I just spent the last, oh, well, a long time going through my Tuesday posts from the past year because I've been feeling like at the start of all of this I got down to my goal range of 130 - 135 pretty steadily, then gained enough of it back to be OUT of that range, but I couldn't remember when exactly that happened.
I still don't know, because I only went back for a year. I thought for sure it's been less than a year since I got up above 135, but I was wrong. A year ago (well, May 8 to be exact) I weighed in at 139.2. And except for the couple of weeks when I was on South Beach, when I got down to 136, I've pretty much stayed in that 137 to 142 range for the whole year. I gain a few pounds, then lose it, then gain them, then lose them. It's not exactly a yo-yo because the string is too short. But I can't seem to stick with the losing long enough to get back under 135. I don't remember when I was last at that weight. And mostly my problem seems to be laziness. It's just too easy to give into temptation and eat whatever I want, or go for a week or two without exercise. I think partly the problem is I get within shooting distance of 135 and think "oh, I'm so close, it'll be easy to just lose those two or three pounds--I should be back to 135 in a week or two" and so that kind of gives me an excuse to stop trying. It makes no sense, but I guess I figure that it'll be so easy to lose a couple of pounds that I don't really have to try *right now.* I have to get out of that mindset. For the past few weeks I've been very diligent about exercising regularly and not snacking at night--my two weaknesses. Now that I am (again) conceivably within two or three or four weeks of hitting that 135 mark, I can't let myself give in to laziness.
The other thing I noticed reading through the whole year that I didn't notice when I was reading from week to week is what a great job Emily has done with weight loss. She was up to over 150 for a while there, and has steadily brought her weight down to the mid-130's! I guess I didn't realize that she had been at that high point relatively recently (back in October).
4 comments:
I think maybe you might either be 1. Too preoccupied by a number, that in reality means very little, and 2. maybe setting the wrong goal. From all that I have read everyone's body naturally settles in at one general weight point. For me - when I was younger - it was 155-160. I think you need to be looking at trends more than one number. If every week you are losing a pound then, CHECK! you are in losing mode. If every week you are gaining - then you are NOT in losing mode. But if for one full year you have varied your weight by a pound or too in either direction, then I think you are at the maintenance phase, and be content with it. If I were you, I would stop weighing yourself weekly and start doing it just on the first of the month or something - to make sure you aren't dramatically up or down, which may indicate a health concern.
I think it's impressive you've maintained within a relatively small range. We ain't getting any younger sister so it's a positive that you've stayed in a range. I am bound and determined to lose another 10 pounds over the next couple of months. I just haven't been able to get into gear. I keep getting sidetracked doing fun things and I have a beer here and there. But, you know, I figure if I can continue to maintain I will let myself have fun when I want, without overdoing it on a regular basis. The hardest thing to do is let yourself go a bit then reel it back in so you do maintain.
Quite the opposite, I think--I think I haven't been nearly preoccupied enough with my weight, and that's why I let it creep up over and over, then had to smack it down again! It was when I had gotten used to being within my goal range for a long time that I stopped weighing myself so often, and when that happened, I also stopped being diligent with exercising and stopped paying attention to what I ate. I agree that your weight tends to settle around one weight, but there's a reason I chose the 130 - 135 range--that's the weight I stayed for years between college and having kids, and then again between February 2006 and March/April 2007, so I know it's a realistic and healthy goal for me. It's also right in the middle of a normal weight for my size, so I figure if that's what's normal in general and that's where I tend to settle, then I should shoot for that instead of just changing my idea of what a good weight for me is.
The less often I weigh myself, the less I pay attention to my overall health. When I was weighing only weekly (instead of daily) I'd eat too much for a few days, figuring I didn't have to face the music for a while and could just fast for a day before weighing in, and that just didn't work. That's essentially how I kept letting my weight get back up into the 140's. Starting the day by weighing myself seems to set the mood for the day--I start out thinking about how I should be acting to keep in shape. If I could trust myself to still work out five days a week without weighing myself, or to keep away from mindless grazing all evening without weighing myself, then I would. And maybe I'll get there someday, but not right now! Now I need daily reminders of self control to keep on track.
Thanks for the compliment -- but I'm still feeling like an idiot for having let my weight get up into the 150s! And now I'm falling right back into the same pattern. Like you, I got close to my goal, figured I could lose the last couple of pounds easily, and got sloppy. Now I'm finding it hard to get motivated and get back to the dieting, so I'm starting to gain. It doesn't help that the kids' schedule is ridiculous (it never seems like so much stuff when we're signing up, and suddenly we're running all over town) and that we've had all kinds of sickness (all mild, but we can't take the kids to the gym) so I can always find excuses not to exercise.
I have no idea what my natural weight is. I have either been dieting or pregnant, or I've gained five pounds a year, ever since I was 17. It's never in my life been stable. But I know the weight where I feel good is 130-135 pounds -- I'm happy with my appearance and I'm not so tired all the time. And my moods are better when I'm not so tired. So I'd be happy if I could keep that weight all my life!
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