Stall or Am I at my ideal weight?
 

Hi there - I'm just looking for some opinions on this.

I weighed 125lbs before I had children (although I always struggled on low calorie diets to maintain it). After I had kids I was 20 lbs overweight, but lost it all after starting my LC plan.

I'm only 5'3", so 125 is a healthy weight, but at the higher end of the acceptable range for my height.

For the last 7 months I have enjoyed being this weight & eating way more than I used to. I do have a tendancy to overeat nuts and meat still and have wondered if I'm in a stall rather than at my ideal weight.

I'm debating whether to clamp down and try to lose an extra 5 lbs, or just keep enjoying things the way they are. I exercise and I'm pretty satisfied with the way I look, but I know (from getting down as low as 119 on low fat diets in the past) that I can look better.

I'm a 35 year old mother, so my priorities should really be my health as oposed to vanity at this point in my life.

I'm just interested in hearing from others - is your goal weight a nice normal body weight for your height (or are you aiming for gorgeous) :) ? I'm also wondering what people of a similar height to me are aiming for?

My question for you is this: If you are at your ideal weight, not a stall, do you plan to stop low-carbing now and "go back to eating the way you did before?" If so, be aware that most people who do not maintain a low-carb lifestyle tend to regain what weight they lost and more - same as any other diet.

If not, if this is a way of life for you, what does it matter? If you plan to continue low-carbing regardless of whether this is a stall or a minimum weight, then be patient for a few years and see what happens. If you are intended to lose more, you will. If not, you won't. In any case, you won't regain what you've lost and you will continue to be healthy.

Are you exercising? If not, that could make a difference and, again, would improve health. If you are already exercising and have low-carbed to your best ever adult weight, I think your best option is patience.

I have to SEE the miracle before I can choose to try to exceed it. :) You've already made it! Go you!

Good advice there! Toss out the scale, forget about it, and keep eating healthily. Your body will likely go through some slow changes over the next couple years. If you work out more, you might even put on five pounds of muscle weight. That'd be good. Whatever the changes, forget about them and let it happen. Trust your body. If you treat it well, it'll do what it is supposed to do.

I quit losing 15 pounds over what the most liberal charts say I should weigh for my height. It's just what my body does and is. Having dieted down to skinny in my youth, I suspect I could be thinner, but why twist myself around to get there? Doing so would only hurt my health, keep me obsessed with details that really aren't important...and the weight would come back anyway.

Congratulations on your success! Now what else do you want to do in life? Is there a project to start...a creative endeavor you've wanted to devote yourself to...classes to take...a community change you'd like to push for? You can take that "dieting" energy and put it towards anything you wish! :)

I agree with what's been said already! I'm 10 lbs away from my goal, but I definitely do not lose sleep over it. I am no longer obese and I enjoy a very healthy way of eating! I trust my body to do what is right for me.

If I want to get serious about getting into a size 8 jeans, then I need to work out .... not starve myself!

I vote that it's time for you to throw out the scale and stay with a healthy, moderate exercise plan. You're there!! :thup:

Thanks for the Advice
 

Thanks for the comments everyone - especially the idea about getting a new hobby. It's funny I haven't cared about my weight since I was a teen & didn't even own a scale until I had to monitor my weight with my last pregnancy (during which I had gestational diabestes). I'd just accepted the fact that I'd always be a little overweight & enjoyed life.

I feel like I went through stages after starting lc'ing. First I was all excited about eating in a healthier way, then I was excited about learning about all the different foods I could eat, then I got excited about the fact that I no longer had to worry about not fitting into my jeans or hiding under baggy clothes.... then eventually there was a bit of a void as I wondered what I could get excited about next.

I'm a bit surprised at myself for posting something this shallow to begin with, but it's probably normal. Lc'ing is a really amazing discovery & I don't think I've been this passionate about anything in years. It's kind of a bittersweet feeling that sets in after you've been in maintenance mode for a while - I guess it's just a question of fuling all that passion into something else (while of course, continuing to eat healthily).

That's wonderful that you're feeling better!! Thanks for updating us! What might that new hobby be???!?

Re: Thanks for the Advice
 

You know, I understand what you mean. It's almost like we've begun a new religion. As new converts, we're REALLY excited about what we've found and want to spread the word to everyone. Eventually, the passion slows down a little, but we still have goals to meet and ways to improve. But, you've done all that and what happens next? Very few of us know.

It's kind of like that Shel Silverstein poem. I can't quote it exactly, but it's about a person who spends their whole life searching for the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow - and finds it. "It's mine, it's mine, it's mine at last! What do I search for now?"

You've reached the pot of gold, Megan. I haven't. Maybe it's time to stop searching and enjoy spending that gold? Maybe it's time to figure out what else you wanted to do successfully? Maybe it's time to write a book about your success? At the very least, you deserve congratulations.

Many, many, many, many, many congrats!!! :wave:

Hi -

I am 5'4" and I am at 125 too. I have been there for the past month and felt like I am in a stall until last night .... I was over my skinny friends house and she had a pair of size 4 jeans that had shrunk (length wise) and were too short for her. She offered them to me and I laughed - yeah right , me in a size 4.

Well girl, I put them on and they fit me! I could NOT believe it. So my point is, even though my weight has stalled I am apparently still losing inches. You probably are too.

Scales are NOT our friends. Clothes are!

Cheers,
Lisa