MFP's most common user pitfall to avoid

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Replies

  • Swimgoddess
    Swimgoddess Posts: 711 Member
    the problem with a 15% body fat % for women is that it's extremely difficult to maintain as it's right on the cusp of the lowest healthy BF%, generally only fitness professionals and professional athletes and others who are able to exercise multiple hours a day can maintain it. If you can, that's great, but I just wanted you to be aware of it.

    best luck to you.

    Banks

    Ha! Love that about you :) Your brutal honesty always raining on my oblivious parade, lol. Really, thanks for paving the way for me to accept my body just the way it is... but I wouldn't be a chick if I didn't make a show of resisting (insert visual of me being dragged off kicking and screaming with my fingernails scraping for hold in the pavement)
  • withchaco
    withchaco Posts: 1,026 Member
    After losing 22lbs, I back to my high school weight. Too bad I was overweight back in high school too :laugh: I still have a lot of fat to lose!

    Would "having defined ab muscles" be a healthy/realistic goal for a woman?
  • redheadmommy
    redheadmommy Posts: 908 Member
    Hmmm, I wondering that maybe I set my weight loss per week too low? I need to lose a LOT , like 60-70lb, and I set my goal to be 1lb per week. I am 5'"8 and 220 lb, andmy scale says I have 44.5% bodyfat .(36yrs old female)
    Should I aim to the 1.5lb or even 2lb weight loss?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Bump!
  • nickblackburn82
    nickblackburn82 Posts: 3
    just found this post after about a year on MFP i currently weigh 313lbs and TBH have no idea what my goals are weekly or final all i know is i need to lose weight any advice on what goals i should be aiming for im 5'10" with a BMI of over 40

    BTW i read it 3 times i found it that fascinating
  • Yori1
    Yori1 Posts: 142
    bump
  • NeuroticVirgo
    NeuroticVirgo Posts: 3,671 Member
    bumpity bump bump
  • bigmamma3
    bigmamma3 Posts: 134
    Thank you for that! That is a huge pitfall to me, comparing myself to someone I used to be. I didn't have 4 children in High School. Though, truth be told, I was heavy in high school. But later, before children, I did lose weight. I tend to compare myself with who I was then and not who I should be now.

    don't get me started on post-pregnancy women and goals. The female body changes massively after child birth. Don't believe it when some pop star has a baby and says "I got my pre-baby body back." they didn't, they have a DIFFERENT body now, it can still be sexy, and healthy, and beautiful, but it'll never be what it was pre-baby. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

    I totally agree with this since my three children my hips are so much wider and I don't think there is much i can do to move bone. I am smaller than I was before I had children as I was 95kg but my body is definatly different but I just see it as a sign of how amazing my body is to make three beautiful children
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    Great stuff, and very timely for me as I was just scratching my head wondering where I'd come up with the goal weight on my ticker, which is 6 lbs different from the one in my signature.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    Bump
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
    Bump!!
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    why do I always forget to refer to this one? I LOVE this one.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    the problem with a 15% body fat % for women is that it's extremely difficult to maintain as it's right on the cusp of the lowest healthy BF%, generally only fitness professionals and professional athletes and others who are able to exercise multiple hours a day can maintain it. If you can, that's great, but I just wanted you to be aware of it.

    best luck to you.

    Banks

    Ha! Love that about you :) Your brutal honesty always raining on my oblivious parade, lol. Really, thanks for paving the way for me to accept my body just the way it is... but I wouldn't be a chick if I didn't make a show of resisting (insert visual of me being dragged off kicking and screaming with my fingernails scraping for hold in the pavement)

