MFP's most common user pitfall to avoid

SHBoss1673

I've skipped a lot after the first post but is it then recommended that once I hit the "fat" category rather than the "obese category that I should be aiming for 1lbs a week? (Its only 11 lbs away and I like to plan in advance.

you should definitely consider lowering your deficit, whether that needs to be 1 lb or not, would depend on your specific situation.

sassyg

My lean mass (59kg) at 27, is what my overall mass was at 17!
While I could realistically fit that size again I know there's no reason I should be aiming for that weight again.
Getting that figure though, really hammered it home - I'd only weigh that much again by losing lean mass, and a lot of it, which I don't don't dont want.

deeharley

This post was encouraging. While I have a number listed as my goal here, I actually have a ten pound range that I would consider a "happy to thrilled" range. And I have heard SO much about the weekly goal thing over the past year, that I set my loss at one pound a week. It's nice to know I'm getting SOMETHING right.

mikeyml

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chellekoren

I love your post because it really sums up my situation and dilemma. My bmi says I am over weight but I know that I am technically okay due to muscle content. I am unable to put a number to my goals. I don't know what I need to weigh since kung fu is putting a lot more muscle on my body that a normal girl my size (especially glutes). So I am playing it by ear. I can SEE that my stomach can lose a couple more inches. If my goal was the 95 pounds that I weighed in high school, I would be a very sickly short girl, instead of a fit or even healthy short girl. But what can I healthfully expect to LOOK like at 38 having had three kids? I don't know; I am having to wait and see and making myself look at what I LIKE about my body and what it can do, right now.

SHBoss1673

self bump

HealthierMamasita

BUMP THIS!

DeBlue

Bump - THANKS SO MUCH - excellent common sense article!

Hootsmamma

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SHBoss1673

gonna do a bit of a bump here.

shawn526

I love this! A friend of mine in her late 50s is 5'6" and weighs 160ish. She's extremely unhappy and always frustrated/depressed because she wants so badly to weigh 130 because that's what she weighed in her 20s. We've tried to tell her that's probably unrealistic, but she insists it's not because she's "got a small frame."

I'm 5'7" and 160ish is my goal, so I don't get it, but you can't talk to some people, I guess.

syd1980

i have to remind myself , that this new life change doesnt happen over night. im still in the obese category but not for much longer. thanks for this , i need to sit down and look at my goals. ooh and i sure dont want to look like i did in high school. im now one pound away from high school weight..

yportia

Bumping to try and figure out why I have been on this horrible roller coaster for the past 2 months. Up one week - down the next - and I don't mean small amounts - my head is spinning and I know I'm doing something wrong. Just can't figure out what it is.

dave4d

Great info. I actually set mine based upon my lean bodymass, and my bodyfat goals. I actually want to gain around 5, or 10lbs in lean mass, so I am putting that in there too. As I get closer to my goal, I will increase the calories, and adjust my goals as well. I am going for a certain range in overall weight, and body fat. I want to keep myself between 8 and 14% bodyfat.

DizsJourney

Thanks for posting this!  I really dont have a weekly goal of how much i want to lose.  For me my weekly goal is to make sure I'm doing what i need to do to get the weight off so i can be healthy.  That includes making better choices when i eat, making time to exercise & posting on MFP.  Of course i want to see the scale move, but since i'm having some health issues, i have to focus on my food & exercise.  As far as my final goal weight, i have always had a number of 175 in my head.  I dont know where i got it from, bit its stuck with me for over a decade.  A few years ago i decided that i am not a number.  Granted i have a large amount of weight to lose (100+), but as i got closer to that goal of 175, i would make a decision based on how i felt, how my clothes fit me, etc if that is where i wanted to be.  So i say all that to say, that i am shooting for this magical number of 175, but if i get close and im happy with my results, i'll be ok if i'm heavier than that. Its all about being healthy this time around.  Thanks again for your post, its a great reminder!

kamk16

Bump would like to read more later:)

bethanna91

I love reading your posts. Thank you!!

kje2011

love this post, lots of info

froglegjack

thanks
I am obese so I still want to lose 1.5-2 lbs a week but I am not sure what my end goal range is. The "charts say around 15o ish for a healthy Bmi. I don't think I want to go below that. And I am not sure if I would recognize myself even at that weight :blushing:

mericksmom

WOW AMazing POST Thank you so much!!


