Your Body Knows What It Wants

[amwin12]

Okay so I have been reading and some people have lost weight then unable to lose any more but the size (weight) they are at seems healthy. Maybe your body knows what it wants and what size/weight it is comfortable at. I've seen some people get really depressed b/c they can't seem to lose 20 more lbs but yet have already lost 50 or more.

So if this is true unless you starve yourself and over exercise to lose extra weight. Should one just except it? I mean really everyone is not meant to be a size 2 but at the same time how does one determine the healthiest weight for themselves? Tricky huh?

I have a goal weight of 130-150 lbs I would be happy at either or in between now if I get to 155 and months to a year go by and no more lost should I just accept it for what it is? Maybe my body likes that weight and wants to stay there.

[Mistics]

Don't put lbs as goal weight, it will always disappoint you. Although how could I know - I never got to my goal weight. You're ssupposted to stop losing when your eyes are satisfied with what they see. If what you're saying is true - and it's our body not mind that rules over our goal weight - then I give up. I'm trying to achieve a condition where I'd be happy about myself not just healthy looking. I hoped I can lose as much as I want with Atkins without any limits. Or is this wrong? Didn't answer your question, neither can, just that it made me wonder if I will lose as much as I plan or such amounts of fat that my body wants.

[APanthesilia]

I'm not sure if it is true that our bodies want to be a certain weight. I know I have hovered around the same weight for most of my life (with a slowly upward trend...) but I want to get lower than that now. I think for me I used to tell myself sometimes that my body just didn't want to be smaller but the truth was that I just wasn't willing to put in the effort to make it smaller! Maybe a size 2 isn't possible for everyone- I have certainly never even thought that I might want to be a size two! But from what I have seen on this board and through reading it seems that the stubborn last 10 lbs after a 50 lbs loss are because weight loss just slows dramatically the closer you get to your goal. I'm sure others will jump in and tell you how it was for them when they were close to goal! I'm not speaking from experience as I am not near my goal weight yet!

For my goal weight I just tried to pick what would be a healthy bmi and a size I think I would like to be. If I get to 155 and can't seem to drop anymore I think there is no problem in accepting my body for how it is but still striving to lose the last 5 or so pounds. Because Atkins is for life I wouldn't be quitting the WOE to eat carby junk anyway so I would hopefully keep at it, even if it didn't work and I never lost the 5 lbs I would still be staying healthy and certainly not gaining!

[SunnySmile501]

I'm sure that my body knows what it wants, but just as I don't always get what I want, it's just going to have to get over it and cooperate with going lower. I am still way too heavy and even though I have been stalled for a year, I will never give up. I still believe in "mind over matter" and body fat is matter.

Matter: a. Something that occupies space and can be perceived by one or more senses; a physical body, a physical substance, or the universe as a whole.

[blue996]

My body is very comfortable at 170 so I know it will take me a while to drop but I have done it before following Atkins and by no means did I starve myself. I think it's just a matter of accepting that the less you have to lose the slower the losses will be. Plus based on my bone structure I know I could never be a size 2...it's just impossible. But it is possible for me to be a lot smaller than I am and my body is going to get there if it likes it or not...lol.

[julirama723]

I'm one of those people hoping to get the last 10 pounds off.

I've been hovering at the same weight since August, though I've lost inches and my fitness has improved tremendously in the past months. As we're closer to goal, the weight will come off more slowly, and I think changes are more subtle as well. For example, I've noticed that my upper arms are more slender right above the elbows, but that's not a place that I measure, nor is it a place that clothing shows a drastic difference. My calves are smaller, my waist is a bit curvier, my wrists are smaller. Instead of seeing large changes, I'm seeing smaller ones in less obvious places.

I do also think my body is freaking out a little bit. 171 is the lowest I've ever been as an adult, and when I hit it in October my period showed up 3 weeks late. This month I hit 171 again and my period is 2 weeks late and counting. It's going to be very difficult for me to get into the 160s. BUT, I've come to realize that my goal is not a number on the scale, but how I look and feel. I'm not there yet, but I'm getting closer.

[amwin12]

I try not to put a number on my goal b/c I have not been 130-150 since
Jr High School so I really have no idea what my "ideal" weight is or will be. I just always post 130-150 b/c that is what the "system" says is a healthy weight for me well actually it says 105-130 but uh I can not see myself at 105 at all!!

I too will bascially go by how I feel and look whether that be 130, 150 or 160.

[dreamof145]

I feel as sunny does. I've been stalled for a very long time now. But, I'm not giving up and I'm never going back to where I started from. I am a planner. I've had obstacles pop up that have interferred with my weight loss routine (mostly exercise)...but I keep re-planning and staying positive with my new life-style. I'm going to make it - I don't know when, but it will happen.