How do you know? - X-Post

My surgeon is very aggressive in terms of setting goals for us compared others.  My initial goal was 160 lbs and he said I should try for 150 lbs.  I suppose I will just take it day by day and evaluate based on how I feel and look.

I went into maintenance on my Dr.'s advice when I developed female athlete triad. Between low calorie intake (less than 1000/day) compared to my workout schedule and low body fat percentage, I stopped menstruating and I was starting to lose bone density.  My husband was also calling me "Skeletor" which was not particularly flattering.   I lost more even as I upped my calories and maintained my workout schedule.  I am pear shaped, and I looked far thinner in the face and upper body than I actually am because I carry all my weight on my hips and thighs.  I maintained in the mid 120's and size 2-4 until I injured my back in January of this year. I kept trying to get back in the gym/running, and kept aggravating the injury.  When I finally stopped trying to lift weights and run for a couple of month, my back healed.  The down side was I lost muscle and I'm more 'squishy' than I was a year ago. The 2's fit on top, not so much on the bottom.  Working on that now. I've set the Disney Marathon in January as my mid-term motivation. 

I will caution people about stopping just because your face is too thin. I found that my face filled back out once I stopped losing on the scale. I'm glad I kept losing until all my body parts had as little fat as I wanted including my stomach and thighs. Yes, my ribs were showing at first but that didn't last. If I had stopped as soon as my face and ribs were thin, I'd be 20 pounds higher than I am now!

I wish I could offer some help on this.  I am 5 9 and I got to my maintenance mark and all hell broke lose and I suddenly really had a hard time with food and trying to get in enough food to stop the losing.  I recently realized that I don't know how to be in maintenance at all...my entire life has been dieting and trying to lose weight and the idea of eating to GAIN weight (which is what I need to do now since my BMI is down at the 16 mark right now) has actually become quite terrifying to me.....and while I am not trying to lose weight it is just the act of being afraid of returning to 390 that keeps my calories and fat too low and thus continues my weight loss.  I am a big work in progress....my suggestion is not to get stuck on a number in your head but to really go by what you feel in your clothes and body!  I wish I had! 

Good luck!  I hope you can put on some healthy weight...a BMI of 16 is pretty low.  I've changed my focus and am now working on toning and building lean muscle.  Once I get to 150 lbs, I'll evaluate and go from there.

Oh I am fully committed to working on it!  I see a handful of people to help me work on this problem......I do NOT want to be where I am at all!  I really was comfortable and felt good around 140-150 pounds and that is my goal!  I am not naive to the problem - I gave up all my exercise to try and stop the weight loss!  I LOVED running but it had to be done!  LOL......I have a private therapist, see my family doctor  AND the entire team (dietician, psychologist, nurse practitioner) at my Bariatric Centre!  I am in good hands! 

Awesome!  Too bad about the running...maybe when you get back to where you want to be you can start it again.