significant weight loss regain the weight.

Just know, this is feeling of "fat" is common.

SuggaD

I understand that! I start to feel fat with only a few lbs as every extra lb is noticeable to me and I don't need a scale to tell me that. (I don't weigh often). For Christmas, I kept reminding myself how crappy I felt after my last vacation when I allowed myself to go crazy. The extra weight came back off quickly, but I realized it wasn't worth it. So I did not repeat it and still had a wonderful vacation.

But you're on it.

Hayer1

Thank you all for the support and encouragement! Again this is not about trying to get back on the wagon, it's about feeling fat when a year ago this would have felt skinny. Much of the 8 pounds is water weight or what have you, as I'm already 2 pounds done in 4 days. But I hear what some of you are saying, maybe Christmas 2015 should be a little more sensible!
Again thank you!

astrose00

I love this thread. I obsess about what I will do (this time) when I get to maintenance. I've yo-yo'd in the past but never anywhere near as much as this last time. My sister is also losing weight and we talk about this all the time. I look at my fit or slender friends and try to understand why they never worry about this stuff (the ones that don't, I mean). I think it's because they don't live to eat. That's the best way I can describe it. My BFF, if she was hungry and sleepy, would just go to sleep. The old me would eat then go to sleep, lol. I'm currently losing weight and didn't eat an ounce of dessert or other "treats" during the holidays. By next holidays, I will be at my goal. I have no idea how I will feel or what I will do. I think I will be afraid to eat that stuff. I have had my dream body in the past and slowly let the wheels fall off. I can see that I will likely be obsessed and super anal and that's not fun. I feel like I have to make a choice. Either don't worry or worry. But the last time I didn't worry didn't end very well for me. I think I will have to force myself to be accountable for everything that goes in my mouth.

I will keep lurking; I am so interested to read what other maintainers are doing.

Roxiegirl2008

I know that feeling. I had what I call a "personal spat" when I saw the scale creep up just a little over the holidays. Not by much at all but nevertheless I thought I was well on my way to ballooning out of control. I also felt giant again!

I even spent the warm up time during one of my training session with my trainer talking about it. BAD move. She made me pay for being so hard on myself. I did walking lunges, burpees and push ups until I admitted that I had made great strides in my health and fitness levels and that it was just water weight. Yes I think she is pretty wonderful! Next time I will keep it to myself. HAA Bright side I felt like I had burned a lot of calories.