Reached your goal weight and still look fat?

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  • WhyLime113
    WhyLime113 Posts: 104 Member
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    I actually love my body now and am overweight. If I were to focus on how I looked I wouldn't change a thing. I mostly focus on what I can do, rather than what the scale says. Although I'm not sure I'll start weight training anytime soon. I don't like it much myself. I'll probably pick it up next month, and just go to the gym after work so it's squeezed in and less a waste of time (if I had to go there without being on the vicinity already it would be pointless, it's not really that important IMO)
  • jeffpettis
    jeffpettis Posts: 865 Member
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    I have weights sitting in my garage but the reason that I don't do strength training now is that I have a BMI over 30 and seeing myself drop 1.75kg/3.8lbs per week on average keeps me motivated to keep going. If I were to strength train and I find I am only losing half or a quarter of that per week, I just don't know if I will be motivated enough and have the strength of mind to continue. I think its a personal thing. Seeing the weight fall off and quickly keeps me motivated. As I am walking past a food court taking in the wonderful smells, the thing that stops me from buying a quick dim sim or getting a bag of fries is the thought of the amount I have lost. So for me I guess it's a psychological thing but I definitely see the benefit in strength training while losing weight - it will just take you longer to get where you need to be on the scales.

    Lifting weights is not going to make you lose less weight. If anything it will aid in your weight loss. While in a deficit you are not going to build much if any new muscle, but you will give your body a reason to hang onto the muscle you have.

    Muscle burns calories, fat does not. The more muscle you can preserve while dieting the easier it is going to be to lose fat. You should still see the scale moving while dieting and lifting weights. If the scale is not moving it simply means you are not in a deficit.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    IMO- While many of us probably still see ourselves as fatter than we actually are after losing a bunch of weight, the loss of muscle associated with dieting without strength training often leaves is looking soft even at a weight we thought we would look good at. If you haven't strength trained while dieting, add it at maintenance, you can even put on a few pounds and still look "fitter".

    I put on ten pounds after reaching goal and think I look better with the newly added weight.

    At the moment I am two months into my weight loss efforts. My measuring stick at the moment is BMI. My first goal is to move down a level to the "Overweight" category and then down to the "Healthy" category. I am using alternate day fasting with cardio exercise and I know that up to 30% of the weight I am dropping is muscle mass.

    Once I hit my healthy BMI, I will shift my measuring stick to body fat %. For men the ideal range is 8-10% and 10-12% for the ladies. I realise that losing body fat once I reach my healthy BMI will require a change in diet and exercise. I will need to do more strength training and ensure I am properly fuelling my body for such a regime.

    I also know that in this stage I am going put on weight but that comes with building muscle. Remember a 150 pound man/woman with 12% body fat is going to look better than a 150 pound man/woman with 20% body fat. It's really important for everyone to ensure they are using the right measuring sticks based on where they are along the weight loss path.
    This is a terrible idea. Why would you want to lose 30% of your muscle? Do you know how long that will take for you to rebuild?
  • KristinaB83
    KristinaB83 Posts: 440 Member
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    ...and that's why I started lifting xD
  • PhearlessPhreaks
    PhearlessPhreaks Posts: 890 Member
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    When I got down to 123lb at 5'7" I felt emaciated on top and flabby and shapeless on bottom, I was basically the same shape but smaller. And I trained for triathlon and lifted all year too! It was only when I started to properly grow muscle on a controlled bulk, and do more compound lifting like deadlifts and squats that I can look in the mirror and go.....yep...I'd shag that!

    I've not felt like that for decades. It really turns the clock back, especially if you get the balance right for what you particularly like in regards to muscle size and body fat. I personally don't want to go under what I am now, 19/20%.

    I'm now 128lb, and plan on more LBM building. It looks hot.

    You look awesome! BTW, what kind of lifting/strength training were you doing while you were losing? I try to mix it up on a regular basis, but I'm so overweight that I have no idea what I'm going to look like once I get close to my goal.
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
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    With all respect to the fact that everyone is different in their preferences, I cannot understand how people can hate lifting. I have fallen in love with it, and my only issue is that I am not able to lift every single day.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    For men the ideal range is 8-10% and 10-12% for the ladies.

    Not sure where these numbers come from but no...

    18-24% is good for women....
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    For men the ideal range is 8-10% and 10-12% for the ladies.

    Not sure where these numbers come from but no...

    18-24% is good for women....

    even 18% for women is athletic, not "ideal", and for men 10-14% is athletic, less than 10% is ripped.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    For men the ideal range is 8-10% and 10-12% for the ladies.

