Coworker told me I looked "pale" and to stop losing weight...

liz0269 wrote: »

I am also 5'7.5". Before I had kids I naturally weighed 115 and people thought I had anorexia. I didn't. I just didn't have any fat and I have a smaller frame.
After kids I ranged between 135-140. That is the ideal weight for our height.
I understand why you think you still need to lose because I felt like I still had fat then. I also know that my measurements were 34-24-36 which is almost ideal.
I am also now working my way down from 200 and my goal is 140 with recomp.

There is no one, or even narrow range, of ideal weights for one height. That's one reason BMI is a very large range.

It makes a difference if one has broad shoulders vs. narrow, widely spaced vs. closely spaced pelvic bones, large breasts or small, etc. All of the wider bony features require geometrically more meat and skin to wrap around them, and that has weight.

Muscularity makes a difference, too, as it packs more weight into a smaller size. And that's before even getting into personal preference, which counts (as long as not medically irresponsible, of course).

For some of us, there are even medical factors (for example, being relatively lighter within a healthy range helps my lower limb arthritis pain, and - per expert advice - reduces my risk of metastatic breast cancer recurrence).

OP, I don't think you look dangerously thin in your photos. You have a doctor's appointment coming up to verify and fine-tune goal if necessary. You can get iron levels checked then.

Since your diet break is improving energy level, you're probably not in a medical crisis wrt iron or other medical factors. (One option to expedite things might be to ask the doctor's office if they can give you a blood test order in advance so the results will be available to discuss with the doc at the appointment.)

I agree with those saying recomp might be a good option for you, and that slowing loss rate is a good plan for transitioning smoothly and seamlessly into maintenance.

As far as co-workers, even caring ones, and their opinions: People get used to us having a certain look. It's unusual in real life to see a person lose weight steadily and relatively rapidly (even at a healthy rate). We start to look vaguely "wrong" to those used to our old look, and they sometimes interpret it as "unhealthy". That can be exaggerated when many of us live in a social setting where overweight or even slight obesity is the norm, rather than healthy weight.

Further, I think it is somewhat normal to look a tiny bit haggard at the end of weight loss: Glycogen is still depleted, and we often have some loose skin, especially visible facially, that hasn't had time to shrink yet, for example. Any of that will resolve in maintenance, to a large extent.

So, people make remarks. In my experience, a few weeks in maintenance resolves any actual appearance issues, and a few months has people around us used to our new look. Usually, IME, it ceases to be a topic of conversation.

For now, don't let it worry you. You're doing the right things: Doctor consult, diet break. Hang in there!

peachvine29 wrote: »

lorrpb wrote: »

You are in a totally healthy range for your height. I’m 5-7 too and I think that our range bottoms out at 130. If taking a maintenance break gives you more energy, it means you were probably eating too little. If you go back on a deficit, do no more than 250 per day or 0.5 lb per week. I think strength training would help you a lot as suggested above.

Thank you.

About 2-3 months ago I did set my goal to losing 0.5 lbs. per week at sedentary, and have been eating back my exercise calories, which I have trouble estimating but am probably underestimating.

I have been eating at 1,500 and then whatever exercise calories (before the diet break, I am now doing 1,750 or more, loosely). I've used calculations that estimate my TDEE anywhere from 1650-1750 or so. I do have a desk job but I get up frequently, at least every hour, walk on my 10 minute breaks and workout at lunch 3x per week doing a total body conditioning class for 45 minutes which I do at my highest intensity mostly (I estimate 150 cals burned, could be more though). I have been losing about 0.8 lbs. a week I think, but don't always stick to calories (usually at or over).

I also don't watch TV or sit down much at home, I am either cleaning or cooking or taking care of pets and on the weekend stay active shopping and such.

Maybe I should eat a little more than sedentary puts me at.

I have strength trained for years, maybe not very effectively though. I feel like you can't tell looking at me, maybe because I have been in a deficit and unable to really build muscle even though I really try. Since over a year ago I think I have been doing 4 days a week rotating an upper and lower body split. My weights have increased or stayed the same, not gone down. A few weeks ago my work started offering group fitness classes so I have been doing them 3x a week, They are cardio and weight training based.

Sorry if this is TMI lol

No, that's helpful. That sounds like at least lightly active in daily life, to me.

But if your actual average weekly weight loss is 0.8 pounds? Eat more.

Specifically, if you want to continue losing at 0.5 pounds a week, eat about 150 calories per day more than what you've actually been averaging. To maintain, eat about 400 more. (I'd work up to that gradually, maybe 100 calories at a time, if it were me.)

At some point, it's going to make better sense to adjust calories based on your actual, real-life data and results, rather than fiddling with calculator settings that just give you statistical estimates based on studies of other people.

3500 calories of cumulative deficit is a close enough approximation to one pound to be useful. Use that, plus your own intake/loss data and adjust as needed.

Besides checking your ferritin, ask your doctor to check your vitamin D. If you are avoiding the sun and wearing sunscreen, you may be deficient and that will affect your energy levels as well.

I'm a similar weight as you (about 135?) and I would like to lose five more pounds for the same reason. I'm going to also pick back up weight training this summer. You do you!

Put on blush and bronzer. That should shut her mouth