    Oh don't misunderstand, I think 15% is possible, but it's just not going to be remotely easy to get to, and even then, it'll take a dedicated lifestyle to maintain it, and some very disciplined eating and exercise. It can be done, heck it's done all the time, but I just wanted to make sure you knew, it's not something you should just jump out of bed one day and decide, it takes planning, a lot of effort, probably quite a bit of pain and failures along the way, a few injuries, missing out on some "activities" here and there and well, just a different lifestyle from the majority of people in the US. I think it's a fantastic goal to shoot for, and anyone who can do it I respect and admire greatly, cuz that would be approximately equal to about 7% body fat for a guy, and I know that I CAN'T maintain (or even get to, I have a sit down job, it would be hell for me to try) that low level, my goal is to HIT 9% and maintain 11 to 12% (I'm just over 12% now). So you see, it's not that I think it can't be done, I just think it's probably not reasonable for most people.
  • Rheagansmom
    Rheagansmom Posts: 53 Member
    Thanks for this. I am obese, but because of PCOS I am hoping to hit the 1 lb a week mark. One of the biggest problems that I have with any of this is that I have never EVER been what would be considered a helathy BMI due to being 4 foot 11 and extremely muscular. I am hoping however to get back close to a healthy weight range. I would love to see the BMI charts thrown out the window.
  • blueillusion3
    blueillusion3 Posts: 151 Member
    bump. this is way helpful! thanks!!!
  • Thriceshy
    Thriceshy Posts: 708 Member
    I don't really have a goal. Um. I'd like to be under 200, be that 190 or 160. My goals are more practical (for me)--be able to buy clothes at a regular retail outlet. Keep my blood sugar under control so that I never do take that leap to medication. Relieve my back to the point where walking a couple of miles doesn't destroy me. Not have to worry that I'm too heavy for a chair or too wide for an airplane seat. Become increasingly healthy as I achieve those goals.

    Those are my goals. I don't even have a timeline. I've already reached one goal--get my A1c below 6% (I've dropped from 6.9% to 5.7% in the past few months).

    My way's probably not good for many other people, but it's working for me. I'm down 66, and I plan on continuing to do what I'm doing since it seems to be working for me and my blood work is fabulous.

    I like your post. I think it's got some good stuff, and some folks who are totally caught up in speed and numbers might benefit.

    Kris
  • brit49
    brit49 Posts: 461 Member
    Great post,
  • ashleypietz
    ashleypietz Posts: 87 Member
    Great information and thanks for sharing. I have been overweight my whole life and so have no idea what my final weight range will be. I started at 243 lbs last December and am down to 161 lbs. Right now I'm aiming for a size 10 which on my 5'7" non-petite frame should be about 155 lbs. I'd like for my body to be tighter and more muscular so as I work toward that I'm sure my weight/size will change as well.
  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
    marvelously written, i'm surprised i haven't seen this before. i will be making sure i put this in as a must read for some threads i see.
  • LolasEpicJourney
    LolasEpicJourney Posts: 1,010 Member
    Thank you for the insight. I agree that many people have unrealistic goals. I do claim i want my highschool weight back - but I know as I get closer to that weight it will change. I am and will be a lot stronger and muscular this time around.
  • dtrm88
    dtrm88 Posts: 71 Member
    Great post!!!



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  • That_Girl
    That_Girl Posts: 1,324 Member
    Thank you for this!! I really needed to read this tonight :smile:
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    Bump
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    Bump
  • doodlebug1966
    doodlebug1966 Posts: 17
    bump
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    this is probably a good time to bump this as well. Still seeing lot of folks who set their goals wrong and are expecting too much weight loss to quickly for the amount of weight they are looking to lose.
  • k8es
    k8es Posts: 271 Member
    bump
  • schleschwig
    schleschwig Posts: 1
    I wish I had read this when I started using the app! So useful, going to re-look at my goals thanks!
  • vinkariz
    vinkariz Posts: 17
    So true...and thank you. So many things to think about now....
  • CRody44
    CRody44 Posts: 737 Member
    Thanks for the info.

    I am obese (no longer morbidly obese, Yeaaaaaaah) and haven’t exercised regularly in decades. I was just put on a low sodium, 1800 calorie per day diet, so I chose 2 lbs per week to start with, since anything less than what I ate and doing any exercise more than playing facebook games should be a piece of cake (pun not intended)

    According to the BMI charts, at 5’10”, my weight should be between 139 – 174 lbs. Since I think 139 is preposterous, I would look like a cadaver (and probably feel like one too), and not knowing if 174 is realistic, I’ve settled for a nice round number of 180 lbs as a goal weight. If I go below that because of eating well and exercising, then that would be fine, but I’m not going to sweat it.
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