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Need some advice about the final phase of weight loss re: not knowing goal weight
NovusDies
Posts: 8,940 Member
I would be curious how others that were not sure what their goal weights would be approached this situation.
How did you deal with diet/deficit breaks?
What was your final criteria? Was it appearance, a number, the final pound(s) effort to lose exceeded the desire, some combination, or something else?
Depending on which chart you look at the top of my BMI healthy range is 15-20 pounds away. I don't think I care about actually being in the healthy range but I have generally aimed in that direction because I assume it will be close and I had no other guide. My plan is to wait until I am at 199.x before I enter something I am calling "goal watch". That time is probably a little over a month away
I do realize that making "a goal" doesn't mean I will settle there forever. I can always choose to fine tune more later. I even think that is probable maybe using something like @AnnPT77's drift down plan. However, I probably would like to be weight stable for an extended period of time to continue to work on fitness and give my skin time to tighten as much as possible before I go for surgery. Maybe my face will fill back in enough to soften it. I look quite "severe" at the moment.
I was originally hoping to do a couple of recomp periods but with the virus the one I started was interrupted and now I am thinking about just finishing the chainsaw portion of this deal.
I am not sure about any of it because this is a situation I have never faced before. My first goals have been adequately satisfied now. I have my life back and my health is improved and stabilized. If I never lost another pound I would still consider this mission accomplished. I am on to secondary goals now which are more about fitness, flexibility, and vanity. Losing more will improve/preserve my knee situation a little more but mostly weight loss is down to aesthetics. I still have fat around my midsection that I would like to reduce as long as weight loss doesn't become a struggle and I would really like to see a weight with a 1 in front of it so I will be pressing on for a time.
How did you deal with diet/deficit breaks?
What was your final criteria? Was it appearance, a number, the final pound(s) effort to lose exceeded the desire, some combination, or something else?
Depending on which chart you look at the top of my BMI healthy range is 15-20 pounds away. I don't think I care about actually being in the healthy range but I have generally aimed in that direction because I assume it will be close and I had no other guide. My plan is to wait until I am at 199.x before I enter something I am calling "goal watch". That time is probably a little over a month away
I do realize that making "a goal" doesn't mean I will settle there forever. I can always choose to fine tune more later. I even think that is probable maybe using something like @AnnPT77's drift down plan. However, I probably would like to be weight stable for an extended period of time to continue to work on fitness and give my skin time to tighten as much as possible before I go for surgery. Maybe my face will fill back in enough to soften it. I look quite "severe" at the moment.
I was originally hoping to do a couple of recomp periods but with the virus the one I started was interrupted and now I am thinking about just finishing the chainsaw portion of this deal.
I am not sure about any of it because this is a situation I have never faced before. My first goals have been adequately satisfied now. I have my life back and my health is improved and stabilized. If I never lost another pound I would still consider this mission accomplished. I am on to secondary goals now which are more about fitness, flexibility, and vanity. Losing more will improve/preserve my knee situation a little more but mostly weight loss is down to aesthetics. I still have fat around my midsection that I would like to reduce as long as weight loss doesn't become a struggle and I would really like to see a weight with a 1 in front of it so I will be pressing on for a time.
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Replies
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Interesting question that will probably generate a wide range of responses.
For me it was simply picking an arbitrary number. One I hit it, I kept going down for whatever reason and went too low. Had the mindset 'lower must be better'.
Hated the way I looked and felt and put more back on.
To end my maintenance search... Once I could find the happy balance of calories in and the sustainable routine of what I was willing to do for exercise to assist in calories out - I stayed put.
I added about 600 calories back a day on average and was willing to accept what came with it. This keeps me WAY inside a healthy weight and BMI. It is sustainable for me.
Took me about 24 months to figure out my sustainable place.
Just my experience.4 -
I would be curious how others that were not sure what their goal weights would be approached this situation.
How did you deal with diet/deficit breaks?
What was your final criteria? Was it appearance, a number, the final pound(s) effort to lose exceeded the desire, some combination, or something else?
Depending on which chart you look at the top of my BMI healthy range is 15-20 pounds away. I don't think I care about actually being in the healthy range but I have generally aimed in that direction because I assume it will be close and I had no other guide. My plan is to wait until I am at 199.x before I enter something I am calling "goal watch". That time is probably a little over a month away
I do realize that making "a goal" doesn't mean I will settle there forever. I can always choose to fine tune more later. I even think that is probable maybe using something like @AnnPT77's drift down plan. However, I probably would like to be weight stable for an extended period of time to continue to work on fitness and give my skin time to tighten as much as possible before I go for surgery. Maybe my face will fill back in enough to soften it. I look quite "severe" at the moment.
I was originally hoping to do a couple of recomp periods but with the virus the one I started was interrupted and now I am thinking about just finishing the chainsaw portion of this deal.
I am not sure about any of it because this is a situation I have never faced before. My first goals have been adequately satisfied now. I have my life back and my health is improved and stabilized. If I never lost another pound I would still consider this mission accomplished. I am on to secondary goals now which are more about fitness, flexibility, and vanity. Losing more will improve/preserve my knee situation a little more but mostly weight loss is down to aesthetics. I still have fat around my midsection that I would like to reduce as long as weight loss doesn't become a struggle and I would really like to see a weight with a 1 in front of it so I will be pressing on for a time.
I broke my goals into mini goals. Get below 200 (I started at 217 and 5'9"). Then get below 190. Then get to 180. I thought I would be good there. But I'm there now and still have a little more body fat than I want, although my waist went from 41 to 36 and all my other markers, blood work, BMI, waist to hip ratio, are within the healthy range.
So, now it's just about aesthetics. I look great in clothes. Naked, still a little fluff. I am slowly getting that down.
Besides that, functionality was big for me. I wanted to be able to do most anything I ever could. I've been there for awhile. The fat loss combined with both cardio, walking and running, and weight training has me as functional as I ever was. There is pretty much nothing I could do at 30 that I can't do now (I turn 69 in 2 weeks).
All that to say, I set achievable interim targets with an overall goal of getting to a healthy BMI. Then aesthetic and functionality targets and adjusted as I hit them if I still wasn't satisfied. All the while at each step taking satisfaction that I went from decreasing functionality, a class 1 obese BMI and prediabetic to a healthy BMI, full functionality and solidly healthy bloodwork.5 -
My weight goal (which is actually a 15-lb range) is there only because I know what I look like in that range. But the real target, for me, is body fat percentage. It's so persnickety as a metric.
I'd be happier at a higher or lower than "goal" weight if I can just get to my idealized BFP and see whether I like the aesthetics and am willing to maintain them (because Ecclesiastes 1:2...it's all vanity) 😉
Glad you're happy about your progress to "one-derland" @NovusDies5 -
Ikeeptrying2 wrote: »Interesting question that will probably generate a wide range of responses.
For me it was simply picking an arbitrary number. One I hit it, I kept going down for whatever reason and went too low. Had the mindset 'lower must be better'.
Hated the way I looked and felt and put more back on.
To end my maintenance search... Once I could find the happy balance of calories in and the sustainable routine of what I was willing to do for exercise to assist in calories out - I stayed put.
I added about 600 calories back a day on average and was willing to accept what came with it. This keeps me WAY inside a healthy weight and BMI. It is sustainable for me.
Took me about 24 months to figure out my sustainable place.
Just my experience.
Good info. There is a part of me that knows I could be at risk of going lower than I need if whatever the final pounds come off with relative ease. I tend to log high and lose slightly ahead (often .2 pounds) of my rate of loss. I also have a strong fear of regain that is easily justified considering where I came from but will have to be kept in check.3 -
Ikeeptrying2 wrote: »Interesting question that will probably generate a wide range of responses.
For me it was simply picking an arbitrary number. One I hit it, I kept going down for whatever reason and went too low. Had the mindset 'lower must be better'.
Hated the way I looked and felt and put more back on.
To end my maintenance search... Once I could find the happy balance of calories in and the sustainable routine of what I was willing to do for exercise to assist in calories out - I stayed put.
I added about 600 calories back a day on average and was willing to accept what came with it. This keeps me WAY inside a healthy weight and BMI. It is sustainable for me.
Took me about 24 months to figure out my sustainable place.
Just my experience.