While I am obese OVER obese range I was happy with where I was But for my son I decided to get healthier. If I lose weight then YEAH if I tone up Yeah. The only reason I have a goal is due to my parents want me to be about 150. Being at where I was never stopped me and never put me down. But going down makes my confidence much higher.

ladyhawk00

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mikeyml

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ladyhawk00

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Mhaney

I think the goal weight that MFP has suggested for me is way under what I should actually weigh to be healthy, I'm built like a redneck (broad shoulders, wide frame) and to weigh that little at my height would look sickly.

hedleyrocks247

THANK YOU BANKS!!!!!!! Once again, well said!!! BRAVO!!!!! :happy:

skinnymeinaz

Bump.

Swimgoddess

I'm up to page 2 right now, I'm hoping somewhere between there and here you did put up those goal weight range calculators & tables you mentioned on page 1.

I'm set for maintenance right now though with my body comp being 19.8%BF, there is probably anywhere between 40-300 calories deficit/day.

I've decided it's more important to me to maintain my lean mass and get my BF% down to 15%.

My sense of self worth is tied more to how I look in the mirror now more than what the scale says.

Last month was the first month I didn't feel anxiety over gaining 2lbs of ToM weight. It stuck around 4 days before I lost it all plus half a pound.

I am a bit guilty of having an ideal in my mind of the place I was at physically (it seems to just me though that wants to throw in a big whiny "ONLY") 5 years ago at 25 after having 2 of my 3 kids. I've leaned to absolutely adore the hips and lower WHR ratio childbearing has given me though

Thanks for this post! I'm slowly but surely coming around I think...

Angeloftheshore

I applaud you for this. At first I had set my calories at the bottom line of 1200. All while proclaiming I wanted a liveit plan and not a diet. I realized I was hungry and setting diet goals for myself. So I set my calorie goals for my ideal weight range. Yes, I am losing slower now. But I feel much more comfortable with my food allowance daily and feel like I am living a healthy lifestyle now and not just a diet. It has allowed me to actually know what I can and cannot eat for my goal weight range, and that is perspective I needed for a lifetime of change and not just a quick fix!

SHBoss1673

I'm up to page 2 right now, I'm hoping somewhere between there and here you did put up those goal weight range calculators & tables you mentioned on page 1.

I'm set for maintenance right now though with my body comp being 19.8%BF, there is probably anywhere between 40-300 calories deficit/day.

I've decided it's more important to me to maintain my lean mass and get my BF% down to 15%.

My sense of self worth is tied more to how I look in the mirror now more than what the scale says.

Last month was the first month I didn't feel anxiety over gaining 2lbs of ToM weight. It stuck around 4 days before I lost it all plus half a pound.

I am a bit guilty of having an ideal in my mind of the place I was at physically (it seems to just me though that wants to throw in a big whiny "ONLY") 5 years ago at 25 after having 2 of my 3 kids. I've leaned to absolutely adore the hips and lower WHR ratio childbearing has given me though

Thanks for this post! I'm slowly but surely coming around I think...

the problem with a 15% body fat % for women is that it's extremely difficult to maintain as it's right on the cusp of the lowest healthy BF%, generally only fitness professionals and professional athletes and others who are able to exercise multiple hours a day can maintain it. If you can, that's great, but I just wanted you to be aware of it.

best luck to you.

Banks

curvygirl512

If I could go back to the beginning, I would take the time to take my measurements. I've only lost 10 pounds, but I've lost a ton of inches.