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Healthy weight vs. Comfortable in your own skin?
Since I've been MIA for a while, I thought I'd start a discussion! Now, I know every woman has some issues with her body and no two people are shaped alike. That being said, I can say for the first time in...FOREVER...I'm finally comfortable in my own skin. Great, right? Well, I just went to the doctor last week and he recommended, based on my height and BMI, that I lose 15 to 20 pounds. 
Here's my concern: I've been battling my weight my whole life. I weigh now what I did in junior high...and I was obviously much shorter back then. The only time I was within the recommended weight for my height was when I considered cigarettes to be a food group...and obviously I'm not going back there!
WDYT I should do? Probably follow doctor's orders, right? Have any of you with very little extra time on your hands (I know that's most of you!) been able to lose weight and keep it off? I can lose it fairly easily, it's the keeping it off without obsessive counting and without developing unhealthy habits that I have an issue with.
January 2, 2010
EDD October 10, 2013
Re: Healthy weight vs. Comfortable in your own skin?
You look thin in the couple wedding pictures I've seen of you. I think if you lose 20 lbs, you'll look emaciated! If you're comfortable in your own skin and your Dr. isn't concerned about other health issues (like he wants to you lose weight b/c of high cholesterol or something) then I think you're fine the way you are.
I have battled weight for a long time. I was always an overweight kid, though not obese. Then my jr. year of HS I dropped 35 lbs with zero work. It was so random and there was probably something really wrong with me, but man I looked amazing. I kept it off for close to three years. I met FI when I was a Freshman in college and weight has slowly been creeping back on. I leveled out a a couple years ago to the weight I was before I lost those 35 lbs. It seems this is weight my body will maintain by itself.
I'm comfortable in my own skin most of the time (which is why I didn't feel the need to power-diet before the wedding), but I really need to lose weight for cholesterol/HBP reasons and because of my PCOS. I have a better chance of conceiving if I drop those 35 lbs again. But one of the problems with PCOS is it's harder to take weight off than the average person. It's a battle I haven't started fighting yet.
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I am not currently comfortable with my weight, but that is because the stress of last semester of college + holiday food + wedding + honeymoon + getting ready to move = 30 extra pounds!
As far as losing weight goes, I tend to focus more on body image/how I feel than the number on the scale. These past few months I have really gotten into Clean Eating (book by tosca reno). That combined with P90X is really helping me feel great (and lose weight/inches). I personally think that weight is 80% what you eat and 20% exercise.
If you feel comfortable and like panda said, aren't being recommended to lose weight for health reasons I don't think it is necessary. If you feel like a healthy individual, that's all that matters.
BFP 02/2010 m/c 03/17/2010 dx PCOS 04/2010
BFP 08/13/2011 CP 08/15/2011
BFP 09/16/2011 EDD 05/20/2012
Claire Elizabeth, born 5/30 via a med free birth
I was most comfortable in my own skin in high school, I wasn't skinny, but I was about 30 pounds down from where I am now, and my family has type 2 diabetes and cholesterol problems, so I'd really like to lose about 20 to feel better and healthier in those areas. I had lost about 10 for the wedding, which I gained back in the past 2 months. I really just feel gross because I know I haven't been eating well.
I don't think I'd ever be "skinny" and I don't feel the need. I love having curves, H loves them too. I just need to be careful of the belly fat, because I have it and I'm afraid of dealing with complications as time goes on. I really just want to be as healthy as possible when we start TTC.
If you're comfortable, don't worry about the pounds. Just make sure that what you're eating is good for you, maintain a healthy lifestyle. Yes, the scale is a number, and for some people it matters more than others. You seem to be pretty healthy anyways, so just keep doing what you're doing.
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Thanks, girls! I knew you'd help me sort things out.
I, like Shazzie, will never be "skinny" either...and I don't feel fat! Or look fat, according to Panda (and thanks for that!). My doctor did say my cholesterol is high, but it's the overall number and the GOOD cholesterol (HDL) that are high - which can be caused by BC, which I'm on. I just switched BC to something with less hormones, so I'm seeing if that brings my cholesterol down. If it doesn't, then maybe I should consider dropping some weight. My blood test is April 3rd - hopefully I get good news and can keep my curves!
January 2, 2010
EDD October 10, 2013
I have a very athletic build, but am also short (5'2") so even though I appear to be tiny, I weigh a lot more than I look. I am also doing P90X (YAY Eskamo!) and H and I eat very healthily because I am GF along with being allergic to corn products (corn syrup, etc.) I am about 10 pounds heavier right now than I am comfortable being but I have been putting on lots of muscle doing P90X and losing inches, so I'm quite alright with it.
That being said, I gained 25 pounds my senior year of high school because I wasn't eating like I should and stopped playing soccer because of an injury. That was the heaviest I've ever been. Once I got it off I swore I would never be that *size* again until I was preggers, and have maintained the loss since then. I emphasize size because I wear a smaller size now but weigh more due to muscle and exercise. Bodies are tricky things!
I say if you are comfortable and can maintain your weight with a healthy diet and reasonable exercise, then that is where you should be. If your doc is concerned because of health reasons, then it may be worth looking in to. If you do want to lose weight, I hang on the H&F boards a lot because they are a wealth of info over there. And they are all about healthy slow weight loss, not fad diets, etc.
I know I'm a little late with this- BUT- I have a couple questions:
1) Do you have a family hx of heart dz (HD), diabetes (DM), hypertension (HTN), high cholesterol, etc? I ask because if your doctor is guiding you toward weight loss without these risk factors- simply based off your BMI- that is a mistake. BMI was actually NOT designed to be utilized on an individual basis- that having been said, its also the only relativity reliable means of judging a 'healthy weight.' And it is also utilized by insurance companies. Those RF (HD, DM, HTN, etc) put you at higher risk for severe health issues- regardless of age; particularly artherosclerotic events, which can be time-bombs.
2) As far as your BMI goes- are you a little off (ie a 25.5 when overweight is condsidered to be 25-30)? Because if so, no big deal. But, if you are higher- and me not having any hx on your health- I'd say don't 'diet' adapt more healthy lifestyle choices (stairs instead of elevator, olive oil instead of butter, larger meals earlier in the day instead of later, etc) that will decrease all of your risk factors, which can potentially compensate for a few additional lbs.
As a Physician Assistant student, I would hope that the medical professional you're seeing is making this recommendation based on a longer, healthier life for you based on what he or she thinks is going on on your insides- not just the number of the scale ;0)