Good info. There is a part of me that knows I could be at risk of going lower than I need if whatever the final pounds come off with relative ease. I tend to log high and lose slightly ahead (often .2 pounds) of my rate of loss. I also have a strong fear of regain that is easily justified considering where I came from but will have to be kept in check.
Good point. Fear definitely drove me for a while for the reason you mention. Eventually, I became my own worse enemy. Developing a formula that works for you is going to be the key.
Some generic thoughts which can change 'stuff'.. are you going to continue to log? (which I recommend until you narrow things in, at the very least) / is your exercise routine going to change? More or less? Can change your intake (obviously) / how often to weigh yourself? / continue to measure & weigh food?
In my view, this will find this becomes very personal that you will eventually work through and workout to determine what is most sustainable for you so don't go backwards or to the other extreme - don't drive yourself crazy.2 -
I would be curious how others that were not sure what their goal weights would be approached this situation.
How did you deal with diet/deficit breaks?
What was your final criteria? Was it appearance, a number, the final pound(s) effort to lose exceeded the desire, some combination, or something else?
Depending on which chart you look at the top of my BMI healthy range is 15-20 pounds away. I don't think I care about actually being in the healthy range but I have generally aimed in that direction because I assume it will be close and I had no other guide. My plan is to wait until I am at 199.x before I enter something I am calling "goal watch". That time is probably a little over a month away
I do realize that making "a goal" doesn't mean I will settle there forever. I can always choose to fine tune more later. I even think that is probable maybe using something like @AnnPT77's drift down plan. However, I probably would like to be weight stable for an extended period of time to continue to work on fitness and give my skin time to tighten as much as possible before I go for surgery. Maybe my face will fill back in enough to soften it. I look quite "severe" at the moment.
I was originally hoping to do a couple of recomp periods but with the virus the one I started was interrupted and now I am thinking about just finishing the chainsaw portion of this deal.
I am not sure about any of it because this is a situation I have never faced before. My first goals have been adequately satisfied now. I have my life back and my health is improved and stabilized. If I never lost another pound I would still consider this mission accomplished. I am on to secondary goals now which are more about fitness, flexibility, and vanity. Losing more will improve/preserve my knee situation a little more but mostly weight loss is down to aesthetics. I still have fat around my midsection that I would like to reduce as long as weight loss doesn't become a struggle and I would really like to see a weight with a 1 in front of it so I will be pressing on for a time.
I broke my goals into mini goals. Get below 200 (I started at 217 and 5'9"). Then get below 190. Then get to 180. I thought I would be good there. But I'm there now and still have a little more body fat than I want, although my waist went from 41 to 36 and all my other markers, blood work, BMI, waist to hip ratio, are within the healthy range.
So, now it's just about aesthetics. I look great in clothes. Naked, still a little fluff. I am slowly getting that down.
Besides that, functionality was big for me. I wanted to be able to do most anything I ever could. I've been there for awhile. The fat loss combined with both cardio, walking and running, and weight training has me as functional as I ever was. There is pretty much nothing I could do at 30 that I can't do now (I turn 69 in 2 weeks).
All that to say, I set achievable interim targets with an overall goal of getting to a healthy BMI. Then aesthetic and functionality targets and adjusted as I hit them if I still wasn't satisfied. All the while at each step taking satisfaction that I went from decreasing functionality, a class 1 obese BMI and prediabetic to a healthy BMI, full functionality and solidly healthy bloodwork.
I seem to be largely in your camp. Functionality is first and aesthetics are second. I am currently disappointed with my flexibility or lack of so it has moved high on my priority list. I am not sure I will be able to recapture all my younger self's ability. I carried that weight for too long and there will be consequences. My knees are fairly shot for instance. I am not going to settle prematurely though. I know I can be better than I am now which is enough to push forward.
I am not sure what I have left other than aesthetics and knee preservation that is weight dependent now though. Fitness and flexibility were impaired by my sub sedentary ways. I need to build some muscle and stretch.
I look decent-ish in clothes. Naked needs more weight loss and the surgery. I am not sure how to look at myself and evaluate. I can see the need for improvement now. Will I just know when I have done enough to let the rest go for fine tuning at a later time?2 -
My weight goal (which is actually a 15-lb range) is there only because I know what I look like in that range. But the real target, for me, is body fat percentage. It's so persnickety as a metric.
I'd be happier at a higher or lower than "goal" weight if I can just get to my idealized BFP and see whether I like the aesthetics and am willing to maintain them (because Ecclesiastes 1:2...it's all vanity) 😉
Glad you're happy about your progress to "one-derland" @NovusDies
I have not considered body fat percentage. I have no idea what mine is now. I know when I started I was more fat than lean but that is it. I have seen people talk about BF and BMI but I always assumed there were shooting for "ideal" which is not a concern for me... at least not yet.0 -
I would be curious how others that were not sure what their goal weights would be approached this situation.
How did you deal with diet/deficit breaks?
What was your final criteria? Was it appearance, a number, the final pound(s) effort to lose exceeded the desire, some combination, or something else?
Depending on which chart you look at the top of my BMI healthy range is 15-20 pounds away. I don't think I care about actually being in the healthy range but I have generally aimed in that direction because I assume it will be close and I had no other guide. My plan is to wait until I am at 199.x before I enter something I am calling "goal watch". That time is probably a little over a month away
I do realize that making "a goal" doesn't mean I will settle there forever. I can always choose to fine tune more later. I even think that is probable maybe using something like @AnnPT77's drift down plan. However, I probably would like to be weight stable for an extended period of time to continue to work on fitness and give my skin time to tighten as much as possible before I go for surgery. Maybe my face will fill back in enough to soften it. I look quite "severe" at the moment.
I was originally hoping to do a couple of recomp periods but with the virus the one I started was interrupted and now I am thinking about just finishing the chainsaw portion of this deal.
I am not sure about any of it because this is a situation I have never faced before. My first goals have been adequately satisfied now. I have my life back and my health is improved and stabilized. If I never lost another pound I would still consider this mission accomplished. I am on to secondary goals now which are more about fitness, flexibility, and vanity. Losing more will improve/preserve my knee situation a little more but mostly weight loss is down to aesthetics. I still have fat around my midsection that I would like to reduce as long as weight loss doesn't become a struggle and I would really like to see a weight with a 1 in front of it so I will be pressing on for a time.
I broke my goals into mini goals. Get below 200 (I started at 217 and 5'9"). Then get below 190. Then get to 180. I thought I would be good there. But I'm there now and still have a little more body fat than I want, although my waist went from 41 to 36 and all my other markers, blood work, BMI, waist to hip ratio, are within the healthy range.
So, now it's just about aesthetics. I look great in clothes. Naked, still a little fluff. I am slowly getting that down.
Besides that, functionality was big for me. I wanted to be able to do most anything I ever could. I've been there for awhile. The fat loss combined with both cardio, walking and running, and weight training has me as functional as I ever was. There is pretty much nothing I could do at 30 that I can't do now (I turn 69 in 2 weeks).
All that to say, I set achievable interim targets with an overall goal of getting to a healthy BMI. Then aesthetic and functionality targets and adjusted as I hit them if I still wasn't satisfied. All the while at each step taking satisfaction that I went from decreasing functionality, a class 1 obese BMI and prediabetic to a healthy BMI, full functionality and solidly healthy bloodwork.
I seem to be largely in your camp. Functionality is first and aesthetics are second. I am currently disappointed with my flexibility or lack of so it has moved high on my priority list. I am not sure I will be able to recapture all my younger self's ability. I carried that weight for too long and there will be consequences. My knees are fairly shot for instance. I am not going to settle prematurely though. I know I can be better than I am now which is enough to push forward.
I am not sure what I have left other than aesthetics and knee preservation that is weight dependent now though. Fitness and flexibility were impaired by my sub sedentary ways. I need to build some muscle and stretch.
I look decent-ish in clothes. Naked needs more weight loss and the surgery. I am not sure how to look at myself and evaluate. I can see the need for improvement now. Will I just know when I have done enough to let the rest go for fine tuning at a later time?
That's pretty much what I did. First, it was important to get the health indicator numbers into a better place. Now, I look at myself in the mirror some mornings and say, "looking good" be then I put on pants or gym shorts and I can see the extra fat over my hips squeezed a little. I carry the last bit of excess fat right over my hips on the side and in back. Just a little in front on the lower abdomen.
