Ravenclaw Common Room

Im not sure If My goal weight should be 150 or 140....so maybe 145 cuz thats in the middle. I am at 153 right now. Lately Ive gotten comments like. Sami your looking thin....... and where are you going sami when you turn sideways I cant see you. Im worried its not playful banter and Im starting to look sickly or something. I dunno if I posted a picture would you guys tell me honestly if you thought i looked unhealthy.

When it comes down to it, it's really up to you to know and decide when you feel you're at a healthy weight. I'm sure if you posted pictures you'd get some honest replies, though. Just as long as you don't let someone else tell you where you need to be.

I have to agree. I have people telling me "Oh you're wasting away to nothing!" or "You better be careful or you'll get blown away by the wind." But they don't know for my height and age and activity level what my healthy weight is! I'm currently 7 pounds away from what is deemed my "ideal" weight. I intend to go a few below that as a buffer for the upcoming holidays, that way if I gain a few I'm still at "ideal". I want this to be the first year I don't have to make the New Year's Resolution....."This year I resolve to lose weight."

It seems like people who are used to seeing you heavy get uncomfortable when they see you slim. My mom is the absolute worst for making those comments - but then again, she has never been good about handing out compliments. I think its her way of saying I'm looking good, but I always seem to let it sabotage my efforts and start gaining again. Its just a reflection of other people's insecurities.

I'd love to see a progress picture of you! ...and if you do post one, I promise to give you an honest assessment. BTW - I weigh the same as you right now!!

@TwiFan5 - do you track your measurements? If you're losing inches, the weight gain doesn't mean a thing. With the amount of exercise that you're doing, it may just be muscle weight. Try watching your inches for a while instead. :flowerforyou:

No I don't actually lol, maybe I should start doing that, what should I use. Thanks

You will want to get a measuring tape like they use for sewing. MFP defaults to track your neck, waist and hips but you can add whatever you want - like biceps, thighs, bust, etc. When you burn fat through cardio, you will see these areas get smaller which is why your weight may stay the same or get higher, but your clothes may start feeling looser.

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Discussion Topic
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While I'm on the subject of measurements and body fat...

How many of you just randomly chose a goal weight? I know I did, but I didn't really know if it was a healthy goal. According to the BMI chart, the healthy range for me is between 111 and 150 pounds. I just can't see 111 being a healthy weight for me and I'm very close to 150, but I still have quite a bit of body fat hanging on.

So, I wondered, what is a healthy goal for me and what does the BMI chart tell me? After a little bit of reading, I found an excellent blog written by an athlete (can't find it now - sorry). He recounted year after year of going for his physicals only to have his doctor tell him that according to the BMI chart, he was "obese" and that he needed to lose weight. The flaw in the BMI is that it uses only your height and weight and does not consider your lean muscle mass and percent of body fat. In the athlete's case, the weight that put him in the "obese" range was all muscle!

After reading this, I went looking for a good body fat calculator and found this great site: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/body-fat-calculator/ . Not only does it calculate your percent of body fat, it tells you how to set a realistic goal weight on the next screen: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/body-fat-calculator/body-fat-chart.php

Here's how it worked for me (using my 10/9/11 weight and measurements:
weight: 156
waist: 34.25
wrist: 6
hips: 39.5
forearm: 9.75
body fat calculator result: 26.85% (in the "acceptable" range )

Then I multiplied my weight (156) by the result (26.85%). This shows that I was carrying 41.886 pounds of body fat and 114.114 lean body mass. (156 x 26.85% = 41.886 and 156 - 41.886 = 114.114)

Next, I used their chart to see what percentage of body fat I wanted to work towards and chose 21% - the low end of "fitness" but not in the "athletic" range. To find my goal weight at 21% body fat, I took my present weight (156) and multiplied it by my goal body fat (21%). My goal body fat is 32.76 pounds. Add that to my current lean body mass and the result is 46.874 - my new goal weight. (156 x 21% = 32.76 and 114.114 + 32.76 = 146.874)

So, how close do each of you come to what you had already set as your goal weight? I was only off by about 2 pounds, so I'm feeling like I've set a realistic and healthy goal for myself! :drinker: