Another body composition question

Yes, Georgie, it most likely will definitely change how I eat and work out!

I have NO IDEA what my goal is. I picked this number cause it sounded good and I thought I'd never get here.

Now that I'm almost here, I don't think I've lost enough. I also don't trust my eyes and self perception to know if it IS enough or if I could stand to lose more. Of course the peanut gallery has all kinds of opinions as well!

I also would like to know what my resting metabolic rate is so that I know how many calories I should be looking at for maintenance.

I am trying to improve my overall health not just get to a number on the scale so IMO these tests will help me have a personalized, better picture of where I am and where I need to be.

I'm also anticipating now that my weight is stabilizing that I need some other tangible goals. It's hard when you base your success on the scale cause once that is no longer changing, what do you have??

Just trying to be the most healthy me I can be!

thanks for explaining to me, I suppose with the media these days and all your americans size 0 celebs, can really change our perception on what healthy should really look  like. I'm over half way to my goal sometimes I like what I see in the mirror and other days I see the size I was 4 months ago! My mind hasnt quite caught up with my body. Havent heard of these tests from where I am, small town in new zealand, however hope it goes well, it could be a really good thing to find resting metoblic rate for maintenence.

I was 257lbs and my goal also is 150lb based on bmi only, I'm 5'8 and that was based on middle bmi healthy range.

How tall are you? 

 Yeah, I don't really care about what other people look like but like you mentioned, I have no idea what I look like. It sounds crazy but when I look in the mirror I sometimes see a thin girl, other times, I still see a heavier girl. Don't even get me started about pictures!

It definitely takes time for our brains to catch up to our bodies!!

I am a little over 5'7", 36 years old, started at 263 and am now at 153. It's just crazy!

:)

I've had RMR testing done every three months since my pre-op appointment.  It takes 10 minutes, and it's been great to know what it was at various points in time and at various body fat %'s.

I also had body composition testing done at the same time.  I use the Navy Tape measure method to check my body fat in between readings. it's actually pretty acurate but more so for men than women particularly if you carry a lot of fat in your thighs like I do.  I found it read low  while I was in weightloss and now it's reading high as I'm in 'maintenance' and changing my body composition.   

Another thing to look into is strength testing and strength goals.  My trainer did the '1 Rep' test with me for both upper and body.  There's a process you go through to warm up, etc., but you ultimately find the max weight you can do a single rep for a leg press, for example.  You divide that by your body weight to find the ratio.  For leg presses,1.8  is considered 'average', 2.0 is considered 'good', and 2.2 is considered excellent for a woman. 

 Thanks! I tried the Navy Tape Measure and was **just** into 'acceptable' which sort of surprised me (thought I'd be over).

I'm a numbers gal who wants science behind me so these tests make sense to me!

I had Bod Pod testing done, along with a RMR and VO2Max test.  At the place I went, the Bod Pod is only $25 I think?  And it is fairly comparable to hydrostatic weighing, as far as accuracy goes.  Within a couple % points IIRC.  The gym is Baseline Fitness in Columbus, OH.

And the RMR...yeah, that was depressing.  My metabolic rate was lower than I'd like, but not so low as to be impossible to lose weight.  At that time, my calorie intake needed to maintain my current weight was about 1600/day.  It was good to know though, because online calculators weight overestimate that number.