I am fortunate that I've never has any kind of injury or condition that impairs my functionality. I think that is the exception in a person my age. No knee problems, no hip problems. I can move just fine and even better with less body fat and more muscle. Also, I was always active and fairly fit with sports and exercise my whole life. I'm sure that helped.
I get what you mean about carrying that weight for so long and it's impact on your knees. That is a limitation but you sound like you are taking the right approach to be the best and most functional you possible within the limitations.2 -
Ikeeptrying2 wrote: »Ikeeptrying2 wrote: »Interesting question that will probably generate a wide range of responses.
For me it was simply picking an arbitrary number. One I hit it, I kept going down for whatever reason and went too low. Had the mindset 'lower must be better'.
Hated the way I looked and felt and put more back on.
To end my maintenance search... Once I could find the happy balance of calories in and the sustainable routine of what I was willing to do for exercise to assist in calories out - I stayed put.
I added about 600 calories back a day on average and was willing to accept what came with it. This keeps me WAY inside a healthy weight and BMI. It is sustainable for me.
Took me about 24 months to figure out my sustainable place.
Just my experience.
Good info. There is a part of me that knows I could be at risk of going lower than I need if whatever the final pounds come off with relative ease. I tend to log high and lose slightly ahead (often .2 pounds) of my rate of loss. I also have a strong fear of regain that is easily justified considering where I came from but will have to be kept in check.
Good point. Fear definitely drove me for a while for the reason you mention. Eventually, I became my own worse enemy. Developing a formula that works for you is going to be the key.
Some generic thoughts which can change 'stuff'.. are you going to continue to log? (which I recommend until you narrow things in, at the very least) / is your exercise routine going to change? More or less? Can change your intake (obviously) / how often to weigh yourself? / continue to measure & weigh food?
In my view, this will find this becomes very personal that you will eventually work through and workout to determine what is most sustainable for you so don't go backwards or to the other extreme - don't drive yourself crazy.
I currently have zero interest in trying intuitive eating. I am not sure if that is something I will ever want to try in the future but I strongly suspect it would take at least 4-5 years of consistent(ish) maintenance. So I believe I will be logging my food and I have no expectation of stopping. I will probably weigh daily for a very long time too. Of the two I could see me dropping to weighing weekly before I ever stop logging.
My plan for cardio exercise is to condense and intensify it as I am able. My plan for strength training is not set in stone enough. Getting to a maintenance level there is too far off still. Yoga has made the list for upcoming experiment. I spend too much time exercising right now. It is not sustainable.1 -
I would be curious how others that were not sure what their goal weights would be approached this situation.
How did you deal with diet/deficit breaks?
What was your final criteria? Was it appearance, a number, the final pound(s) effort to lose exceeded the desire, some combination, or something else?
Depending on which chart you look at the top of my BMI healthy range is 15-20 pounds away. I don't think I care about actually being in the healthy range but I have generally aimed in that direction because I assume it will be close and I had no other guide. My plan is to wait until I am at 199.x before I enter something I am calling "goal watch". That time is probably a little over a month away
I do realize that making "a goal" doesn't mean I will settle there forever. I can always choose to fine tune more later. I even think that is probable maybe using something like @AnnPT77's drift down plan. However, I probably would like to be weight stable for an extended period of time to continue to work on fitness and give my skin time to tighten as much as possible before I go for surgery. Maybe my face will fill back in enough to soften it. I look quite "severe" at the moment.
I was originally hoping to do a couple of recomp periods but with the virus the one I started was interrupted and now I am thinking about just finishing the chainsaw portion of this deal.
I am not sure about any of it because this is a situation I have never faced before. My first goals have been adequately satisfied now. I have my life back and my health is improved and stabilized. If I never lost another pound I would still consider this mission accomplished. I am on to secondary goals now which are more about fitness, flexibility, and vanity. Losing more will improve/preserve my knee situation a little more but mostly weight loss is down to aesthetics. I still have fat around my midsection that I would like to reduce as long as weight loss doesn't become a struggle and I would really like to see a weight with a 1 in front of it so I will be pressing on for a time.
I broke my goals into mini goals. Get below 200 (I started at 217 and 5'9"). Then get below 190. Then get to 180. I thought I would be good there. But I'm there now and still have a little more body fat than I want, although my waist went from 41 to 36 and all my other markers, blood work, BMI, waist to hip ratio, are within the healthy range.
So, now it's just about aesthetics. I look great in clothes. Naked, still a little fluff. I am slowly getting that down.
Besides that, functionality was big for me. I wanted to be able to do most anything I ever could. I've been there for awhile. The fat loss combined with both cardio, walking and running, and weight training has me as functional as I ever was. There is pretty much nothing I could do at 30 that I can't do now (I turn 69 in 2 weeks).
All that to say, I set achievable interim targets with an overall goal of getting to a healthy BMI. Then aesthetic and functionality targets and adjusted as I hit them if I still wasn't satisfied. All the while at each step taking satisfaction that I went from decreasing functionality, a class 1 obese BMI and prediabetic to a healthy BMI, full functionality and solidly healthy bloodwork.
I seem to be largely in your camp. Functionality is first and aesthetics are second. I am currently disappointed with my flexibility or lack of so it has moved high on my priority list. I am not sure I will be able to recapture all my younger self's ability. I carried that weight for too long and there will be consequences. My knees are fairly shot for instance. I am not going to settle prematurely though. I know I can be better than I am now which is enough to push forward.
I am not sure what I have left other than aesthetics and knee preservation that is weight dependent now though. Fitness and flexibility were impaired by my sub sedentary ways. I need to build some muscle and stretch.
I look decent-ish in clothes. Naked needs more weight loss and the surgery. I am not sure how to look at myself and evaluate. I can see the need for improvement now. Will I just know when I have done enough to let the rest go for fine tuning at a later time?
That's pretty much what I did. First, it was important to get the health indicator numbers into a better place. Now, I look at myself in the mirror some mornings and say, "looking good" be then I put on pants or gym shorts and I can see the extra fat over my hips squeezed a little. I carry the last bit of excess fat right over my hips on the side and in back. Just a little in front on the lower abdomen.
I am fortunate that I've never has any kind of injury or condition that impairs my functionality. I think that is the exception in a person my age. No knee problems, no hip problems. I can move just fine and even better with less body fat and more muscle. Also, I was always active and fairly fit with sports and exercise my whole life. I'm sure that helped.
I get what you mean about carrying that weight for so long and it's impact on your knees. That is a limitation but you sound like you are taking the right approach to be the best and most functional you possible within the limitations.
I see, in myself, what you mean. I have more to lose in my stomach but the part that really sticks out at me is the hip and back stuff. Is that something that commonly bothers men? Feels weird that I have to ask but these are foreign issues for me. Vanity was never even in the same room as the radar screen when I first started. It can be there now because I have passed by the largest hurdles which is surreal still.0 -
I would be curious how others that were not sure what their goal weights would be approached this situation.
How did you deal with diet/deficit breaks?
What was your final criteria? Was it appearance, a number, the final pound(s) effort to lose exceeded the desire, some combination, or something else?
Depending on which chart you look at the top of my BMI healthy range is 15-20 pounds away. I don't think I care about actually being in the healthy range but I have generally aimed in that direction because I assume it will be close and I had no other guide. My plan is to wait until I am at 199.x before I enter something I am calling "goal watch". That time is probably a little over a month away
I do realize that making "a goal" doesn't mean I will settle there forever. I can always choose to fine tune more later. I even think that is probable maybe using something like @AnnPT77's drift down plan. However, I probably would like to be weight stable for an extended period of time to continue to work on fitness and give my skin time to tighten as much as possible before I go for surgery. Maybe my face will fill back in enough to soften it. I look quite "severe" at the moment.
I was originally hoping to do a couple of recomp periods but with the virus the one I started was interrupted and now I am thinking about just finishing the chainsaw portion of this deal.
