No! I haven't lost enough!

Why are all my friends telling me I need to stop losing? I am 15 pounds from my goal. It seems everyone is afraid I'm going to dry up and blow away. I am still overweight by about a few pounds and my goal of 160 is near the high end of the normal range for my height, yet everyone says "oh, that's to light for you." Is it because they don't want my to be normal? Or are they afraid I'll make them look fat? Or do most people think it's healthy to be a little overweight. Any thoughts on this? Has anyone else experienced this? Cecil 338/175

I'm going through the same issues right now...I'm at 150 lbs and I'm 5'- 6.5" so according to the charts I'm at the high end of my weight. I think I would like to reach 140 just so I would fall in the between of 140-150 since I heard you fluctuate a few pounds up/down. BUT, everyone around me thinks I'm way too thin and that I should stop loosing weight...I was told to maintain at my current weight and if I even gain 10 pounds I would still look health and normal. I think you should do what makes you feel comfortable. Good luck. And congradulations on your wonderful weight loss

Hi Cecil I know EXACTLY what you mean. The one thing that my fitness trainer has told me is the the BMI chart here does not account for 'body size' (ie big bone; little bone...) We may be normal with a different type of measurement. Also my Primary Care Doctor said; I have lost to much weight and need to see a nutritionist to make sure I'm eating right. Heck for 8 years he has been telling me to lose weight; now that I have he says to gain weight. I feel people are use to seeing us overweight and the dramatic weight loss spikes a concern in them. Of course everyone has to be a critic . I also believe that people feel a bit jealous of our weight loss; and they don't want to see us 'skinny'; because they can't or won't lose weight. The thing I keep reminding myself of is; "How do I feel about it". What is important to me is more important than what other people say. hope this helps. Mark g. 306/169

I am so going through the same thing! If one more person tells me to stop loosing weight I am gonna scream!! I personally feel that people around us that have watched us go from heavy to healthy arent use to seeing us at a "normal" size so they grow concern. I say if your PCP isn't concerned neither should they be!

Hi, I hear you totally. I'm so sick of people saying how thin I am. I actually weigh 192 which is still overweight . I have a big frame and I'm 5 foot 8 so I carry it well. I'm also muscular from exercise. I'd like to be 150 to 160 someday. I'm pregnant so, I'll get there someday. I don't like telling people how much I weigh because it's none of their damn business, only my doctors and their nurses and everyone here knows. I don't mind sharing here because we've all been there. Nosy friends and co workers all have the same opinions, and they drive me nuts.... I think alot of people like to see others miserable too. We deserve to be thin or normal whatever that is . WE all deserve to be happy at whatever weight our own personal goal is within health reasons. I find that I get the most flack from others who are overweight , they all say how I took a drastic measure, etc. Well, I think they didn't have the courage to do what we did, we all should be proud of our acccomplishments and anyone who hasn't gone through it shouldn't be judgemental, because we still face struggles each day about food choices, exercise, etc. I think that we should try to listen to our positive inner voices and forget about everyone else's opinions!!! Good luck, and remember, you're not alone here. Paula

My surgeon says that those of us who have been morbidly obese for years have much heavier bones than normal people (weight-bearing exercise builds bone, and walking around morbidly obese is weight-bearing exercise!). I know this is true in my case as my bone density was screened once and my bones were off the top of the scale! He says that for us, then, a normal, healthy weight would be that which gives us a BMI of 25, which is at the very top of the "normal" range. Due to the heavy bones, extra skin, and increased muscle mass from exercise, we can look much thinner than what the scale says. So, I think a lot of these people are genuinely concerned that we are moving too far in the other direction. Ladies, check what size you are wearing. If your clothing size is an 8 or 10, you have reached a normal size. If it is a 12, you are very, very close. If you are lower than that, stop already! You may think you would look good in a size 4, but probably others will not. Guys, not sure what the male equivalent is, but maybe someone else can chime in here....

Wow! That makes a lot of sense. I'm sure my bones are pretty dense and I very muscular legs, especially my calves. Also I'm sure I have 10 to 15 pounds of loose skin. I had my body fat analyzed the other day and it indicated that I had only 19% body fat, which is pretty good. I wear medium shirts and 34 waist pants. I look normal with clothes on. If I didn't have the loose skin, I would totally satisfied. Thanks! Cecil

I know what all of you are saying for sure. All I keep hearing is dont loose any more.You look great now. I feel much better yet I dont think my mind has caught up with my body yet.I see a thinnner me byut not a skinny me. Like everyone one eles says they see.?????????? I am 5'4 154 lbs. wearing a 8-10 . I thkni too if the skin wasnt there I would wear a smaller size. I have been kinda stuck for a while now . Not really losing weight but surely losing inches. It must be a lot to do with my bones uz my ribs stick out so much. they seem so big. Its amazing to me to even see i have bones. lol I just want to to tell u all I understand. I am at aww that on 11/06/2004 I will be 1 year out! take care and god bless you all! your all doing soooooooo great!!! Deb

I am not going to tell you to stop losing weight when, I want to lose 25 - 30 more lbs myself and my friends are saying from where. That will just put me in the Normal BMI range but I do want to share something with you that I read and learned at the gym. As we all know muscle weighs more then fat, so if you are very muscular and fit you will not fit into the normal BMI ranges. I asked someone this question and they were very muscular and he said that he would be classified as borderline obese with his BMI rating. So you may want to look into that. Someone suggested to me that I have a body fat testing done to see where I am. Also some of that weight is the excess skin that just won't go away until it is surgically removed. Hope this helped, it was just a few things I picked up along the way.

You know, it can all get very confusing. As I was reading the posts, I decided to check out a few sites for calculating my ideal body weight. I used four separate calculators and came up with four different "ideals". They were anywhere from 130 to 150 lbs. I am 5'7" tall, and as of today I weigh 154 lbs. For the last month or so I have been fluctuating from 152 to 158. I also have very muscular calves, thighs and arms from the lifting I do at work. According the the calculators, I am still slightly overweight, although one site did say that my BMI is 24.7, which is in the normal range for me. So, you tell me, am I overweight or not? Right now I am between a size 12 and size 14. I feel comfortable and healthy at my current weight. Next month I am having the abdominoplasty, mainly because I have an abdominal hernia. That should take off a couple of pounds and take me down another size or two. It would be nice if everyone could be on the same page.