Self-absorbed rant (apologies in advance)

Lifting weights will improve your body shape.

As you are already a healthy weight it would be advisable to focus on strength training and fat loss, not scale weight. Eating at maintenance or just below, and following a full body lifting program could see you losing inches but not necessarily weight.

You've got to get away from them scales - they'll only pull you down. Think about it - you don't have much weight to lose or quite probably, you don't have ANY weight to lose. You may just need to work on your body composition a touch to get your desired results. So, by using the scales as your weapon of choice, you're setting yourself up for failure....from the start. That's not a fair fight.

I am similar to you, in that I am (near enough) a healthy weight, but not particularly happy with my body shape. However, when you see simple exercises which really help to change that, quickly (even though the scale stands still), your mind starts finding motivation in the exercises rather than obsessing about food. I'm not saying to forget about food completely, but the reason MFP is so good is that it isn't just a diary for tracking intake, it is also there to track output.

I agree with all the comments re: weight/strength training. Don't forget that this sort of thing can be done with your own body weight at home - you don't necessarily have to get straight into lifting weights at the gym (although I know people have fantastic success with that too). It's a bit old hat now, but I'd recommend Jillian Michaels "Ripped in 30". I saw (and felt) results in less than 2 weeks (the program is for 4). Otherwise, I am a huge advocate of fit bar or ballet bar. Don't be fooled by the "pretty pink fairies in tutus" connotation - those exercises are TOUGH and make me sweat like crazy. I have done nothing better to get definition in my legs and bum (AND....shh....my terrible cellulite has practically disappeared....amazing how much less I care about the SIZE of my thighs now my legs are so much smoother). Find local bar classes or look up on YouTube.

And that brings me onto my final point - when you see your progress at doing these sort of exercises, you start to appreciate everything your mind and body CAN do and how amazing it can be (rather than all the things it can't - like fitting into a size 0 minidress or having "thigh gap" or whatever that terrible expression is).

That's far more motivating than a number on a scale in my opinion.

Lots of luck!!!

Weight loss is easy and for sissies. You are trying to do something much harder. You are trying to find a better level of fitness. I won't suggest totally ditching the scales, but if the number is the same or slightly down that is good enough. Having said that, you can pretty much ignore your weight.

You need to keep moving and add more resistance and weight training. I like getting help from the gym staff when starting a new weight lift program. Doing exercise in the correct manner will keep you from getting injuried.

You are trying to do a tough thing and a little obsession will help. However, the obsession needs to be about working out and not about your weight.

lusanataylor wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I haven't been active in the forum yet but have been 'lurking' for a while. Apologies for starting off on a rant but, at least here I know I'm in good company and I won't be boring my friends and family with my weight loss woes.

First off, I know I don't really have reason to complain. I'm already a healthy weight (5ft 8, 135 lbs) but as somebody who carries most of their weight around the middle, I always find I have to be on the lower end of my BMI to not look chunky. People who are much heavier than me often look slimmer and are able to fit into smaller clothes sizes. I have fluctuated in my post-adolescent lifetime between about 147 lbs and 121 lbs. The former was MUCH too big for me, the latter too small and impossible to sustain (N.B. I have never been diagnosed with an eating disorder, but my behaviour in the past has probably fitted in with that definition). I am, at present, a UK size 12 (a size 8 in American sizing) but would love to get back down to a size 10 (US size 6).

My new goal is about 128-130 lbs but I just have this feeling that I'm going to become obsessed again and it's going to rule my life. I've already had a mini freakout that I haven't lost anything - even though I've only been dieting and exercising seriously again for a week.

I just want to have a healthy and balanced approach to weight loss but once I start on it, I find I get so frantic and stupid about it. Guess it would be nice just to hear from people who also struggle with these sorts of feelings.

Lu x

Well in regards to how you're feeling, I can relate. I'm currently 5'6" and 143 lbs. A healthy BMI, yet I still feel like I could lose more. My original goal was 140, but now I'm thinking 135 is better. I become obsessed quite easily, and I don't think it's "normal" per say, but it is quite so in this population of people who have been conscious of their weight for a long time/a majority of their life. Even though so many folks on the forum have suggested a .5 lbs per week at this point in my weight loss, I struggle to commit to it and always switch back to 1 lb. per week. I think its hard to strike a balance, but all we can do is our best. Feel free to add me & good luck!

Well, I'm 5'4 and I hover around 136 (at 141 now because I drank too much beer all summer).

I don't think it's a weight issue. It's a body comp issue. Start a lifting program, work your way up in weight and you will be amazed at the way your body changes.

I think you need some distractions! Whenever I am stressing about something I know I shouldn't be I distract myself. I clean my entire place a scrub down. I volunteer. I bake. I sew. I play video games. Do whatever you want to do, just give your mind something else to think about!

I find having a fitness goal (five pushups in a row, increase weight on a certain lift, etc) rather than a scale goal brings much more satisfaction. You're able to DO more and looking better is a happy side effect. The number on that stupid scale is more easily dismissed as irrelevant.

lusanataylor wrote: »

I think I do need to get away from the scale weight thing but it's so easy to see that as a mark of my achievement so when it doesn't move, it just feels like I've failed.

I totally get that! There are so many things that contribute to the number on the scale that it really doesn't tell the whole picture. Do you take measurements? You don't get feedback as quickly so it can be frustrating (you see changes on about a month-to-month basis, not weekly or daily), but who cares what the scale says if you're getting smaller?

Yes, that! That was me about 6 weeks ago, everything you just wrote, and I think that's pretty normal because it's such a huge change/commitment to take on and so important to us. But I'm doing well, and I know you can too, definitely with the support of MFP. Feel free to add me as a friend for support.