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Yes we are one day apart and I remember when you used to fret cause you were losing so slow and look at you noI am 4'11". I picked the goal of 100# off the height weight chart for lack of a better source. For my height it says 95-115 pounds is correct. I p[icked 100# as just being in the middle of the range.

according to BMI charts,I would need to weigh 124 to be in the normal BMI category. Maybe that is more realistic? I am not hung up on "a number" aaand would change my goal weight if it looks like I should. I last weighed 155 and going to 123 would mean losing  31 # instead of 50.

I eat practically no carbs now. The most carbs I eat are in the 1/2 cup oatmeal I *HAVE* to eat every day,dr's orders trying to heal an anal fissure before resorting to surgery.

I eat full fat cheese and cottage cheese free range eggs,grass fed beef and pork aand free range chicken,seafood,nuts and seeds,no grains. I eat higher fat since I am so low carb. I have just started adding in non starchy veggies. I am not really ever hungry,I just eat by my schedule of times to eat.No alcohol,no fruit but blueberries and strwberries and not a lot of them.

I have shed a lot and feel phenomenally better. My butt and thighs still have fat to lose. I started at 246 and am 155 but don;t really know how to compute excess weight or fat lost.

I am willing to do a lot to get a little more off. With spring coming up I will be bike riding more. We have a weight machine but a gym or personal trainer is not in the budget right now. I don't know how to effectively use the equipment without hurting myself or not doing it enough/right/etc to maximize my success.

Thanks for your input and let me know what you think

I am also 4'11" and I am about in middle of the BMI chart for my height. I don't want to be 100 lbs, because I have some muscle and have a medium frame. Plus, I don't need or want to starve myself down into that range. I am also 58 years young. I'm sure that 100 lbs is not very realistic at this point in time.

Adjusting your goal may be a healthy thing to do. If you could get out of the obese category into the overweight category, that would be an improvement for your health. At least that is what my PCP told me.

Weight training would help you to build some muscle, which would help to increase your metabolic burn. Even lunges, squats, and hand weights can help to build some muscle. There are beginner DVD's available. Also, some of the cable stations have exercise classes. Cycling can definitely help, as well as walking up and down hills. Just walking is not enough. I found that out, early out from surgery, which is why I started weight training.

Gail

Thanks Gail. I don't want to starve myself down to 100# either though I see you are at  goal at 110. 124 would put me barely in the normal area on the BMI chart. I could be happy there but that number doesn't give me much wiggle room. I would rather try to be in the normal caegory than still overweight I think.

I have many hills around my house and with spring coming plan to utilize them more than I have during this whole journey. I don't think I can settle for 155# when I know I have never really added exercise /weight lifting into the mix. I need to give it a real try and give myself a chance to at least  get to 124# before I decide I am going into maintenance.

Funnily enough,I have NO trouble staying in maintenance which is something of a relief to know for when I decide I am there.

Thanks,
Holly

Hi Holly,

When I first started, my goal was 120, because I had been there briefly about 20 years ago and knew that I could probably get there. My surgeon's goal was actually higher. I lost about 30 lbs pre-op, so I had made a big dent into the excess weight prior to surgery. After surgery, with the amount of weight that I was losing, my PCP thought that I should try to get to 110. When I hit 118, I thought that, maybe I could reach 110 lbs. I just kept doing what I was doing, and the weight came off. I have been stable at 108-110 since mid-April of last year. I don't think that I have ever maintained at such a small interval in my life.
 
I track my food everyday and exercise about 4-6 times/week, including weight training 2-3 times/week. I started the weight training at about 4 months post-op, because walking wasn't enough. I eat about 1300-1500 cal/day, and about 100-120 carbs/day. I have to fight the demons everyday and have learned that I need to stay away from certain foods. I am not perfect, but the food tracking and exercise help to keep me on track.

Have you had your thyroid checked recently? Your TSH should be 3.0 or less.

Gail


p.s. I eat oatmeal on the weekends and add some protein powder to it, along with some berries and cinnamon. Yummy.