    Not sure where these numbers come from but no...

    18-24% is good for women....

    even 18% for women is athletic, not ideal, and for men 10-14% is athletic, less than 10% is ripped.

    Define Ideal...

    BF% ranges have a lot to do with Age and if you 18 YO Female 17.7% is considered Ideal...for me being 41 it i right around 22% (Low end)
  • twixlepennie
    twixlepennie Posts: 1,074 Member
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    It's great that you lost 20 lbs/ 30 lbs/ 50 lbs/ 100 lbs.... but now what?

    Are you satisfied 'maintaining' or do you want to start 'toning' and look super fit?

    Because most of the time when we've lost that much weight, we surely reached our goal weight...

    but most of us do not look fit/muscular due to glycogen/carb depletion/ loss of lean muscle mass during weight loss.

    When I hit my original goal I wasn't satisfied with where I was at, because I still had quite a bit of 'oomph', so I kept losing and called final goal around 20lbs later. I was happy with how I looked at that point, but I decided to start adding exercise to my life because of all the research I have done on long term weight loss success, and reading over and over again how important having new goals to work towards is.

    I started by walking, then added a bit of slow jogging (old people speed walked passed me lol). This past fall I did my first 5K and I walked/ran it. It was fun, but I didn't fall in love with the whole running thing and I gave it up after the race. Then after that I decided to start an at home strength training program, again to give myself new goals to work towards. Having a lot of fun with it, but I was happy with my body before I started it and honestly don't see much difference. I was at around 17% bf, before I started the strength training program. I like how my shoulders look now, but it's not like I go around all day thinking about them :laugh:

    I have no interest at all in doing weight training, start going to a gym etc. I was healthy, looked good in a swim suit and my husband was ecstatic, all before I started exercising. I was already pretty 'toned' and that was just from losing enough weight and being an active mom of three kids :) I will keep up with the strength training program throughout the winter and then this summer I'll switch it up again-my kids are old enough to do longer bike rides now and we live right by a massive trail system, so I think biking will be my thing this summer. I think as time goes on I'll become more focused on 'activity' based goals-things like biking with my kids and then I want to buy snow shoes for next winter, maybe learn how to ski and I already told my husband I want to start kayaking next summer :)

    I'm determined to be part of the small 5% that succeed at long term weight loss and a big part of that is always working towards a new goal. That's why I'm exercising now, not because I want to achieve some sort of look-I'm already where I want to be for that. May not be the look that others are striving for, but I'm very happy with it :smile:
  • SuperJo1972
    SuperJo1972 Posts: 113 Member
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    I think goals change. When we reach our first we may decide that it is too high or too low. Or we may decide to work on building muscle.

    I started with a decent amount of cardio to burn cals, and a 500 cal deficit, to gradually and steadily lose weight. I then started to add some strength training and only in the past week started a specific program for strength/muscle increase to complement my other exercise. Hopefully this will mean that when I get to my target weight I will have a decent amount of strength and muscle tone.

    Maybe the issue is that sometimes we think being thinner will make us happy, then when we get there we realise it wasn't the only issue. I am hoping to lose weight to be healthy and fit and to be ready for an operation, so I think I have finally found the right mindset?
  • mamadon
    mamadon Posts: 1,422 Member
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    So if I just start lifting now, is it too late to help with the soft flabby skin? I know, I know, I should have started a long time ago lol.
  • postrockandcats
    postrockandcats Posts: 1,145 Member
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    The problem I have is that I was obese for so long, that I have extra skin. I'm pretty much where I want to be, weight-wise, but I won't have that flat tummy unless I go under the knife. Which...... yeah. Money aside, I am more than a little nervous to do that.

    That said, I am happy. Do I wish I had the elusive flat tummy? Sure! But the fact that I don't in no way negates what I've accomplished for my physical and mental health and I'm okay with the extra skin in that regard. :drinker:
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
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    This is why scale weight is not a good goal. I understand why people use it to track their progress, but in the end it becomes something to hit irregardless of final body comp. Then you come to the realisation that there might have been a better way to achieve the "look" you were after and it's a lot harder to re-add lost lbm than it would have been to preserve it in the first place.

    Having a goal of a certain body comp/bf%/muscle definition/etc will probably mean that you'll need to find the right training methods to help you achieve your goal and be happier about it when you get there whatever your final weight ends up being.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    It's great that you lost 20 lbs/ 30 lbs/ 50 lbs/ 100 lbs.... but now what?

