Healthy weight: My definition or theirs

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  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    savithny wrote: »
    I think very often in weight discussions, 'The perfect is the enemy of the good.'

    You start experiencing notable health benefits at just a 10% weight loss. For you, that was 37 pounds. There are continued benefits as you lose, no matter how much more you lose (unless you lose too much, but that's not what we're talking about here).

    So many people start, and successfully lose that 10%, and we should celebrate it! And instead the world says "Dude, you're still a fatty McFatso! What, do you hate yourself? Death death die die death!" And people get discouraged, and think they've done "nothing," when they've really done a lot of hard work and improved their health outlook demonstrably. And they give up.

    Honestly, the difference between 370 and 220, in terms of health, is SO MUCH bigger than the difference between 220 and 180, or 180 and 160. Work from where you are, celebrate what you've already done, keep doing as much as you can, and never let anyone make you think you aren't doing "enough."

    Really nice post, and I think it's right on, OP. Also this:
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    My $.02 is that at the moment, you're putting the cart before the horse. Target smaller goals and it will help make things a bit less daunting.

    If 220 feels like a good goal for now, that's great. Doesn't mean it has to be the final goal -- once there you will likely have different ideas about where you want to be and be able to reassess.
  • ThunderZtorm
    ThunderZtorm Posts: 27 Member
    edited June 2017
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    Personally, I go for small goals. When I started a few years ago, at 108kg, my first goal was to stop gaining and start losing. Then it was 105kg. The first time I went below 105, goal was changed to "double digits". First time ever I got below 100, it was "stay below 100 for two weeks" - Then it changed to 95 and finally now the current goal: Get below 90. (This one has caused me certain challenges).

    My point is that, at least to me, it gives me motivation to actually reach my goals. If I had started by saying "I must be at 75kg" back when I was 108, I'm pretty sure I would've given up. Also, I wouldn't have felt the same sense of achievement when I passed the various milestones.

    So yeah, slow and steady, celebrate the small wins too.
  • kamarismom
    kamarismom Posts: 50 Member
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    tomteboda wrote: »
    kamarismom wrote: »
    Hello everyone,

    At my highest weight I was 374 pounds. I am current 298. My personal weight loss goal has always been 220 or 180 (I can't decide which) however according to the outdated BMI system I should be 141. My question is the weight loss goal that you have chosen is it based on your personal preferences or your BMI?

    I want to add a big "congratulations" on your progress. You've already made HUGE strides!

    Thank you!
  • Penthesilea514
    Penthesilea514 Posts: 1,189 Member
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    I am the same height as you and I am a long way from the normal BMI- I don't have a ultimate goal weight at the moment, it is hard because I actually didn't really weigh myself in high school (I was an athlete, I didn't really care too much). So I don't really know how much I weighed back then- which makes the ultimate goal a little harder. I am doing the route others have taken (including you) where I am setting a number of small goals and plan on re-evaluating at each major milestone goal.

    Keep up the awesome work- and good luck.
  • MsMaeFlowers
    MsMaeFlowers Posts: 261 Member
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    I'm technically shooting for the lower end of my BMI to target fat loss, but I don't plan to stay there necessarily. Just want to get rid of my belly and then I'll be happy to put some weight back on in the form of muscle. Or who knows, I might be happy with how I look at that weight. I care less about my weight and more about how my body looks in the end.
  • kamarismom
    kamarismom Posts: 50 Member
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    savithny wrote: »
    I think very often in weight discussions, 'The perfect is the enemy of the good.'

    You start experiencing notable health benefits at just a 10% weight loss. For you, that was 37 pounds. There are continued benefits as you lose, no matter how much more you lose (unless you lose too much, but that's not what we're talking about here).

    So many people start, and successfully lose that 10%, and we should celebrate it! And instead the world says "Dude, you're still a fatty McFatso! What, do you hate yourself? Death death die die death!" And people get discouraged, and think they've done "nothing," when they've really done a lot of hard work and improved their health outlook demonstrably. And they give up.

    Honestly, the difference between 370 and 220, in terms of health, is SO MUCH bigger than the difference between 220 and 180, or 180 and 160. Work from where you are, celebrate what you've already done, keep doing as much as you can, and never let anyone make you think you aren't doing "enough."

    Thank you, I truly appreciate this!
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
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    As far as health is concerned, there's not a lot of difference between the overweight and normal categories, and in some cases the overweight category is statistically healthier. (There's disagreement about why this is - many feel it's because the weight loss caused by certain illnesses makes the normal category look unhealthier, while not taking cause and effect under consideration.)

    In any case if you end up feeling your best and looking your best at a higher BMI, there's no law that says you need to go lower. You may get to your current goal weight and find your feelings have changed, and if you do, you can always reset your goals. But as long as you get out of that obese category and into overweight, that will make a huge improvement in your risk of illness.
  • eyer0ll
    eyer0ll Posts: 313 Member
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    savithny wrote: »
    I think very often in weight discussions, 'The perfect is the enemy of the good.'

    You start experiencing notable health benefits at just a 10% weight loss. For you, that was 37 pounds. There are continued benefits as you lose, no matter how much more you lose (unless you lose too much, but that's not what we're talking about here).

    So many people start, and successfully lose that 10%, and we should celebrate it! And instead the world says "Dude, you're still a fatty McFatso! What, do you hate yourself? Death death die die death!" And people get discouraged, and think they've done "nothing," when they've really done a lot of hard work and improved their health outlook demonstrably. And they give up.

    Honestly, the difference between 370 and 220, in terms of health, is SO MUCH bigger than the difference between 220 and 180, or 180 and 160. Work from where you are, celebrate what you've already done, keep doing as much as you can, and never let anyone make you think you aren't doing "enough."

    QFMFT.

  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
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    At nearly 300lbs, don't worry about the end point and focus on making changes now. With approximately 100lbs to lose, you have 12-24 months of dieting ahead of you.

    Worry about how you look and what is healthy when it's within reach and you're out of the danger zone.

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