I am not sure about any of it because this is a situation I have never faced before. My first goals have been adequately satisfied now. I have my life back and my health is improved and stabilized. If I never lost another pound I would still consider this mission accomplished. I am on to secondary goals now which are more about fitness, flexibility, and vanity. Losing more will improve/preserve my knee situation a little more but mostly weight loss is down to aesthetics. I still have fat around my midsection that I would like to reduce as long as weight loss doesn't become a struggle and I would really like to see a weight with a 1 in front of it so I will be pressing on for a time.
I broke my goals into mini goals. Get below 200 (I started at 217 and 5'9"). Then get below 190. Then get to 180. I thought I would be good there. But I'm there now and still have a little more body fat than I want, although my waist went from 41 to 36 and all my other markers, blood work, BMI, waist to hip ratio, are within the healthy range.
So, now it's just about aesthetics. I look great in clothes. Naked, still a little fluff. I am slowly getting that down.
Besides that, functionality was big for me. I wanted to be able to do most anything I ever could. I've been there for awhile. The fat loss combined with both cardio, walking and running, and weight training has me as functional as I ever was. There is pretty much nothing I could do at 30 that I can't do now (I turn 69 in 2 weeks).
All that to say, I set achievable interim targets with an overall goal of getting to a healthy BMI. Then aesthetic and functionality targets and adjusted as I hit them if I still wasn't satisfied. All the while at each step taking satisfaction that I went from decreasing functionality, a class 1 obese BMI and prediabetic to a healthy BMI, full functionality and solidly healthy bloodwork.
I seem to be largely in your camp. Functionality is first and aesthetics are second. I am currently disappointed with my flexibility or lack of so it has moved high on my priority list. I am not sure I will be able to recapture all my younger self's ability. I carried that weight for too long and there will be consequences. My knees are fairly shot for instance. I am not going to settle prematurely though. I know I can be better than I am now which is enough to push forward.
I am not sure what I have left other than aesthetics and knee preservation that is weight dependent now though. Fitness and flexibility were impaired by my sub sedentary ways. I need to build some muscle and stretch.
I look decent-ish in clothes. Naked needs more weight loss and the surgery. I am not sure how to look at myself and evaluate. I can see the need for improvement now. Will I just know when I have done enough to let the rest go for fine tuning at a later time?
That's pretty much what I did. First, it was important to get the health indicator numbers into a better place. Now, I look at myself in the mirror some mornings and say, "looking good" be then I put on pants or gym shorts and I can see the extra fat over my hips squeezed a little. I carry the last bit of excess fat right over my hips on the side and in back. Just a little in front on the lower abdomen.
I am fortunate that I've never has any kind of injury or condition that impairs my functionality. I think that is the exception in a person my age. No knee problems, no hip problems. I can move just fine and even better with less body fat and more muscle. Also, I was always active and fairly fit with sports and exercise my whole life. I'm sure that helped.
I get what you mean about carrying that weight for so long and it's impact on your knees. That is a limitation but you sound like you are taking the right approach to be the best and most functional you possible within the limitations.
I see, in myself, what you mean. I have more to lose in my stomach but the part that really sticks out at me is the hip and back stuff. Is that something that commonly bothers men? Feels weird that I have to ask but these are foreign issues for me. Vanity was never even in the same room as the radar screen when I first started. It can be there now because I have passed by the largest hurdles which is surreal still.
Yes, you have truly come a long way and new horizons have opened to you. I don't know if the hips thing is common to men. I've seen some men that carry their fat all out front. It's just always been my trouble spot. My legs and my arms are so lean they show vascularity. My upper torso has decent definition and the outline of my ab area. But right over the hips is the fat spot!
1 -
To the base OP question (which I hope it's OK for me to answer even though female
). Imma be kinda graphic, so skip it if that's icky. 
For me, as I got to my provisional initial goal weight (BMI 21.6), it was obvious to me that I wanted to lose a little more weight. At that point, I was able to formulate some specific benchmarks that I could just watch for (example later). While I'm generally truly not very appearance/vanity driven when it comes to weight (more function/health), I'll admit that vanity came in at this point.
Much of my weight's bulk had been between rib cage and upper thighs, though there was a general fatness all over, especially at the start (just over the line into class 1 obese, BMI 30.4). So, in the final stage of weight loss, there was still a visible portion of that "squishy fat" around my belly, above my pelvic bones, and to some extent on my backside. There was loosening skin in that whole zone from tens of pounds loss. It wasn't just the thin-wrinkles true loose skin, it was some small-ish rolls or folds of very squishy fat within the skin, enough subcutaneous fat still present to cause some droop of the folds. I was pretty sure that that squishy fat would conspire with gravity to limit skin shrinkage in my central zone. So, a key benchmark for me toward the end was getting enough more fat depletion so that the gravitational droop wasn't happening; and I was trying to lose maybe half a pound a week at that point, so it was gradual.
IIRC, it was about another 8 pounds down (BMI 20.3) when I literally woke up one morning and said "I'm there, let's work on finding maintenance calories". It wasn't that all the squishy fat was gone, it was that enough was gone that it wasn't particularly dragging down its skin-pounch when I was standing relaxed.
I think you may know that I slowly regained some weight over the past 4+ years, while staying at a healthy weight (<BMI 23). It's interesting to me that I'm now close to my initial provisional goal weight (BMI 21.9 this morning), but don't have that same squishy-fat droop that I did after losing (and I don't think my body comp is much different overall, certainly not better). I think enough skin-shrinkage happened over the years that roughly the same fat mass is just a little less gravitationally distorted. It's a theory.
I'd still like to drop down a little lower. American Cancer Society says survivors like me are well served by maintaining the lowest weight we can comfortably maintain without being underweight, and - even though I'm unlikely need it, since not competing - I'd feel nice if I stayed within relatively short-term shooting distance of rowing as a lightweight on water (I'd hit the top lightweight limit for individual women at around BMI 21.6, so I'm getting close).
Personally, I haven't found a lighter weight (within the above post-weight-loss ranges) to be particularly harder to maintain than a higher one, despite admitting to some regain (and now re-loss). For me, the wrangle is always between my immediate thus vivid hedonistic impulses (want allllll the yummy food and drink), and the more abstract/theoretical value of future Ann's health.
Neither have I found anything in that weight range to be noticeably less functional, to have obvious health implications (short term view, obviously), etc.(snip)
I am not sure what I have left other than aesthetics and knee preservation that is weight dependent now though. Fitness and flexibility were impaired by my sub sedentary ways. I need to build some muscle and stretch.
(snip)
I did get very material improvement in knee pain (frequency, severity) from weight loss. Also, my flexibility improved for purely mass-related reasons: For example, my quad stretch - the one where you hold your foot behind your butt and press the pelvis forward - turned out to have been limited by my thigh/butt fat (does the word for one's rear end get kittened here? dunno). I got a better quad stretch after weight loss without any true flexibility improvement, just by getting the unnecessary fat-pillows out of my way.
FWIW, I had gotten some really good flexibility improvements in my 40s/50s, even while obese. Various things helped, but IMO the biggie was making it a practice to stretch literally every day, targeting areas that I'd found to be tight for me. It was only 15-20 minutes or so, but there was a big payoff. As just one example, I went from just barely able to touch my toes, to being able to put my palms flat on the floor, in just a few months. So worth it: Stretching feels like oil to the joints, I swear
. . . and flexibilty turns out to be spryness and mobility, once put in motion. Good stuff.
Best wishes, Novus. Trust yourself: You'll know when you're there. :drinker:2 -
I would be curious how others that were not sure what their goal weights would be approached this situation.
How did you deal with diet/deficit breaks?
What was your final criteria? Was it appearance, a number, the final pound(s) effort to lose exceeded the desire, some combination, or something else?
Depending on which chart you look at the top of my BMI healthy range is 15-20 pounds away. I don't think I care about actually being in the healthy range but I have generally aimed in that direction because I assume it will be close and I had no other guide. My plan is to wait until I am at 199.x before I enter something I am calling "goal watch". That time is probably a little over a month away
I do realize that making "a goal" doesn't mean I will settle there forever. I can always choose to fine tune more later. I even think that is probable maybe using something like @AnnPT77's drift down plan. However, I probably would like to be weight stable for an extended period of time to continue to work on fitness and give my skin time to tighten as much as possible before I go for surgery. Maybe my face will fill back in enough to soften it. I look quite "severe" at the moment.
