weight goal vs. size goal.... what is your vote

cindywhitney

I have finally learned after a long battle with the number on the scale, that it doesn't tell the whole story and not the only number to look at. Sizes are tricky as well since they vary so much (and are different since the last time I was thin), but both can give you a boost when the goal is reached.

I'm not sure on my goal weight or size weight since I haven't been as close as I'd like since having kids (one was a c-section) and not sure what the ole stomach region will do once down to a certain number. Having kids, though, really made me realize how every body is different. I have one daughter that is built a lot like me...really dense and doesn't look like she weighs as much as I does. But boy, is she strong! We just have to work a little harder to get good at the monkey bars (holding all that dead weight from our hands) but we do it! I always wanted to weigh what my friends did in high school and wanted skinnier knees, wrists and fingers (my bones are MUCH larger) and hated that I was more muscular, etc. I got a little boost in college when I tried on my mom's wedding dress with long fitted sleeves and a long fitted sillhoettte...I fit it in beautifully weighing around 140, and my mom wore it at around 115 pounds! (needless to say, I'm built like my dad's side of the family)

Even now, I tend to lose sight of the goal (healthy weight and size FOR ME) and that number on the scale might not be as low as others. In the past, I've looked better at 140-150 with healthy muscle and wearing a smaller size that at 130 (after a breakup where I wasn't working out nor eating enough...I think a 'skinny fat') With my bone structure and height, I don't look too good anywhere near 130. I still need to remind myself of differences in body types since my sister is built like my mom's side of the family and has recently lost weight and can't stop telling me her weight and sizes...I just need to remember I'm built TOTALLY different and when we are the same weights, I actually wear a smaller size! (It is hilarious that I am remembering this stuff closing in at 40, when most of the time, I have put it into perspective and there are more important things to worry about, but it does help to identify things in the past that led to an unhealthy body image and address them.)

Sorry this got a little long (and into a personal therapy session for me! lol!)...but bottom line: I started keeping track of my inches as well as weight...I find there are times when the scale doesn't show squat for all my hard work, then I check my inches, and I've lost a lot! I'm going to play it by ear and see how I look and feel when i get down more and decide what 'fit' looks like on me. I want to be happy and be able to maintain and still be strong and enjoy life I want to be at ease with my body and not self conscious about certain rolls or dimpling...not sure what weight or size that will be!