My head thinks I should be able to get to 100-110. i think my frame is large though...my fingers don't meet around my wrist,so maybe that is unrealistic.

I am addicted to carbs/sugar and actully have to work an abstinance program where they are concerned. I dislike all the cbs in the oatmeal but it is dr's orders right now so I comply. I will try adding some protein powder to it. I often eat an egg with it just to ofset the carbs a bit. It can make me a tad cravey.

I track every day also and range from 800 to 1000 cals most day with more than 505 protein less fats and even less carbs usually less than 30.

I have had my thyroid checked in the last 2 months and the TSH ws 1.5. The free  T3 was 2.13,Thyroxine free was 0.86. do those sound good for weight loss? I also switched from Synthroid to Armout thyroid to see if that would make a difference. I have been hypo thyroid for more than 30 years. I think the Armour might be making a difference...not tired all the time anymore and my feet used to freeze at night and lately I have been coming out of my sleep socks during the night ,so those are good signs.

I think I am seriously going to have to totally bump up my exercise doing something...I just can't see calling it quits before I have really done that.

thanks...

Eating an egg with the oatmeal is a good idea, plus adding a little protein powder may help to offset the insulin surge, since you have to have it.

Maybe, try for smaller increments of weight loss, like 5 lbs at a time,  and then go from there? Can you do something like Weigh****chers for structure and support? Exercise is crucial, especially this far out. I wouldn't be able to maintain without it. I would probably only be eating 1,000 cal/day without the exercise and weight training. It does help to develop some muscle mass.

Your thyroid sounds good. I'm on Armour thyroid, too.

Any other way to get your fiber, besides oatmeal?

not really any other way besides oatmeal. I tried flax meal muffing at 8 grams carbs and all of it fiber but it wasn't working a s well for my problem. I think I will have to have surgery for the fissure cause it really isn't healing so maybe it will eliminate the need for oatmeal,IDK>

Not sure about WW but am looking into gyms for  cheap/free trial to get my fat tested and learn how to use the machines.

Thanks for your help.

Holly,

Why is your fingers not meeting around you wrist significant?  Is it some unit of measurement regarding frame?  Thanks.

Fingers around your wrist, between those two large wrist bones and your hand, is one of the general indicators of frame size - if your fingers don't meet, you're a large frame; fingers just touching is a medium frame and fingers overlapping is a small frame. So they say - as usual for us when we start out in the extra plus sizes, such rules of thumb don't always work so well, but it's a start. Generally, people don't carry much fat in those areas so they are a decent measure, but for most of us, we carry fat in places most "normalish" people don't so such measures can be deceptive. When I started out a hundred or so pounds ago, my fingers just touched, indicating that I was a medium frame, but now my fingers overlap some which indicates a somewhat smaller frame.

I found this formula on the boards for figuring out your excess weight lost....

 (SW - CW) / (SW - IW) x 100 = percent excess weight lost

Starting Weight   Current Weight       Ideal Weight

You can choose your ideal weight based on the BMI chart...I picked mine based on the top of the normal weight for me and my height. I have gone under my original goal weight.

So my figures would be......

246-131/246-140 x 100=  109% EWL

I think that trying to hit 100 lbs is unrealistic, based on what you said about your wrist size and based on age and the fact of obesity in your history.

But body fat % is something to really look into at the stage you are at in your weight loss journey....and the exercise will help you achieve goals with losing body fat and losing inches...I'd worry less about the scale weight at this point, just because you are already maintaining for quite some time, and your calories and carbs are already super low........check with your local gyms, sometimes they will do very cheap trial programs that will include a trainer showing you around the machines, and testing your body fat with skin calipers...they do this so that you like their gym and buy a membership.

I liked Biggest Loser DVDs for awhile years ago for combo workouts of weights,yoga, and cardio. I also used to use Leslie Sansone WATP videos quite a bit....For advanced DVD workouts, I hear P90X is awesome...

Good luck! And Keep at it! :)