I was originally hoping to do a couple of recomp periods but with the virus the one I started was interrupted and now I am thinking about just finishing the chainsaw portion of this deal.
I am not sure about any of it because this is a situation I have never faced before. My first goals have been adequately satisfied now. I have my life back and my health is improved and stabilized. If I never lost another pound I would still consider this mission accomplished. I am on to secondary goals now which are more about fitness, flexibility, and vanity. Losing more will improve/preserve my knee situation a little more but mostly weight loss is down to aesthetics. I still have fat around my midsection that I would like to reduce as long as weight loss doesn't become a struggle and I would really like to see a weight with a 1 in front of it so I will be pressing on for a time.
I broke my goals into mini goals. Get below 200 (I started at 217 and 5'9"). Then get below 190. Then get to 180. I thought I would be good there. But I'm there now and still have a little more body fat than I want, although my waist went from 41 to 36 and all my other markers, blood work, BMI, waist to hip ratio, are within the healthy range.
So, now it's just about aesthetics. I look great in clothes. Naked, still a little fluff. I am slowly getting that down.
Besides that, functionality was big for me. I wanted to be able to do most anything I ever could. I've been there for awhile. The fat loss combined with both cardio, walking and running, and weight training has me as functional as I ever was. There is pretty much nothing I could do at 30 that I can't do now (I turn 69 in 2 weeks).
All that to say, I set achievable interim targets with an overall goal of getting to a healthy BMI. Then aesthetic and functionality targets and adjusted as I hit them if I still wasn't satisfied. All the while at each step taking satisfaction that I went from decreasing functionality, a class 1 obese BMI and prediabetic to a healthy BMI, full functionality and solidly healthy bloodwork.
I seem to be largely in your camp. Functionality is first and aesthetics are second. I am currently disappointed with my flexibility or lack of so it has moved high on my priority list. I am not sure I will be able to recapture all my younger self's ability. I carried that weight for too long and there will be consequences. My knees are fairly shot for instance. I am not going to settle prematurely though. I know I can be better than I am now which is enough to push forward.
I am not sure what I have left other than aesthetics and knee preservation that is weight dependent now though. Fitness and flexibility were impaired by my sub sedentary ways. I need to build some muscle and stretch.
I look decent-ish in clothes. Naked needs more weight loss and the surgery. I am not sure how to look at myself and evaluate. I can see the need for improvement now. Will I just know when I have done enough to let the rest go for fine tuning at a later time?
That's pretty much what I did. First, it was important to get the health indicator numbers into a better place. Now, I look at myself in the mirror some mornings and say, "looking good" be then I put on pants or gym shorts and I can see the extra fat over my hips squeezed a little. I carry the last bit of excess fat right over my hips on the side and in back. Just a little in front on the lower abdomen.
I am fortunate that I've never has any kind of injury or condition that impairs my functionality. I think that is the exception in a person my age. No knee problems, no hip problems. I can move just fine and even better with less body fat and more muscle. Also, I was always active and fairly fit with sports and exercise my whole life. I'm sure that helped.
I get what you mean about carrying that weight for so long and it's impact on your knees. That is a limitation but you sound like you are taking the right approach to be the best and most functional you possible within the limitations.
I see, in myself, what you mean. I have more to lose in my stomach but the part that really sticks out at me is the hip and back stuff. Is that something that commonly bothers men? Feels weird that I have to ask but these are foreign issues for me. Vanity was never even in the same room as the radar screen when I first started. It can be there now because I have passed by the largest hurdles which is surreal still.
Yes, you have truly come a long way and new horizons have opened to you. I don't know if the hips thing is common to men. I've seen some men that carry their fat all out front. It's just always been my trouble spot. My legs and my arms are so lean they show vascularity. My upper torso has decent definition and the outline of my ab area. But right over the hips is the fat spot!
Most of my fat was out front and some still is but I guess I am so accustomed to it that it is the hip and back fat that catches my eye in the mirror. This is all still relatively new to me so the belly fat may start bothering me more tomorrow for all I know. I am not super critical of any of it though. If some remains after I decide to stop or at least pause for a couple of years it won't be a big deal.
Part of my problem is I really do not know what to expect with additional weight loss. Even if the majority of the next 10-15 pounds comes from fat concentrated areas I don't know what I should expect to see in the mirror. I guess I will find out because I am going at least that far.
These are all considerations I thought I was delaying by doing recomp for 4 months. Stupid virus ruined my ability to procrastinate.3 -
To the base OP question (which I hope it's OK for me to answer even though female ). Imma be kinda graphic, so skip it if that's icky.
For me, as I got to my provisional initial goal weight (BMI 21.6), it was obvious to me that I wanted to lose a little more weight. At that point, I was able to formulate some specific benchmarks that I could just watch for (example later). While I'm generally truly not very appearance/vanity driven when it comes to weight (more function/health), I'll admit that vanity came in at this point.
Much of my weight's bulk had been between rib cage and upper thighs, though there was a general fatness all over, especially at the start (just over the line into class 1 obese, BMI 30.4). So, in the final stage of weight loss, there was still a visible portion of that "squishy fat" around my belly, above my pelvic bones, and to some extent on my backside. There was loosening skin in that whole zone from tens of pounds loss. It wasn't just the thin-wrinkles true loose skin, it was some small-ish rolls or folds of very squishy fat within the skin, enough subcutaneous fat still present to cause some droop of the folds. I was pretty sure that that squishy fat would conspire with gravity to limit skin shrinkage in my central zone. So, a key benchmark for me toward the end was getting enough more fat depletion so that the gravitational droop wasn't happening; and I was trying to lose maybe half a pound a week at that point, so it was gradual.
IIRC, it was about another 8 pounds down (BMI 20.3) when I literally woke up one morning and said "I'm there, let's work on finding maintenance calories". It wasn't that all the squishy fat was gone, it was that enough was gone that it wasn't particularly dragging down its skin-pounch when I was standing relaxed.
I think you may know that I slowly regained some weight over the past 4+ years, while staying at a healthy weight (<BMI 23). It's interesting to me that I'm now close to my initial provisional goal weight (BMI 21.9 this morning), but don't have that same squishy-fat droop that I did after losing (and I don't think my body comp is much different overall, certainly not better). I think enough skin-shrinkage happened over the years that roughly the same fat mass is just a little less gravitationally distorted. It's a theory.
I'd still like to drop down a little lower. American Cancer Society says survivors like me are well served by maintaining the lowest weight we can comfortably maintain without being underweight, and - even though I'm unlikely need it, since not competing - I'd feel nice if I stayed within relatively short-term shooting distance of rowing as a lightweight on water (I'd hit the top lightweight limit for individual women at around BMI 21.6, so I'm getting close).
Personally, I haven't found a lighter weight (within the above post-weight-loss ranges) to be particularly harder to maintain than a higher one, despite admitting to some regain (and now re-loss). For me, the wrangle is always between my immediate thus vivid hedonistic impulses (want allllll the yummy food and drink), and the more abstract/theoretical value of future Ann's health.
Neither have I found anything in that weight range to be noticeably less functional, to have obvious health implications (short term view, obviously), etc.(snip)
I am not sure what I have left other than aesthetics and knee preservation that is weight dependent now though. Fitness and flexibility were impaired by my sub sedentary ways. I need to build some muscle and stretch.
(snip)
I did get very material improvement in knee pain (frequency, severity) from weight loss. Also, my flexibility improved for purely mass-related reasons: For example, my quad stretch - the one where you hold your foot behind your butt and press the pelvis forward - turned out to have been limited by my thigh/butt fat (does the word for one's rear end get kittened here? dunno). I got a better quad stretch after weight loss without any true flexibility improvement, just by getting the unnecessary fat-pillows out of my way.
FWIW, I had gotten some really good flexibility improvements in my 40s/50s, even while obese. Various things helped, but IMO the biggie was making it a practice to stretch literally every day, targeting areas that I'd found to be tight for me. It was only 15-20 minutes or so, but there was a big payoff. As just one example, I went from just barely able to touch my toes, to being able to put my palms flat on the floor, in just a few months. So worth it: Stretching feels like oil to the joints, I swear . . . and flexibilty turns out to be spryness and mobility, once put in motion. Good stuff.
