Reassessing Goals

I joined a gym simply to build upper body strength to accomplish yoga goals, only to discover I loved the gym.

I know tons of ladies who do yoga and Pilates who don’t go to gyms and don’t “lift” weights, but who are still “toned” and shapely- and strong, in a different way.

Lifting your own weight via push-ups, roll ups, down dog, arm balances etc can be a very effective way to accomplish a shapelier figure, if that’s what you’re after.

A good instructor is going to demonstrate how and why to tighten certain muscles performing certain moves. Repetition pays off. Once a week? Probably not going to do much for you.

You don’t have to be in a “gym” or weight room setting to accomplish goals, although resistance training sure helped me along.

Your ultimate weight? That’s gonna be a personal decision. I was as low as 127, and looked like a kids stick drawing. I’m currently at about 134, more muscles, yet smaller than I was at 127.

Yeah, I’ve got wrinkles on my face but I’m not willing to invest time in lotions and such, and Botox holds zero interest in me. I’ve earned my crows feet and smile lines.

And congratulations to you for reaching the point where you have to mindfully make such a decision.

Winner!!!!!

I'm go

Walkywalkerson wrote: »

As I get nearer to my goal weight - I still feel like I have too much excess fat and am considering 10 / 15lbs less.
I'm 47 ( in a couple of weeks )
5ft 7 , CW 165, GW 150
I don't want my face to look ancient so I am a bit apprehensive about going into the 130/ 140 range.
Not that it's happening any time soon as I'm unable to stick to a deficit at the moment 🙄
Does anyone have any advice on body composition for women of my age?
Maybe I need to join a gym rather than lose an additional 15lbs?
My exercise at present is walking and cycling - I've never been a fan of the gym.

I'm going to boldly and frankly assert that I think my face does look older than when I was obese, though looking at "before and after" photo threads in the Success Stories section makes me believe that's not universally true, even for those of us with some miles on the odometer. A common comment on those threads is "you look so much younger" "you didn't just lose X pounds, you lost Y years" or "you could be your old self's son/daughter" - that sort of thing.

Please note, @Walkywalkerson - I'm nearly 20 years older than you are, besides. Probably makes a difference! Have you checked out some of the threads like these?

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1167854/photo-only-success-stories#latest
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10207059/before-and-after-face-edition#latest

Even as someone who does (IMO) look older, I absolutely agree that how a person looks at goal weight is probably not how they'll look in 3 months, let alone a year, staying at goal and eating at maintenance. I looked worse when I first got to goal, and I'm not the only person in my circle to say that - more droop, more haggard, etc. But it absolutely got better.

That effect can make it hard to reach a goal weight experimentally, see how you look Right Then, and decide what you want to do, I think.

In my case, I don't care if I do look older in the face. I'm behind my face most of the time, don't see it. There's a lot of other stuff in the mix.

I feel so. much. better. I enjoy the more lively, spritely way I feel, all day, every day, vs. lumbering around at an obese body weight . . . or even how I felt 20 pounds above where I am now. I like how much better my knees feel, how I can see and feel muscles on my body. I suspect I look bodily younger than I did at a heavier weight, too: I move better, look better in my jeans or my workout leggings; I like looking slim on the rare occasion I wear a bathing suit or something else form-fitting or minimal. Different people will have different tradeoffs, of course.

BTW, even now, I don't think my face looks materially older than relatives did at similar age, folks who'd always been slim. Puffing my face out with fat probably did fill out those genetic creases. 🤷‍♀️ My best guess is that I don't look younger than I am, face-wise, compared to age-peer women . . . but that has much to do with my total persona, in that I don't wear make-up; don't dye my unruly curly gray hair; don't use all the skin potions; etc. I'm not criticizing those who make different choices when I say that, either: Just owning up to the impact of mine.

I'm 58 yo, 5'5" and I am at 162 lbs atm. My goal is to get to 150 as well, but everyone is telling me that I look great now, so I should quit now. I layer well. They don't see the tummy fat that is still quite protruding. My face is slim, my legs are slim, everywhere is slimmer except around my stomach.

Everyone tells me I look years younger now. I tell my friends that I still have fat around my stomach area, and they tell me to do sit ups. Sit ups may build ab muscle, but doesn't get rid of the fat. I've managed to lose over 50 pounds on diet alone. I've gone from size 22 pants to 10s. Now that my knees no longer hurt all the time, I have a light exercise regimen I do every other day. Which has slowed down my weight loss, but I'm okay with that. I'm now at the point where climbing stairs doesn't wind me. I can dance for almost 2 hours without feeling like I'm going to pass out, so however long it takes to lose the last 10-15 pounds, it's all good.

I am continuing until I reach my goal weight. Then I will reassess. Maybe I will be able to lose another 10-20 pounds. Maybe I will be happy at 150. I just want to not have to layer all the time!

@sailor789

The simple acts of logging and calorie counting rocked my world.

I had no concept of how much I should be eating. And no concept of what I was.

Counting calories and using a fitness tracker helped me connect the dots that a three mile walk wasn’t going to negate the family pack of DoubleStuff I had after dinner. That skipping breakfast didn’t mean I could have half a cake later instead.

Being cognizant brought me face to face with the brick wall of my own bad, or at least ignorant, behavior.

Paying attention led to better choices and dabbling in new foods, more fruit, more vegetables, making easy changes to favorite recipes that made them friendlier without much difference in taste.

As my load lightened, I enjoyed being outside more, which led to additional weight loss, which led to more exercises that are fun (not joyless tasks to be got through), which led to yet more weight loss. Sure, there are vicious circles in life, but there are also clearly positive, productive ones.

I’m going out to visit the new grandbaby next month and what am I looking forward to? Pushing her stroller all over the place! I want to be an example to her, and I want to be the “fun” grandma who is always up for a walk to the park. .