Thursday, November 17, 2011

Six Years, Six Posts: Post 2 - Goal Weight

Goal weight, some background: My original goal was set by my surgeon. Honestly, it was only discussed because I specifically asked him what he thought it should be and what he would consider "successful". Without much thought, he responded with 149 and that's what I went with. And, yes, I was happy when I got there and stayed there for some period of time.

(Sidebar: It may go a bit unnoticed in reading my posts at this point, getting to my original goal was a looooong journey. 20 months for 85 lbs...for a whopping average of 4.25 per month! I point this out for anyone that may have any perception of an easy or perfect journey to provide encouragement.)

But as I focused more on health and fitness, I just felt *fluffy* in my skin. I'm small boned and knew there was fluff to lose. That being said, I recall not wanting weight loss to be the focus that it was during my losing phase, but more seeing where my body settled and seeing how I felt, etc. Anyway, that happened a couple times and I settled in.

What I realized though is that for me the scale was not working. In reality, I was quite thin and fit, but when I weighed in that stupid a$$ thing was stealing something from me at times. It was my happiness and positivity. So, I divorced the scale. Sure, sometimes I think "OMG, I need to weigh myself". But I don't. I'm at a point that I can tell if I've been overindulging a bit and I pull back. I don't need the scale to tell me that and if I continue to be the size and fitness level I am currently, but weigh a bit more than the 130lbs that I was when I weighed at the doctor's office (fully clothed!!!), then that's fine --- when I divorced the scale I was 129 nekkid. The scale is no longer the boss of me!

There's a blogger - Tina's of Carrots 'N' Cake. For reasons other than one of my favorite 4-letter words being part of her title - c.a.k.e.! I think she's categorized as a food/health blogger and published a book which I haven't read, but there is one thing that she talks about a lot on her blog which is feel great weight (FGW). This philosophy aligns with where I am at this point in my journey (divorcing the scale, etc.) which is a change in focus to health not weight. Here's an article that she wrote on the topic. I included two paragraphs that really resonated with me, but you might want to check her out as well.
When I am at my FGW, I’m comfortable with how I feel on the inside and outside, and I treat my body as such. My FGW doesn’t dictate my daily activities—I don’t weigh myself, I don’t curse my thighs, and I don’t think twice about enjoying dessert. I consume foods that fuel my body and I don’t overthink my meals or the number of calories I’m consuming. I enjoy a wholesome diet and eat without severe restrictions or overindulgences. I choose workouts that keep me energized and make me feel good. Living at my FGW means that I don’t have to make myself crazy maintaining it. I’m able to experience life and enjoy all the fun things that come along with it.

There’s no magic trick for finding your FGW, and it’s different for everyone. I found my FGW by eating a wholesome, nutritious diet 80% of the time and fun, not-so-nutritious foods 20% of the time. I still enjoy eating healthy foods most of the time, but I don’t feel like I have to turn down dessert or cocktails when they come my way. All I know is that stressing out about what I am eating and how much I am exercising means I’m not at my FGW. When I feel healthy, happy, and energized, I know my body is too.
 Mmmmmmm, cake...sorry, couldn't help it.

Bottom line: While your doctor may or may not give you a target weight, ultimately YOU have to live with it and maintain it. The weight may be too high or it may be too low. Only you can figure this out. And, ultimately, you have to figure out what works for you on all aspects (exercise (do it!), food, weight, etc.) So, while not weighing is the best for me for emotional well being, it may not work at all for you. And ya know what? That's OK!

13 comments:

MandaPanda said...

Thanks for explaining how you chose your weights and for the snippet of the article. I know I haven't reached my FGW yet but it sounds heavenly!

Jessica said...

My doc wont give us a goal weight... he says only we can figure out our Soul weight... as he calls it. Where are body is most comfortable.

Anonymous said...

This is a great post. You have had an amazing journey, right? Feel good is right!

banded bella said...

Great post. I like the concept of FGW and how good it makes the author feel.

Lap Band Gal said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this series of posts! :) I love them!

Beth Ann said...

FGW is interesting and something I'm going to think about. I have no REAL goal weight, but I'm not there yet. I'll know it when I see it?

Cat said...

I have an arbitrary number that I pulled out of the air because the BMI chart said it's in the healthy BMI range. Now, this is when I freely admit I think the BMI chart is a load of crap because it does not take muscle weight into account. I picked 145 and will aim for that until I get close and then I believe thanks to this blog post, I will work on finding my FGW! Thank you!

Laura Belle said...

Great posts! I like the idea of FGW! Something to think about.

Catherine55 said...

Interesting! And I love the FGW concept. I hadn't heard it put that way before! Also.. I finally got to do my blog about your package, complete with photos! Check it out when you have a moment -- and thank you so SO much!! :) xoxo

Andrea said...

Love these posts! I have a goal weight in mind, but I think I'll have to decide what's best for me when I get closer to that weight. I've never been that small so I have no idea.

Thanks also for letting us know how long it took you to lose the weight! Sometimes I get frustrated with not losing very fast, but I just have to do my best and my weight will go down when it needs to.

♥ Drazil ♥ said...

I love this post...so happy for you - and you look amazing.

Manda said...

Interesting post on FGW. Thats what I want. I have never really been into dieting. I just want to be healthy (especially after seeing my cholesterol numbers). I don't want to be on meds. I just want to feel good in my skin. Thank you for posting.

Kristin said...

I am not even close to goal yet, but after 130 pound loss I can tell you that I have learned this the hard way about FGW!

You have to be happy where you are in the journey. Constantly being unhappy and disliking ourselves is not way to live.

It is about living healthy and not dieting anymore.

Thank you for your insights and journey.