People are telling me I'm bordering on being "too skinny"...
Okay, this is really weird for me but in the last week or so I've had at least 4 people (all close friends and family) tell me that I'm either perfect where I'm at or that I'm bordering on being "too skinny"!?!?
I know that I am still not seeing myself the way others are but I really don't think I'm "there" yet. I want to lose at least another 10 pounds or so to get to my personal goal and then if I can get down another 10 pounds beyond that it would give me a nice cushion to work with.
I guess maybe my clothes do a lot of hiding but if it makes any sense at all I want to try and get my body fat as low as possible and then work on bulking back up a little with lean muscle. I basically don't want any soft areas, I want solid. And until I reach that I think I'm always going to feel like I need to keep going.
With that said, I do have certain limits and I am hoping I will be able to stop if I go past those limits. For my body composition, I don't see myself being able to look healthy and be under 190. I really don't see myself having that much fat to lose right now. I can barely pinch 2 inches around my gut and I have a little fat on my inner thighs and hips and on my upper arms but everywhere else it is pretty much almost down to bone.
Anyone else dealt with this problem? Am I not seeing what others are seeing because I have a mental problem? Do I need help or do I need to let them see me in my boxers so they can agree that I still have a good 15 pounds to spare?
I know that I am still not seeing myself the way others are but I really don't think I'm "there" yet. I want to lose at least another 10 pounds or so to get to my personal goal and then if I can get down another 10 pounds beyond that it would give me a nice cushion to work with.
I guess maybe my clothes do a lot of hiding but if it makes any sense at all I want to try and get my body fat as low as possible and then work on bulking back up a little with lean muscle. I basically don't want any soft areas, I want solid. And until I reach that I think I'm always going to feel like I need to keep going.
With that said, I do have certain limits and I am hoping I will be able to stop if I go past those limits. For my body composition, I don't see myself being able to look healthy and be under 190. I really don't see myself having that much fat to lose right now. I can barely pinch 2 inches around my gut and I have a little fat on my inner thighs and hips and on my upper arms but everywhere else it is pretty much almost down to bone.
Anyone else dealt with this problem? Am I not seeing what others are seeing because I have a mental problem? Do I need help or do I need to let them see me in my boxers so they can agree that I still have a good 15 pounds to spare?
Hey Brian,
I would suggest getting a body fat test done in order to determine your optimal body weight. It's the only accurate way in my opinion to tell if you are, in fact, too skinny or if you have 15 pounds to spare as you stated.
I got one done this spring and the results were that at 217 pounds I had 7.5% or 17 pounds of body fat. Anything below 5% body fat is unhealthy (too skinny) therefore 210 to 215 is about optimal for me given my current muscular composition (i.e. I could lose more weight but it would be muscle loss....no good). 3%-5% margin of error in the test so + or - a few pounds.
Am I too skinny like my wife always tells me? Nope and I've got the data to prove it.
Boner
I would suggest getting a body fat test done in order to determine your optimal body weight. It's the only accurate way in my opinion to tell if you are, in fact, too skinny or if you have 15 pounds to spare as you stated.
I got one done this spring and the results were that at 217 pounds I had 7.5% or 17 pounds of body fat. Anything below 5% body fat is unhealthy (too skinny) therefore 210 to 215 is about optimal for me given my current muscular composition (i.e. I could lose more weight but it would be muscle loss....no good). 3%-5% margin of error in the test so + or - a few pounds.
Am I too skinny like my wife always tells me? Nope and I've got the data to prove it.
Boner
I got that all the time between 9 months and 15 months post opp. Generally people don't understand that the weight loss will stop. Most of us look sickly for a while because of our starving to death ( usually 9-12 months post). Tell friends and family that looking like this is part of the process and that you will look healthier in a couple of months.
Robert
I see two things at play here:
1) go with the % thing. It's the most accurate.
2) Close friends knew us fat. So, to them the change is more drastic than people who didn't know us then. If you're worried about LOOKING too thin (nothing to actually do with composition) ask people who know you now, but not when you were fat. Or hell, stop a stranger and tell them you've lost a million pounds, and people think you're too skinny, and what do they think.
3) Go with what YOU think.
1) go with the % thing. It's the most accurate.
2) Close friends knew us fat. So, to them the change is more drastic than people who didn't know us then. If you're worried about LOOKING too thin (nothing to actually do with composition) ask people who know you now, but not when you were fat. Or hell, stop a stranger and tell them you've lost a million pounds, and people think you're too skinny, and what do they think.
3) Go with what YOU think.
I have been getting this quite a bit also and I am a little over 6 months out from surgery. I am happy with everything but my belly, I still have quite a bit right there. I have a check up with my surgeon next week, so I will ask if they can calculate my percent body fat, thanks for the idea Boner! I think you have to do what is right for you.
Keep up the good work.
Jim
Keep up the good work.
Jim
My and my surgeon's goal was 190. His partner would have had a goal of 180 for the exact same surgery. I wish I had gone with his partner's opinion...didn't know it at the time. The body fat index really is the best way to go. Since you are young, you probably have less excess skin than other WLS patients. If not alot of excess skin. then go with you gut and body mass index. Brian
Hi Brian,
I got the same thing my self. I started at 375 at my highest and I now maintain around 165 and have done so for over a year. To this day when I see friends they will ask me when I am going to stop loosing. I tell them that I have. As long as your blood work is good and you feel good I say who gives a rat's ass what any one else thinks. I ran 16 miles last Sat in 2:36. I often ask my friends to go running with me. When they start taking as good of care of them selves and I do, I will listen to them. Reading what I just wrote I guess I get a little defensive about it, but these are the same ones that would tell me I need to take better care of my self when I was 375+, while gussling a beer and smoking whatever. I now eat a healthy diet and take care of my self. Listen to your body, most of the time it will tell you what you want to know.
pan head
I got the same thing my self. I started at 375 at my highest and I now maintain around 165 and have done so for over a year. To this day when I see friends they will ask me when I am going to stop loosing. I tell them that I have. As long as your blood work is good and you feel good I say who gives a rat's ass what any one else thinks. I ran 16 miles last Sat in 2:36. I often ask my friends to go running with me. When they start taking as good of care of them selves and I do, I will listen to them. Reading what I just wrote I guess I get a little defensive about it, but these are the same ones that would tell me I need to take better care of my self when I was 375+, while gussling a beer and smoking whatever. I now eat a healthy diet and take care of my self. Listen to your body, most of the time it will tell you what you want to know.
pan head
Thanks a lot guys, I'm glad to see it's not just me and, as of right now, it's not just in my head.
I like the advice about focusing on the body fat percentages. I always look to that as a secondary thing but I should start using that as my gauge. Right now, according the Naval formula I'm at about 24%. According to my OMRON scale at home it has me at 30%. I'm figuring either way I can still stand to lose at least 10% more body fat and be well within healthy range. So at 216, that would be about 20 more pounds which puts me right around my personal ideal weight of 195.
The trick for me is making sure it's just fat that comes off and not muscle...
I like the advice about focusing on the body fat percentages. I always look to that as a secondary thing but I should start using that as my gauge. Right now, according the Naval formula I'm at about 24%. According to my OMRON scale at home it has me at 30%. I'm figuring either way I can still stand to lose at least 10% more body fat and be well within healthy range. So at 216, that would be about 20 more pounds which puts me right around my personal ideal weight of 195.
The trick for me is making sure it's just fat that comes off and not muscle...
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