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    Scary decision, need some encouragement

    Posts: 239 Member
    edited February 5 in Motivation and Support
    I've been overweight my ENTIRE life. Those that have been here know that your life ultimately revolves around the scale. Your self esteem is in direct proportion with the direction the number goes. I have worked hard, mentally and physically to conquer the demons that made me reach 323lbs. I've lost 143lbs and could probably lose another 20. I have been battling with myself the last 6 months to get those 20 off but I can seem to do it. I feel like I'm fighting my body the whole time. After a new bench PR of 230lbs on Thursday I started thinking. I LOVE being strong! My body is made for strength and building muscle. So I have decided to take a leap of faith and throw the scale out the window (or give it to my trainer at least) and focus purely on building those two. I am terrified of gaining weight since I've spent my whole life focused on losing it. I've been reassured by my trainer that if we do this the right way I won't gain too much and I'll get leaner...plus the best part, I'll get stronger! So I'd love some stories of success in this area with pictures of course :) and just for comparison sake, I currently weight 180, am 5'6" and have 26% body fat.

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    • Posts: 340 Member
      I think you should do it! For sure more muscle will be a good change even if your weight stays level or goes up a little. If it's real strength you want, I think a starting strength or crossfit based workout is the way to go.

      Whatever you choose, good luck with getting strong!

      Osric
    • Posts: 18,771 Member
      230lb bench press that is incredible. You're over 1.25x BW which is amazing. In fact, that's considered well into "elite" status for lifting. Keep up the good work, I think you will see good results both progress-wise and body composition-wise.

      Edit: I just realized, that's almost as much as I can bench and I am a 6'3" male. Great work, you should enter a power lifting competition. I'm willing to bet that's better than the record for your state.
    • Posts: 239 Member
      Oh I should add that I've been lifting for almost three years with the help of my trainer :)
    • Posts: 165 Member
      You lost a whole person- you are awesome.

      Don't throw that scale out the window, you are so strong now you might hit someone and hurt them-:laugh:

      I jump on my scale everyday. I even have a talking one, it says "Are you ready?" "Stand still" "You're weight is xxx pounds." Sometimes she is my friend, sometimes she is a real b*tch!

      So I am not there yet, not anywhere close.
    • Posts: 239 Member
      230lb bench press that is incredible. You're over 1.25x BW which is amazing. In fact, that's considered well into "elite" status for lifting. Keep up the good work, I think you will see good results both progress-wise and body composition-wise.

      Thanks! That was kinda the turning point for me. I feel like I'm wasting my gift of strength to just see that smaller number on the scale.
    • Posts: 353 Member
      I've been overweight my ENTIRE life. Those that have been here know that your life ultimately revolves around the scale. Your self esteem is in direct proportion with the direction the number goes. I have worked hard, mentally and physically to conquer the demons that made me reach 323lbs. I've lost 143lbs and could probably lose another 20. I have been battling with myself the last 6 months to get those 20 off but I can seem to do it. I feel like I'm fighting my body the whole time. After a new bench PR of 230lbs on Thursday I started thinking. I LOVE being strong! My body is made for strength and building muscle. So I have decided to take a leap of faith and throw the scale out the window (or give it to my trainer at least) and focus purely on building those two. I am terrified of gaining weight since I've spent my whole life focused on losing it. I've been reassured by my trainer that if we do this the right way I won't gain too much and I'll get leaner...plus the best part, I'll get stronger! So I'd love some stories of success in this area with pictures of course :) and just for comparison sake, I currently weight 180, am 5'6" and have 26% body fat.

      If your goal is strength then keep lifting heavy. I would keep an eye on the body fat % and also get dunked for hydrostatic testing if you haven't already. 26% at your weight is over 130lbs of lean mass and might be a little off. Good luck with your goals.
    • Posts: 276 Member
      I creeped your pictures....
      WOW! Fantastic definition!
    • Posts: 239 Member
      I creeped your pictures....
      WOW! Fantastic definition!

      Thanks! I REALLY need to take new ones. Gonna have my hubby do a "before" pic to help with comparison.
    • Posts: 168 Member
      You should do whatever makes you happy. Knowledge is power, so I don't understand why you would throw away the scale. But again, sounds like you made some decisions and us peeps are rooting for you!
    • Posts: 5,916 Member
      The trick is keeping it off, and it sounds like you've found the key. Congratulations!
    • Posts: 25 Member
      Impressive weight loss and impressive strength. And to think I can barely bench press the 45# bar. Don't worry about the scales. This isn't about how much you weigh but how much you can lift. If you are happy with the way your body looks, at this point, that is all that really matters. Keep up the good work. You are quite the inspiration and your pictures are amazing.
    • Posts: 739 Member
      As I said before, many of my friends continue to get smaller without losing weight. You do what makes YOU happy. If struggling against the scale isn't making you happy, then STOP.

      ...Oh, and what Dope said.
    • Posts: 9,083 Member
      It's totally legit to reevaluate your goals and figure out what is most important to you at this moment. By all means, focus on strength and ditch the scale. If you decide at some point in the future that you want to cut more, it's not like you won't be allowed to.

      Honestly, I have my goal set for 135 right now, but I figure that once I hit 150-155 I'll say "screw it" and focus on other things. My goals, my body, I can do whatever I want.

