To Gain or not to Gain ...

Some of you know that some people have been telling me I am too thin and I have been thinking I might look better with 5 pounds or so back. My bmi is 20.5. So I talked about it with guru Cirangle. He thinks I am definitely not too thin, that my bmi is right in the healthy range and said to listen to an expert on this issue (i.e. him) and not to joe blow. Thnking about this, its people who are a little pudgy themselves who say this and not the people who seem to be naturally skinny.

Anyway, the guru said if I wanted to gain 5 because I thought I would look better then that was ok with him but do so with modest amounts of complex carbs like whole grain stuff.

Yesterday I did four hours of heavy gardening including carrying concrete blocks to put along the fence to keep the Great Dog Chippie from digging under the fence. While I was tired I had no aches and pains and am fine today and could do it again today. Mind you I am 59 years old.

So I have decided I like being at this weight (which I haven't seen since the 5th grade) and am not going to try to put any back. A few may creep back over the next couple of years and if it happens, so be it. But I like this weight and am gonna keep it. So there.    Anybody else dealing with this?

Diane

I say good for you!  Do what feels good and if you like how you look then that is all that matters.  Like you said, it is probably those that are a little jealous that are telling you to gain. 

With that being said, I so wish I had your problem.  I am still 10 pounds above what I want to be but I just can't seem to get the resolve to do it.  I know I'm just being complacent and need to get back to the program.  However, I am glad that I went on vacation and came back at the same weight.  I pretty much ate whatever I wanted and didn't do much "exercise" other then walking.  We also sat in the car for a total of 4 days driving. 

 
Find the jeans that you like and fit you the best at a weight in your range...........

Buy a lot of them........

Than you found your weight !!!!!!!!!

This is cutting edge technology and a very Scientific Breakthrough..... Clinical trials in progress now.....

frisco

 an excellent idea! clothes are so much better indicators than the scale.

"it's all in the jeans"

yep, jeans are a pretty good indicator. I am in size 8 though they are loose. Definitely should ditch the bmi test and scale and just go for the jeans. Forget the dunk tank test too. The insurance companies should adopt a new standard - the Frisco Jeans Fitting Scale - in lieu of their weight tables.

Funny thing is that in my fat days I couldn't wear jeans at all. Even though they made them big enough they were just proportioned weird and would pull and bind when I sat down (which was what I did all the time except when lying down). So now its so fun to just go get any old jeans regardless of brand or cost and slide right into them. And often i am digging though stacks to find the right size because all they have are these  giant ones. Tee Hee.   Diane

 I find so much goes into figuring out that 'right' weight.  Having spent most of my life trying to lose weight it's a mind-switch to think about maintaining, and every so often I find myself thinking about losing a couple of more pounds.  Which is insanity as I'm at a healthy weight with some great muscle.

When people comment on my weight and I start thinking maybe they know something I don't I wonder if I'm listening because I really have no idea what I actually look like or if this weight is really the 'right' one because hey, I haven't been here for years so maybe, just like music, things are completely different than the last time I was here.

I find people who comment on my weight fall into a few categories but I don't find it's my pudgier friends who are in the "you're too thin" camp but more my thinner friends who seem the most put out by my loss.  One of those said to me the other day, "Well you're thinner than you were the last time I saw you!"  She said it in this sort of accusatory kind of way.  I said that yes, I was thinner, by about 2 pounds so hardly a dramatic shift.  I may look thinner in different clothes or I may be getting smaller due to exercise but my weight itself is pretty stable.

Anyway...it's just interesting.  I find I get more freaked by those who are clearly kind of going, "You look good now but I wonder if you'll gain it back."  Yeah, thanks for that.  I thought surgery magic was taking care of that, but I guess I'll have to keep planning my food, eating the plan and exercising.  Oh, and thanks for the regain tip!  Needless to say these aren't really friends.

I'm glad you checked with your personal expert and made a decision that feels right for you!

Yeah, don't ya just hate those "wet blanket" people who talk about how you will regain. Party poopers. Fortunately you will have the last laugh because you will maintain your loss.

Gotta admit I get a secret thrill when someone says "you are not going to lose anymore weight, are you?" since I never heard such a remark in my life having been fat since grade school.

I recently made a trip and saw some people I hadn't seen in awhile. All were supportive. And some of the skinnies were not so skinny anymore.

Diane

 I hang with some really fit people. There are people in my tri club who are taller than me but weigh less. So no one hassles me about my weight. I got a bit of hassle from the people I work with but, for various reasons, I don't respect them anyway so I'm not going to listen to them. My family mostly doesn't talk about such things.

I do know that some weight most likely will come back at some point. So there really isn't any need to *try* to gain it. It will just happen as you get farther out from the losing phase.

I am 100% on board with you and Dr. Cirangle on this.  I saw you a little while ego and looked great to me.  I didn't see the need to gain any weight at all.  I think the people that are making these comments are just not used to us being this thin, and it is a bit disconcerting to them.  After a while, they will not comment on this any more as it will just seem normal.  My uncle gives me a hard time every time he sees me about my weight.  He thinks I would look better if I gained five to ten pounds.  I disagree with him and just blow it off.  He means well, but it's my body, my comfort level, my decision.  I think you are doing the right thing listening to yourself and Dr. C.

I think that one reason we may look too thin to others is not because of our body size but because of how our faces look.  Especially for those of us in our 50s and beyond, having lost weight in our faces at this age may leave us a little gaunt looking and more wrinkly than we were when all that fat was smoothing us out!  Now that I'm fighting the 25ish pounds I've put back on over the past year, even I think my face looks better ... even though my backside is way wide :-)
--Dorothy