MFP's most common user pitfall to avoid

SUCH an informative post. Thank you. I hope it becomes sticky, because people really need this information (and the muscle mass explanation was very helpful, as well!).

I’ve just updated my signature to say 130’s, versus my previous goal of 135 (which I picked based on BMI charts). I have never considered trying to lose 2 pounds a week, despite the fact that I am 90 to 100 pounds overweight depending on which chart I consult. I shot for the middle range of 1.5 pounds and actually plan to revise down to 1 pound a week after I am 40 to 50% of the way toward my goal. But even if I weighed 150, I would be happy if I was lean with muscle tone and able to wear clothes size 8 or smaller.

Again, thank you for all the information you share here. It has helped me tremendously on my journey (as early into it as I may be).

Thanks for the great post! It's pretty much the general idea I had in mind in terms of goals, so it's nice to be reinforced. I picked an arbitrary number as my final goal (my lowest post-puberty weight, 140 lbs--I'm 5'4") but I'm planning on monitoring things as I get closer to it and if I look good and feel good 10 or 20 lbs higher, that's where I'll end up.

For what it's worth, even at 140 lbs I was still pretty chubby... but I was a chubby athlete (resting heart rate in the 40s due to the amount of exercise I was getting, loads of endurance, and awesome musculature underneath the layer of fat). I thought I was horrifically overweight at the time but I'm pretty sure now that I was actually at the upper end of my healthy range.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this post THANKS for the reminder!

now that I have all your attention ... :devil:

feel free to peruse my personal blog, where I discuss some of the more pressing topics on health and nutrition. Just started it recently and would be happy to have more folks following. I'll be updating it once or twice a week.

http://banks1850-machinations.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-thoughts-on-nutrition-health.html

I know, I'm shameless, but hey, how else am I gonna promote the darn thing, Facebook is lame for us crusty over 30's.

I always enjoy reading what you post. I'm going to try and follow this. Thanks for all of your helpful information

Thanks for sharing! I needed to hear that!

I agree! My family doctor even asked me what I weighed in highschool and he said I should be back at that weight....I was thinking in my head....this guy is a quack! there is no way that will happen, but I can certainly get in a close range of it:)

Thank you so much for the post! It has confirmed what I have been asking myself! I set my goals to lose 2 pounds a week...I'm not obese and could not for the life of me figure out why I was STARVING all day long. :grumble: I'm 5 "11" and want to lose less then 20 pounds. I find even when I changed my goals to 1 1/2 pounds a week I still wasn't satisfied enough and it would cause me to eat whatever was at my reach just so I wouldn't fel the hunger pangs. After much thinking today and a topic I had posted earlier asking people what they had the most success with...1 or 2 pounds a week...most people said 1 and now after reading this I now know that I need to reset my goals to 1 pound a week. I no know why I have been failing at my attempts to rid this 20 pounds and it's because I wasn't eating enough...ugg! I exercise 5-6 days a week (30 Day Shred combined with the Treadmill or walking my dog) I wish I would have known this sooner and I probably would have had much more success at my attempts and less of a rollercoaster ride. I also wouldn't have beaten myself up so badly! :noway: Thank you! :flowerforyou:

Thanks this is a good post !

unless you're 18.5 years old, you have no place trying to strive for being like you "were like in high school", IMO :noway:

I am back to my high school weight and have been here for over 2 years now. Up and down within 10 pounds but at the high end is what I weighed in grade 12, and I turn 32 in march, graduated 14 years ago.

I think the point wasn't that someone CAN get to that weight, the point (and I'm making an educated guess here, correct me if I'm wrong) is that, for most people, that weight is probably not going to be the correct weight for them. Maybe you are the exception that proves the rule, or maybe you had more fat in high school but now have less fat but more lean tissue. Dunno. heck, we could all get down to that weight if we wanted and had the right set of conditions, the idea is to be the right weight for you now, not what your "happy weight" was as some far off distant past. In other words, base your goals off realistic, proven concepts, not unsubstantiated ideas and memories.

And that his body, while weighing about the same as it did when he was a teenager, is no longer the body of a teenager but a 32 year old. I am 40 and a mother of two and while i could (and most likely will) get back to my highschool weight, i will still be a 40 year old, not a 17 year old. I think we can strive for a youthful body and appearance while also respecting our body as it ages and changes

Alright, so how do you determine a weightloss goal from all this info?

I'm 5'6 and do strength training and running 4-6 days a week. I'm currently at 139. My historic lo was 115 on a medication (and that was two, three years ago). I feel comfortable somewhere between 118-124 because I like to feel lighter on my feet.

So I probably should do a lower weightloss amount per week (.5 pounds instead of 1). How do I know I got my number right/I am not aiming for the impossible?

Thanks for the info! It is just the kick that I needed. Oh, and I book marked your page for further reading!

I am 54 and this is my LAST time to lose weight! I lost 53 pounds before I gained back 18. So now down to the last "30", again! I will be 54 in April and I did strength training to reshape my body last time and got rid of my pear shape and slimmed down my butt, hips and thighs so well that I could fit into ANY size 8 pants and that was at 153 pounds, and my large thighs will never be slim, but I was still able to reshape them so that they didnt rub when I walked! Halleluleah! I am 5'6". I fully realize that the damage has been done to my body already by me, of course, so my goal was to always just look better in clothes. Some people told me I was too skinny, but they were usually heavy women. I just made it under the BMI for healthy, so I figured if I chose 135 (I was there at 40 years old nd not exercising) to 140 while I continue to exercise that would be a reasonable weight for me as it is in the middle of the BMI chart and I am medium boned. From the very start, I wanted to pick a "diet" (Dr. Oz) and an exercise program (walking the dog, riding bikes with my husband, doing strength training videos at home, and using a mini trampoline on rainy days) that I could live with forever into my "old age". I didn't want to do some crazy fat burning, sweat dripping routine that I know personally I wouldn't keep doing as the years go by. I didn't want my weight loss to be fueled by that and then have harsh reality slap me in the face with just walking the dog and gaining weight because I have lost my exercise intensity.

So thank you for the excellent post! It is funny, I am eating about half of my exercie calories or so and doing well! I know I wanted to lose 1.5 pounds a week so I adjusted my diet here, but I know my reality before was only 1.1 pounds/week over time. Anyway, my overall goal is to be healthy and strong until the end and to look better fully clothed! And I lost 1.6 this past week! = D