Best wishes, Novus. Trust yourself: You'll know when you're there. :drinker:
My post was definitely not targeted for male readers. Male perspective helps but I will consider advice from anyone. I have been in physio therapy that has taught me some stretches but I definitely need to do others/more. I had not fully appreciated my level of inflexibility until recently while doing more outside projects. It has hit home.2 -
To the base OP question (which I hope it's OK for me to answer even though female ). Imma be kinda graphic, so skip it if that's icky.
For me, as I got to my provisional initial goal weight (BMI 21.6), it was obvious to me that I wanted to lose a little more weight. At that point, I was able to formulate some specific benchmarks that I could just watch for (example later). While I'm generally truly not very appearance/vanity driven when it comes to weight (more function/health), I'll admit that vanity came in at this point.
Much of my weight's bulk had been between rib cage and upper thighs, though there was a general fatness all over, especially at the start (just over the line into class 1 obese, BMI 30.4). So, in the final stage of weight loss, there was still a visible portion of that "squishy fat" around my belly, above my pelvic bones, and to some extent on my backside. There was loosening skin in that whole zone from tens of pounds loss. It wasn't just the thin-wrinkles true loose skin, it was some small-ish rolls or folds of very squishy fat within the skin, enough subcutaneous fat still present to cause some droop of the folds. I was pretty sure that that squishy fat would conspire with gravity to limit skin shrinkage in my central zone. So, a key benchmark for me toward the end was getting enough more fat depletion so that the gravitational droop wasn't happening; and I was trying to lose maybe half a pound a week at that point, so it was gradual.
IIRC, it was about another 8 pounds down (BMI 20.3) when I literally woke up one morning and said "I'm there, let's work on finding maintenance calories". It wasn't that all the squishy fat was gone, it was that enough was gone that it wasn't particularly dragging down its skin-pounch when I was standing relaxed.
I think you may know that I slowly regained some weight over the past 4+ years, while staying at a healthy weight (<BMI 23). It's interesting to me that I'm now close to my initial provisional goal weight (BMI 21.9 this morning), but don't have that same squishy-fat droop that I did after losing (and I don't think my body comp is much different overall, certainly not better). I think enough skin-shrinkage happened over the years that roughly the same fat mass is just a little less gravitationally distorted. It's a theory.
I'd still like to drop down a little lower. American Cancer Society says survivors like me are well served by maintaining the lowest weight we can comfortably maintain without being underweight, and - even though I'm unlikely need it, since not competing - I'd feel nice if I stayed within relatively short-term shooting distance of rowing as a lightweight on water (I'd hit the top lightweight limit for individual women at around BMI 21.6, so I'm getting close).
Personally, I haven't found a lighter weight (within the above post-weight-loss ranges) to be particularly harder to maintain than a higher one, despite admitting to some regain (and now re-loss). For me, the wrangle is always between my immediate thus vivid hedonistic impulses (want allllll the yummy food and drink), and the more abstract/theoretical value of future Ann's health.
Neither have I found anything in that weight range to be noticeably less functional, to have obvious health implications (short term view, obviously), etc.(snip)
I am not sure what I have left other than aesthetics and knee preservation that is weight dependent now though. Fitness and flexibility were impaired by my sub sedentary ways. I need to build some muscle and stretch.
(snip)
I did get very material improvement in knee pain (frequency, severity) from weight loss. Also, my flexibility improved for purely mass-related reasons: For example, my quad stretch - the one where you hold your foot behind your butt and press the pelvis forward - turned out to have been limited by my thigh/butt fat (does the word for one's rear end get kittened here? dunno). I got a better quad stretch after weight loss without any true flexibility improvement, just by getting the unnecessary fat-pillows out of my way.
FWIW, I had gotten some really good flexibility improvements in my 40s/50s, even while obese. Various things helped, but IMO the biggie was making it a practice to stretch literally every day, targeting areas that I'd found to be tight for me. It was only 15-20 minutes or so, but there was a big payoff. As just one example, I went from just barely able to touch my toes, to being able to put my palms flat on the floor, in just a few months. So worth it: Stretching feels like oil to the joints, I swear . . . and flexibilty turns out to be spryness and mobility, once put in motion. Good stuff.
Best wishes, Novus. Trust yourself: You'll know when you're there. :drinker:
My post was definitely not targeted for male readers. Male perspective helps but I will consider advice from anyone. I have been in physio therapy that has taught me some stretches but I definitely need to do others/more. I had not fully appreciated my level of inflexibility until recently while doing more outside projects. It has hit home.
Just the doing of the things that require flexibility will help flexibility somewhat, of course.
There's - for me - a bit of a mind-trick here: If I skate along unawares, my mind will drive my body along the easy routes as I do chores, rather than along the routes that have the potential for tiny contributions to improved functioning (IOW, the slightly harder way). Mindfulness helps.
Trivial example: At the bookstore, I can step back and scan the magazine titles on the lower tiers, or I can squat near them and hold the squat. Stepping back is unconscious/easy; squatting is mindful, but more beneficial.0 -
I would be curious how others that were not sure what their goal weights would be approached this situation.
How did you deal with diet/deficit breaks?
What was your final criteria? Was it appearance, a number, the final pound(s) effort to lose exceeded the desire, some combination, or something else?
Depending on which chart you look at the top of my BMI healthy range is 15-20 pounds away. I don't think I care about actually being in the healthy range but I have generally aimed in that direction because I assume it will be close and I had no other guide. My plan is to wait until I am at 199.x before I enter something I am calling "goal watch". That time is probably a little over a month away
I do realize that making "a goal" doesn't mean I will settle there forever. I can always choose to fine tune more later. I even think that is probable maybe using something like @AnnPT77's drift down plan. However, I probably would like to be weight stable for an extended period of time to continue to work on fitness and give my skin time to tighten as much as possible before I go for surgery. Maybe my face will fill back in enough to soften it. I look quite "severe" at the moment.
I was originally hoping to do a couple of recomp periods but with the virus the one I started was interrupted and now I am thinking about just finishing the chainsaw portion of this deal.
I am not sure about any of it because this is a situation I have never faced before. My first goals have been adequately satisfied now. I have my life back and my health is improved and stabilized. If I never lost another pound I would still consider this mission accomplished. I am on to secondary goals now which are more about fitness, flexibility, and vanity. Losing more will improve/preserve my knee situation a little more but mostly weight loss is down to aesthetics. I still have fat around my midsection that I would like to reduce as long as weight loss doesn't become a struggle and I would really like to see a weight with a 1 in front of it so I will be pressing on for a time.
I broke my goals into mini goals. Get below 200 (I started at 217 and 5'9"). Then get below 190. Then get to 180. I thought I would be good there. But I'm there now and still have a little more body fat than I want, although my waist went from 41 to 36 and all my other markers, blood work, BMI, waist to hip ratio, are within the healthy range.
So, now it's just about aesthetics. I look great in clothes. Naked, still a little fluff. I am slowly getting that down.
Besides that, functionality was big for me. I wanted to be able to do most anything I ever could. I've been there for awhile. The fat loss combined with both cardio, walking and running, and weight training has me as functional as I ever was. There is pretty much nothing I could do at 30 that I can't do now (I turn 69 in 2 weeks).
All that to say, I set achievable interim targets with an overall goal of getting to a healthy BMI. Then aesthetic and functionality targets and adjusted as I hit them if I still wasn't satisfied. All the while at each step taking satisfaction that I went from decreasing functionality, a class 1 obese BMI and prediabetic to a healthy BMI, full functionality and solidly healthy bloodwork.
I seem to be largely in your camp. Functionality is first and aesthetics are second. I am currently disappointed with my flexibility or lack of so it has moved high on my priority list. I am not sure I will be able to recapture all my younger self's ability. I carried that weight for too long and there will be consequences. My knees are fairly shot for instance. I am not going to settle prematurely though. I know I can be better than I am now which is enough to push forward.
I am not sure what I have left other than aesthetics and knee preservation that is weight dependent now though. Fitness and flexibility were impaired by my sub sedentary ways. I need to build some muscle and stretch.
I look decent-ish in clothes. Naked needs more weight loss and the surgery. I am not sure how to look at myself and evaluate. I can see the need for improvement now. Will I just know when I have done enough to let the rest go for fine tuning at a later time?
