When is enough, enough?

When did you know your body was where it should / could be? I'm almost two years out and have lost 120 pounds. I haven't gained or lost more than five pounds over the past year (hell of a plateau, eh?). I'm down to a size 28 pant, and wear a Med / Large depending on the shirt maker. I can run a two-mile workout with ease, and return my heart rate to about 10 bpm above resting within just a few minutes. I'm pretty fit.

What I'm getting at is that I'm like thirty pounds above what the charts put me at. I'm 188 pounds and 5' 7" tall. Charts are charts, I understand that. But how do you know when your body is happy where it is at?

What got me thinking is that when I lay down at night I notice the skin on my belly and back is really loose. It kind of oozes out in front of me when I lay on my side. My back skin sags to the point where, if I'm relaxed enough, my butt crack goes all the way to my neck.

I guess I'm really wondering when / if to have plastics done. How much weight is attributed to all that extra skin and matter hanging around?

Anyone have an idea on this one? I would just hate to keep beating my head against a wall trying to loose pounds by working out harder, eating more closely etc when I'm at a place I should be at. I know I've got more muscle to build...which consequently adds weight...

Hell...I'm pretty confused tonight. Any thoughts?

Great question and here's my take......it's all about body fat percentage or in other words, how many pounds of fat are you still carrying around. Bones are good, muscles are good and a certain amount of fat is necessary as well. Knowing your body fat percentage can help you determine if your weight loss goals are realistic and if, as you'd asked, whether your current weight is where it should be.. 

For healthy men, 20% of your total body weight should be fat give or take (see chart below). For example, a 200 pound man should have a total of 40 pounds of body fat and be considered healthy. Anything more than that, you got some work to do. Less than that and you'd be getting into athlete mode or, if too low, getting unhealthy.

Here's a good summary of what I'm talking about.:

Understanding Your Body Fat Percentage

Body fat measurements and the measuring tape are recognized as  superior methods for measuring "weight loss".  When one declares that they want to "lose weight", what they often mean is that they want to lose fat. So, now that you've had your body fat percentage measured, what does the number really mean? 

First, your body fat percentage is simply the percentage of fat your body contains.  If you are 150 pounds and 10% fat, it  means that your body consists of 15 pounds fat and 135 pounds lean body mass (bone, muscle, organ tissue, blood and everything else).

A certain amount of fat is essential to bodily functions.  Fat regulates body temperature, cushions and insulates organs and tissues and is the main form of the body's energy storage.  The following table describes body fat ranges and their associated categories:

*General Body Fat Percentage Categories

*American Council on Exercise

Classification	Women (% fat)	Men (% fat)
Essential Fat	10-12%	2-4%
Athletes	14-20%	6-13%
Fitness	21-24%	14-17%
Acceptable	25-31%	18-25%
Obese	32% plus	25% plus

 

Dude...above and beyond as usual. Thank you so much for this post. I've played around with body fat %, but never really understood them. It was a total "duh" moment for me reading this post.

So, according to the bathroom scale I'm at 26% body fat, which makes me feel good. I wonder what I was before surgery. I should ask the doc if he took that measurement back then.

Now I have something more empirical to strive for that makes better sense than the mish-mash of data in weight alone.

You got  a great response above. I'll just add it sounds like you're stable and if you want plastics you would probably be a good candidate. I don't think it would be 30 lbs but it might be 5-10. A dr can tell you with better accuracy.

If you check with your nutritionist. They can probably help you with measuring body fat %.  I know mine did.  Going to the local support group when a plastic surgeon is there, and drilling them with questions (free) can also help.  Even CSU Chico has both a physical education and exercise physiology department.  They could help.   Brian

CSU Chico has some bio-pod thing for hydrostatic composition measurements. I've always been curious to do it, now I think I'll try. I know they do clinics every once in a while. Probably more during the school year than summer.

Anyone ever tried these types of things?