Mysterious numbers!!!

kickivale
kickivale Posts: 260 Member
in Motivation and Support
I'm a pretty athletic female, 30 years old, about 5'6, currently 129 lbs.
I set my goal to 117 pounds and I have no idea why i chose that number. At my wedding two years ago I was a very FIT 124 lbs I believe and I looked awesome. All the ladies were like "WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING YOUR BODY IS GREAT!!!" And I felt that way too. In fact, my husband said PLEASE DON't DROP ONE MORE POUND, YOU ARE A RAIL. Anyway, somehow I ended up gaining over 10 lbs since the wedding so I'm back on here being committed to taking great care of my body. Feeling the love for myself again!
Hence, my question….
How do we decide what is "the right number?"
Do any of you feel like you have a "homeostasis weight"? A size your body wants to be at and doesn't want to go under?
Admittedly, I haven't made any weight loss progress in about 2.5 weeks so I'm starting to second guess where I want to end up.

Anyone in the same boat? Or have any pearls of wisdom?

Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I could care less what the number on the scale says...that number is indicative of numerous things...bone density, muscle, water, glycogen, waste, fat, etc. When I was in my mid 20s I was around 155 lbs and had a pretty awesome body...to get to that weight on the scale now would mean I'd need to burn off some fat and about 10 Lbs of lean mass...why would I do that just to get to some stupid number on the scale? About as low as I could go without having to burn muscle would be around 165 and I would be pretty damned lean and likely have difficulty maintaining that level of leanness long term...it would have to be a very temporary thing.

    BF% and body composition...I use calipers and the mirror. I only use the scale to make sure I'm doing what I'm intending to do with my body which right now is to maintain my weight.
  • kickivale
    kickivale Posts: 260 Member
    I suppose it would be wise to get my BF% figured out if I'm going to shoot for a goal at all…
    It's also hard to relate this issue to men, because it's less about numbers for you guys! (that's not a cop-out, just an observation)
    Most ladies just seem to accidentally measure themselves up against "the norm"….and there are countless threads to prove it LOL
    :wink:
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,953 Member
    I suppose it would be wise to get my BF% figured out if I'm going to shoot for a goal at all…
    It's also hard to relate this issue to men, because it's less about numbers for you guys! (that's not a cop-out, just an observation)
    Most ladies just seem to accidentally measure themselves up against "the norm"….and there are countless threads to prove it LOL
    :wink:

    The mob mentality isn't necessarily the correct one though. I am nowhere near where I want to be yet but I will rely more on how I feel and how I look than a number on a scale. Right now I am a certain weight wearing a size I wore a few years ago when I was 20 pounds LIGHTER! I'm pretty sure this is because of my weight lifting. So should I be sad that my scale says I weigh 20 pounds more than I did last time I fit into these pants or should I be happy that I'm shrinking and making headway on my goals? I think I'll stick with the first option. :) Try to find your happy place somewhere away from the scale if you can. BF% is a much better indicator.

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