That's pretty much what I did. First, it was important to get the health indicator numbers into a better place. Now, I look at myself in the mirror some mornings and say, "looking good" be then I put on pants or gym shorts and I can see the extra fat over my hips squeezed a little. I carry the last bit of excess fat right over my hips on the side and in back. Just a little in front on the lower abdomen.
I am fortunate that I've never has any kind of injury or condition that impairs my functionality. I think that is the exception in a person my age. No knee problems, no hip problems. I can move just fine and even better with less body fat and more muscle. Also, I was always active and fairly fit with sports and exercise my whole life. I'm sure that helped.
I get what you mean about carrying that weight for so long and it's impact on your knees. That is a limitation but you sound like you are taking the right approach to be the best and most functional you possible within the limitations.
I see, in myself, what you mean. I have more to lose in my stomach but the part that really sticks out at me is the hip and back stuff. Is that something that commonly bothers men? Feels weird that I have to ask but these are foreign issues for me. Vanity was never even in the same room as the radar screen when I first started. It can be there now because I have passed by the largest hurdles which is surreal still.
Yes, you have truly come a long way and new horizons have opened to you. I don't know if the hips thing is common to men. I've seen some men that carry their fat all out front. It's just always been my trouble spot. My legs and my arms are so lean they show vascularity. My upper torso has decent definition and the outline of my ab area. But right over the hips is the fat spot!
Most of my fat was out front and some still is but I guess I am so accustomed to it that it is the hip and back fat that catches my eye in the mirror. This is all still relatively new to me so the belly fat may start bothering me more tomorrow for all I know. I am not super critical of any of it though. If some remains after I decide to stop or at least pause for a couple of years it won't be a big deal.
Part of my problem is I really do not know what to expect with additional weight loss. Even if the majority of the next 10-15 pounds comes from fat concentrated areas I don't know what I should expect to see in the mirror. I guess I will find out because I am going at least that far.
These are all considerations I thought I was delaying by doing recomp for 4 months. Stupid virus ruined my ability to procrastinate.
Most men carry their fat on hips and lower back fat and Is the last to go before the glutes, I’d concentrate on function strenth while we are on lock down. Weight wise
I never set a number, the mirror is your best friend and worst enemy, its honest ! when your happy with what you see then your at your generally goal weight3 -
"What was your final criteria?"
I had a hard target goal weight (my favourite adult weight when I was a good shape in my mid-twenties) but in contrast once I got to goal I became a lot more flexible and went through several iterations of reassessment asking myself the simple question would I prefer to stay the same weight, get lighter or heavier? That was based on several criteria from sports performance, sporting goals, fit of clothes (I hated being on the cusp of two sizes as I detest shopping!), to energy levels, to hunger, to appearance. Appearance isn't a big thing for me, a flat stomach is nice but getting very lean simply doesn't appeal to me enough to make the necessary compromises.
Not sure I have a "final criteria" as I expect my needs and wants to keep evolving.
Maybe because I realised my favourite adult weight from almost 30 years ago wasn't particularly relevant made me realise I had never before been a 50 something getting seriously into a new sport of cycling so I had to make fresh judgements based on my current situation rather than earlier points in life. I dropped 11 more pounds over a very extended period but later deliberately regained 4 pounds when getting leaner from recomp seemed to trigger far too much hunger. Last year a few big injuries meant my training was compromised and getting a bit lighter again made sense.
"How did you deal with diet/deficit breaks?" - didn't need one (not a huge amount to lose) and definitely didn't want one. Having spent over 20 years too heavy once I made the decision to fix that I was very determined to do it in one go. One of my barriers to succeeding in previous attempts was accepting close enough is good enough.
4 -
Was doing dexa scans and noticed definite declines in fat to lean mass lost. Continued with slow loss into normal weight (just because)
Drifted into comfortable with activity vs good intake vs current weight.
Considered willingness to push further. Did for one lb just to have round 125+
Saw that further improvements would come more from willingness to engage in strength and athletic training than weight loss and that the extra loss I wanted would not qualitatively improve things (skin vs fat under it... sure some fat can be lost; but it won't improve looks without surgery or serious muscle building)
Not willing at this time to do that.
No point in making life harder to lose more. So..... maintenance with option to lose (but not gain)...
Had an episode of regain to top of approved maintenance with some family issues.
Six months later brought it back down the two weight trend lbs.
Did my normal 1-2lb holiday up and down and at the end of that down finally decided to push just a tinge to be 69 to 70kg instead of 69.5 to 70.5.
So.... just having fun and making sure that no backsliding takes place (strength training or similar would probably be even better goals)
Generally very small movement and corrections...2 -
My plan for cardio exercise is to condense and intensify it as I am able. My plan for strength training is not set in stone enough. Getting to a maintenance level there is too far off still. Yoga has made the list for upcoming experiment. I spend too much time exercising right now. It is not sustainable.
So your next danger zone, in my opinion, will be when you start eating more extensively at maintenance because there exists a **possibility** of "short term" increase in appetite / food appreciation as a component of hormonal re-adjustments WHILE also adjusting your activity since you are considering your current levels not long term sustainable.2 -
To the base OP question (which I hope it's OK for me to answer even though female ). Imma be kinda graphic, so skip it if that's icky.
For me, as I got to my provisional initial goal weight (BMI 21.6), it was obvious to me that I wanted to lose a little more weight. At that point, I was able to formulate some specific benchmarks that I could just watch for (example later). While I'm generally truly not very appearance/vanity driven when it comes to weight (more function/health), I'll admit that vanity came in at this point.
Much of my weight's bulk had been between rib cage and upper thighs, though there was a general fatness all over, especially at the start (just over the line into class 1 obese, BMI 30.4). So, in the final stage of weight loss, there was still a visible portion of that "squishy fat" around my belly, above my pelvic bones, and to some extent on my backside. There was loosening skin in that whole zone from tens of pounds loss. It wasn't just the thin-wrinkles true loose skin, it was some small-ish rolls or folds of very squishy fat within the skin, enough subcutaneous fat still present to cause some droop of the folds. I was pretty sure that that squishy fat would conspire with gravity to limit skin shrinkage in my central zone. So, a key benchmark for me toward the end was getting enough more fat depletion so that the gravitational droop wasn't happening; and I was trying to lose maybe half a pound a week at that point, so it was gradual.
IIRC, it was about another 8 pounds down (BMI 20.3) when I literally woke up one morning and said "I'm there, let's work on finding maintenance calories". It wasn't that all the squishy fat was gone, it was that enough was gone that it wasn't particularly dragging down its skin-pounch when I was standing relaxed.
I think you may know that I slowly regained some weight over the past 4+ years, while staying at a healthy weight (<BMI 23). It's interesting to me that I'm now close to my initial provisional goal weight (BMI 21.9 this morning), but don't have that same squishy-fat droop that I did after losing (and I don't think my body comp is much different overall, certainly not better). I think enough skin-shrinkage happened over the years that roughly the same fat mass is just a little less gravitationally distorted. It's a theory.
I'd still like to drop down a little lower. American Cancer Society says survivors like me are well served by maintaining the lowest weight we can comfortably maintain without being underweight, and - even though I'm unlikely need it, since not competing - I'd feel nice if I stayed within relatively short-term shooting distance of rowing as a lightweight on water (I'd hit the top lightweight limit for individual women at around BMI 21.6, so I'm getting close).
Personally, I haven't found a lighter weight (within the above post-weight-loss ranges) to be particularly harder to maintain than a higher one, despite admitting to some regain (and now re-loss). For me, the wrangle is always between my immediate thus vivid hedonistic impulses (want allllll the yummy food and drink), and the more abstract/theoretical value of future Ann's health.
Neither have I found anything in that weight range to be noticeably less functional, to have obvious health implications (short term view, obviously), etc.(snip)
I am not sure what I have left other than aesthetics and knee preservation that is weight dependent now though. Fitness and flexibility were impaired by my sub sedentary ways. I need to build some muscle and stretch.
(snip)
I did get very material improvement in knee pain (frequency, severity) from weight loss. Also, my flexibility improved for purely mass-related reasons: For example, my quad stretch - the one where you hold your foot behind your butt and press the pelvis forward - turned out to have been limited by my thigh/butt fat (does the word for one's rear end get kittened here? dunno). I got a better quad stretch after weight loss without any true flexibility improvement, just by getting the unnecessary fat-pillows out of my way.