      Your goals, your body, you do what makes you happy and proud of yourself :flowerforyou:

      And holy crap, your bench is amazing!!!!
    • Posts: 290 Member
      I say put the scale away. I had to for a different reason. I was dieting and working out, trimming down and getting results, but the scale hardly budged. It would mess with my mind too much when I didn't see a loss. You've shown what you can accomplish. Don't be nervous. Just keep doing what you're doing. It's obviously working :smile:
    • Posts: 239 Member
      I just realized, that's almost as much as I can bench and I am a 6'3" male. Great work, you should enter a power lifting competition. I'm willing to bet that's better than the record for your state.

      I never thought of that, maybe I should look into it :happy:
    • Posts: 388 Member
      Your self esteem is in direct proportion with the direction the number goes.


      This is sooo true. But wow! Look what you have accomplished. If I could lift that much I would only be focusing on those numbers! Incredible! Go girl, RAWR!
    • Posts: 28,072 Member
      show previous quotes

      If your goal is strength then keep lifting heavy. I would keep an eye on the body fat % and also get dunked for hydrostatic testing if you haven't already. 26% at your weight is over 130lbs of lean mass and might be a little off. Good luck with your goals.

      It's high for a female - but not that unusual at her height to have 130lb+ LBM.
    • Posts: 11,068 Member
      That's a CRAZY strong bench!
    • Posts: 39,744 Member
      show previous quotes

      I never thought of that, maybe I should look into it :happy:
      DO IT!!!
    • Posts: 6,420 Member
      That's a CRAZY strong bench!

      Right? I do 70 kg 1rm (roughly 150 lbs). I thought I was badass...

      OP: You are one strong and badass chicka. Like Dope said, check the competition and get into it, if you like.
    • Posts: 915 Member
      Wow.. Look at all those muscles! Great job.. You look beautiful!
      About the scale, I cannot be of much help here, since I weigh myself everyday and the fluctuations truly do not bother me:)
      I would think it would be a good idea to take a break from the scale for a while :)
      Good luck :drinker:
    • Posts: 194
      First of all, you are a complete and total, certifiable badass!!!! You should definitely enter a powerlifting competition!!! You would inspire and astound tons of people!!! Since you asked for success stories/pics from lifting, I'll share a pic, but I don't want to hijack YOUR thread of AWESOMENESS, so if you want to see more pics, you can check my profile or my blog... http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/_liftnlove/view/2012-my-year-in-pictures-576626

      This is a year and half of extremely hard work, condensed into one pic...I've made a lot of progress, but I would be summarily crushed to death under a 230 lb bench, so I bow to the queen ;) ...and yep, feel free to ditch the scale girl. The scale can't even come close to measuring what you're doing at this point.

      007CCB10-0C24-4B1D-AF30-44439BE38FCE-9110-000007E387A07019_zps87cfb229.jpg
    • Posts: 5,797 Member
      Finding your own definition of beautiful and feminine and reaching your potential . . . awesome, utterly awesome; and that's genuine beauty.

      Much better than trying to shoe-horn your body into something that you've been told you're supposed to want.
    • Posts: 239 Member
      First of all, you are a complete and total, certifiable badass!!!! You should definitely enter a powerlifting competition!!! You would inspire and astound tons of people!!! Since you asked for success stories/pics from lifting, I'll share a pic, but I don't want to hijack YOUR thread of AWESOMENESS, so if you want to see more pics, you can check my profile or my blog... http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/_liftnlove/view/2012-my-year-in-pictures-576626

      This is a year and half of extremely hard work, condensed into one pic...I've made a lot of progress, but I would be summarily crushed to death under a 230 lb bench, so I bow to the queen ;) ...and yep, feel free to ditch the scale girl. The scale can't even come close to measuring what you're doing at this point.

      007CCB10-0C24-4B1D-AF30-44439BE38FCE-9110-000007E387A07019_zps87cfb229.jpg

      Thanks, this is exactly what I needed to see!
    • Posts: 34,415 Member
      Wow (on the weight loss) and wow (on the strength). I am both in awe and jealous. Best of luck with whatever you decide you want to pursue. Keep us posted.

      (I'm tagging this to read the next time I'm tempted to skip a workout with a mental caption of "somewhere out there, a woman is warming up with your max." :drinker: )
    • Posts: 10,750 Member
      You look amazing - yeah ditch the scale, it's just a number - focus on how you look, feel and lift.

      I look forward to your next post about smashing a competition - that bench is awesome! :flowerforyou:
    • Posts: 3,569 Member
      Wow (on the weight loss) and wow (on the strength). I am both in awe and jealous. Best of luck with whatever you decide you want to pursue. Keep us posted.

      (I'm tagging this to read the next time I'm tempted to skip a workout with a mental caption of "somewhere out there, a woman is warming up with your max." :drinker: )

      This!

      Keep going and keep us posted :)
    • Posts: 762 Member
      PLEASE... please creep my profile and add me!!!!!
    • Posts: 1,669 Member
      show previous quotes

      This!

      Keep going and keep us posted :)

      x3

      You're amazing.
    • Posts: 10,347 Member
      Wow! You are amazing and strong! I am very impressed! I too want to be stronger but battle with the urge to keep looking at the scale and worrying about that, but every time I try to cut and see that I can't increase my lifts, I get frustrated because I really want to increase those weights instead! I would love to see you enter some competitions, though! Killer bench!!:flowerforyou:
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