    Are you satisfied 'maintaining' or do you want to start 'toning' and look super fit?

    Because most of the time when we've lost that much weight, we surely reached our goal weight...

    but most of us do not look fit/muscular due to glycogen/carb depletion/ loss of lean muscle mass during weight loss.
    Guess I must be the minority rather than the "most" then.
    I was fat for 20 years but I was still fit and strong for the vast majority of that time - only injury intervened from time to time.

    As for my weight loss phase:
    I wasn't glycogen depleted, didn't restrict carbs and didn't lose lean mass.

    Really my "dieting" was really very similar to my maintenance, all that effectively changed was my calorie allowance. Trained hard doing the exercise I enjoy (weights & cardio), ate the foods I love while keeping an eye on my protein and calorie counts. The result was losing weight in a slow but sustainable way.

    Really do support the aim of your post OP - far too many people lose weight the wrong way despite all the good information available to them. As evidenced by quite a few of the responses in the thread already.... Weight is only one measure of success after all.
  • schonsdragon
    schonsdragon Posts: 102 Member
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    I have been exercising while losing weight because I am working on getting healthy not just losing weight. I am working with my body to see where it needs to be so I can live my life to the fullest instead of being on the sidelines because I am either not healthy enough or waiting for that "perfect" body.

    I do see myself differently than others see me, I still see myself as much heavier but that is on me and I am working through it. I will never have a rock hard body or look like a model and I am okay with that. I have loose skin which will probably always be there. but that is part of my journey of life and I am so much more than my looks. I am a woman who is healthy and happy, I am able to contribute to this world using my talents in a way that makes it a little better for others and will be able to do so easier and longer being healthy than when I wasn't.
  • ILoveGingerNut
    ILoveGingerNut Posts: 367 Member
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    I just do not understand why people want to reach a certain weight first and then start to exercise. Exercising would help you to lose fat and keep your muscles toned, would keep you away from the cupboard, would teach you that being slim is not the same than being healthy, would improve your mood, raise your endorphins, suppress appetite, make you sleep better, help to socialize, keep you motivated etc etc etc. And yes, 80 kg of fat doesn't look as good as 80 kg of muscle. I just can't see the point to wait to be just a smaller ball of fat to start doing that. It's a waste of time.
  • ILoveGingerNut
    ILoveGingerNut Posts: 367 Member
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    And by the way, losing weight won't make you lose any muscle unless your net calories are lower than your BMR....
    So if you need to lose an awful lot of weight you can do that very easily eating at maintenance and learning how to eat for the rest of your life once for all...
  • MrsG31
    MrsG31 Posts: 364 Member
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    I agree, I got down to a weight I hadn't seen in over 10 years last summer but still had a gut that I despised. It had gotten smaller, but it was still there. I accomplished it mostly with counting cals, some carido, and at-home strength-training in my living room. I fell off the wagon from smart food choices and exercising towards the end of last year and gained some weight back, but can really see the difference in my gut and how clothes fit. I am determined to do it differently this year. My hubs and I joined a gym, but as soon as I go ans set up my appointment with the trainer, I got sick. It has been over a week now and I haven't had the energy to go to the gym nor do I want to go and spread my germs around the equipment. But once I start feeling better, it's ON!
  • twixlepennie
    twixlepennie Posts: 1,074 Member
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    I just do not understand why people want to reach a certain weight first and then start to exercise. Exercising would help you to lose fat and keep your muscles toned, would keep you away from the cupboard, would teach you that being slim is not the same than being healthy, would improve your mood, raise your endorphins, suppress appetite, make you sleep better, help to socialize, keep you motivated etc etc etc. And yes, 80 kg of fat doesn't look as good as 80 kg of muscle. I just can't see the point to wait to be just a smaller ball of fat to start doing that. It's a waste of time.

    For me it was too overwhelming to work on weight loss (for the first time in my life) and also start exercising (also for the first time in my life). My dr. told me I had to lose the weight or become a T2 diabetic, so that's what I focused on. I lost the weight by eating at a calorie deficit, got my glucose number in the normal range, transitioned into maintenance, and then started focusing on other things. I lost the weight at a steady pace, never stalled, had no issues with hunger, slept great, kept motivated etc etc, all while NOT exercising during weight loss. I had no problems doing it this way, and have absolutely no regrets :) If I had to do it over I would do the same exact thing I did, because it worked for me and I was able to lose the weight, become healthier, and am now maintaining beautifully.

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