FWIW, I had gotten some really good flexibility improvements in my 40s/50s, even while obese. Various things helped, but IMO the biggie was making it a practice to stretch literally every day, targeting areas that I'd found to be tight for me. It was only 15-20 minutes or so, but there was a big payoff. As just one example, I went from just barely able to touch my toes, to being able to put my palms flat on the floor, in just a few months. So worth it: Stretching feels like oil to the joints, I swear . . . and flexibilty turns out to be spryness and mobility, once put in motion. Good stuff.
Best wishes, Novus. Trust yourself: You'll know when you're there. :drinker:
My post was definitely not targeted for male readers. Male perspective helps but I will consider advice from anyone. I have been in physio therapy that has taught me some stretches but I definitely need to do others/more. I had not fully appreciated my level of inflexibility until recently while doing more outside projects. It has hit home.
Just the doing of the things that require flexibility will help flexibility somewhat, of course.
There's - for me - a bit of a mind-trick here: If I skate along unawares, my mind will drive my body along the easy routes as I do chores, rather than along the routes that have the potential for tiny contributions to improved functioning (IOW, the slightly harder way). Mindfulness helps.
Trivial example: At the bookstore, I can step back and scan the magazine titles on the lower tiers, or I can squat near them and hold the squat. Stepping back is unconscious/easy; squatting is mindful, but more beneficial.
If I can mindfully increase my NEAT the way I have I can certainly do the same with flexibility. Where is your flexibility improvement thread?
0 -
My plan for cardio exercise is to condense and intensify it as I am able. My plan for strength training is not set in stone enough. Getting to a maintenance level there is too far off still. Yoga has made the list for upcoming experiment. I spend too much time exercising right now. It is not sustainable.
So your next danger zone, in my opinion, will be when you start eating more extensively at maintenance because there exists a **possibility** of "short term" increase in appetite / food appreciation as a component of hormonal re-adjustments WHILE also adjusting your activity since you are considering your current levels not long term sustainable.
I have been thinking about that too. I am doing too much (time wise) to continue indefinitely. I am enjoying it a little too much. Considering I still have a sedentary job it is kind of amazing I have kept it going for as long as I have already.1 -
To the base OP question (which I hope it's OK for me to answer even though female ). Imma be kinda graphic, so skip it if that's icky.
For me, as I got to my provisional initial goal weight (BMI 21.6), it was obvious to me that I wanted to lose a little more weight. At that point, I was able to formulate some specific benchmarks that I could just watch for (example later). While I'm generally truly not very appearance/vanity driven when it comes to weight (more function/health), I'll admit that vanity came in at this point.
Much of my weight's bulk had been between rib cage and upper thighs, though there was a general fatness all over, especially at the start (just over the line into class 1 obese, BMI 30.4). So, in the final stage of weight loss, there was still a visible portion of that "squishy fat" around my belly, above my pelvic bones, and to some extent on my backside. There was loosening skin in that whole zone from tens of pounds loss. It wasn't just the thin-wrinkles true loose skin, it was some small-ish rolls or folds of very squishy fat within the skin, enough subcutaneous fat still present to cause some droop of the folds. I was pretty sure that that squishy fat would conspire with gravity to limit skin shrinkage in my central zone. So, a key benchmark for me toward the end was getting enough more fat depletion so that the gravitational droop wasn't happening; and I was trying to lose maybe half a pound a week at that point, so it was gradual.
IIRC, it was about another 8 pounds down (BMI 20.3) when I literally woke up one morning and said "I'm there, let's work on finding maintenance calories". It wasn't that all the squishy fat was gone, it was that enough was gone that it wasn't particularly dragging down its skin-pounch when I was standing relaxed.
I think you may know that I slowly regained some weight over the past 4+ years, while staying at a healthy weight (<BMI 23). It's interesting to me that I'm now close to my initial provisional goal weight (BMI 21.9 this morning), but don't have that same squishy-fat droop that I did after losing (and I don't think my body comp is much different overall, certainly not better). I think enough skin-shrinkage happened over the years that roughly the same fat mass is just a little less gravitationally distorted. It's a theory.
I'd still like to drop down a little lower. American Cancer Society says survivors like me are well served by maintaining the lowest weight we can comfortably maintain without being underweight, and - even though I'm unlikely need it, since not competing - I'd feel nice if I stayed within relatively short-term shooting distance of rowing as a lightweight on water (I'd hit the top lightweight limit for individual women at around BMI 21.6, so I'm getting close).
Personally, I haven't found a lighter weight (within the above post-weight-loss ranges) to be particularly harder to maintain than a higher one, despite admitting to some regain (and now re-loss). For me, the wrangle is always between my immediate thus vivid hedonistic impulses (want allllll the yummy food and drink), and the more abstract/theoretical value of future Ann's health.
Neither have I found anything in that weight range to be noticeably less functional, to have obvious health implications (short term view, obviously), etc.(snip)
I am not sure what I have left other than aesthetics and knee preservation that is weight dependent now though. Fitness and flexibility were impaired by my sub sedentary ways. I need to build some muscle and stretch.
(snip)
I did get very material improvement in knee pain (frequency, severity) from weight loss. Also, my flexibility improved for purely mass-related reasons: For example, my quad stretch - the one where you hold your foot behind your butt and press the pelvis forward - turned out to have been limited by my thigh/butt fat (does the word for one's rear end get kittened here? dunno). I got a better quad stretch after weight loss without any true flexibility improvement, just by getting the unnecessary fat-pillows out of my way.
FWIW, I had gotten some really good flexibility improvements in my 40s/50s, even while obese. Various things helped, but IMO the biggie was making it a practice to stretch literally every day, targeting areas that I'd found to be tight for me. It was only 15-20 minutes or so, but there was a big payoff. As just one example, I went from just barely able to touch my toes, to being able to put my palms flat on the floor, in just a few months. So worth it: Stretching feels like oil to the joints, I swear . . . and flexibilty turns out to be spryness and mobility, once put in motion. Good stuff.
Best wishes, Novus. Trust yourself: You'll know when you're there. :drinker:
My post was definitely not targeted for male readers. Male perspective helps but I will consider advice from anyone. I have been in physio therapy that has taught me some stretches but I definitely need to do others/more. I had not fully appreciated my level of inflexibility until recently while doing more outside projects. It has hit home.
Just the doing of the things that require flexibility will help flexibility somewhat, of course.
There's - for me - a bit of a mind-trick here: If I skate along unawares, my mind will drive my body along the easy routes as I do chores, rather than along the routes that have the potential for tiny contributions to improved functioning (IOW, the slightly harder way). Mindfulness helps.
Trivial example: At the bookstore, I can step back and scan the magazine titles on the lower tiers, or I can squat near them and hold the squat. Stepping back is unconscious/easy; squatting is mindful, but more beneficial.
If I can mindfully increase my NEAT the way I have I can certainly do the same with flexibility. Where is your flexibility improvement thread?
LOL, no.
Figure out where you're tight, research, perform.
Most of my best (most helpful) stretches have come from my massage therapist, my osteopath (not a GP, but a specialist in manipulation, at a university clinic), and various physical therapists; plus some things from a rather eccentric yoga instructor I took classes from for a while. Oh, and a couple of specific post-mastectomy things (I doubt you need those, though sadly a few men do).0 -
"What was your final criteria?"
I didn't have a weight goal when I was losing weight. I wanted to lose body fat, have good body composition and be in the healthy BMI range. I had no idea what weight that would be. So I kept going until I was happy with my body and felt good.
After I hit my goal I ended up losing another size without losing weight during my first year of maintenance. But it took my body a couple more years of maintenance to tighten up those former trouble spots completely.
Keeping a 10 pound year round weight range helps me to make sure I'm staying in my desired size and that I'm not losing or gaining weight.
"How did you deal with diet/deficit breaks?"
I never kept a large deficit or needed breaks. I took the slower and steady pace (which meant I lost weight slow, but it was very sustainable) so this doesn't really apply to me.
One thing I learned about my previous attempts to lose weight is that going hard and fast made me crash, so I tried the completely opposite approach and it worked.
7
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