Weight vs how you look

KidA

Full Member
According to Dukan, I've still got another 6 lbs to go before reaching my 'true' weight. I've already lost 11 lbs and am feeling great but my other half has said that he doesn't think I should lose much more because my face is beginning to look gaunt!!

I'm doing the exercises, but it's hard to lose the flab around my tum (I had three kids in three years) and the weight seems to fall off my face and top half (i.e. boobs!)

I'm 38 and I always think 'older' people start looking a bit ikky if they get too thin. So I'm starting to weigh up looking healthy in my face with looking slim in my swimming cossie, which after all is probably only for about two weeks of the year.

I guess, in the end, it's whatever you feel comfortable with.

But do you consider how you look v how you feel v how much you weigh? Or is it all about the lbs?
 
No you're quite right - It's about *you* not about the number. and I think DrD does say that in the book too - if you reach a weight where you think you'd like to stay / are comfortable with etc, then do that! If you wanted to go by numbers, then remind yourself that you're already at a pretty good BMI. For reference:
BMI healthy weight calculator - Health tools - NHS Choices

I think I lost the weight in the face and on top *first* but no more later. Definitely any fluctuations I see now express themselves round the middle (only two kids in my case! but a lifetime history of being overweight)
 
Thanks for that link, Anja - I'm going to put that in the direction of my other half as I just did his BMI and he's in the overweight category, bless him.

It's been a bit of a revelation, because I was a bit gutted when Dukan put in my 'true' weight as 6lbs more than I wanted, but I was obviously being unrealistic, trying to go back to a time when I was younger and naturally slimmer. You gotta roll with the times!
 
I feel very strongly that we should be aiming for a weight/shape/bmi we are comfortable with, not chasing an arbitary number.

Dukan says my ideal weight is a good 16 lbs less than I intend to go - and if I had a different body shape I might agree.

But at the weight I am now I look and feel great - with a top and bottom half that match and a relatively unlined face. So I'm stopping right here!
 
KidA your BMI is healthy, you feel good, your other half thinks youre fabulous.
Sounds like a good time to consolidate.

Clothes size wise are you in a good place? If youre on the cusp of going down a size might be worth carrying on, if not and youre happy theres no need to go further.

And well done!
 
To be honest, I fully expect to be happy with my weight before I get to my "target" as I do a lot of running and weight training so in theory, I'll look better than the numbers say with the whole muscle weighing more than fat. My lowest weight ever was last summer where I was around 57kg and I was very happy there whereas my target is 54kg-ish so I think I'll just reassess when I hit the 57 mark and decide from there.
 
My BMI is well within healthy range, but that's a good point re clothes. I can finally do up the top button of my favourite jeans again, without it cutting off the blood supply to my stomach. But there is still *that* pair of jeans in the bottom of my wardrobe that I was aiming to get into but know I won't be able to until I lose a few more pounds.

But they're only jeans. I could take them up to Oxfam and buy another pair.

I'll carry on with Cruise for another week then see how I go.
 
I agree - it's defniitely about health, confidence and being happy with yourself. I thought I needed to be like 9 stone but Dukan told me my ideal weight is 10stone 10Ib and thinking about it, when I get down to 10stone 10Ib if I feel happy which is my ultimate objective, then that will be good enough for me. I live for hte day I'll be able to put on a pair of size 12 jeans - size 12 will be perfect for me - I'll never be a "skinny minny" and I would prefer a "womanly shape" so I guess with me it's just keeping going unitl I feel happy and confident with my shape and size, and I reckon that will come sooner than I expect it to.
 
Funny you post this KidA... I'm kind of struggling just now and losing the will to continue so stringently and I'm thinking of just moving on to Consolidation. I'm looking SO OLD already with just these 20lbs off that I can't imagine what I'd look like with another 10 away.

Please let us know how you get on with your next week. I'm thinking of giving this another week as well to see if my mood changes as well. Best of luck to you!
 
I think it can be a case of "be careful what you wish for"; you spend all of that time imagining how wonderful it will be to reach a certain weight, but are then horrified at how aging it can look when you finally achieve it.

Also, whilst I love my new slim and toned legs, I must admit that an athletic figure doesn't look anywhere near as sexy as an hourglass when it comes to wearing clothes. I feel fantastic, but it's been a bit of a double-edged sword.
 
I agree with everything everyone said above. At a certain age, there definitely is a stage where we have a choice to make: our belly or our face. Sorry but it's true.

I chose to ignore my true weight (73K) and continue lower BUT I'm not going as low as I did the first time (63.5K) because it was IMPOSSIBLE for me to stay there - just the one day!! As I haven't yet started reintroducing carbs yet, this current weight might also be impossible for me to stabilise too.

That also is the risk when choosing to go below our "true weight" which is correct for our height, age, diet history, number of children, highest ever weight etc etc. Hence mine is higher than most! (it's the 15 kids that did it ;))
 
It's interesting what DD says in the book about skin tightening up over about six months and after that not very much more. I don't want too many wrinkles either, but really want to look a bit better in a cossy and a wetsuit. I had to borrow a man's wetsuit last year as the women's ones weren't big enough, so determined that this year I shall have a women's one. Going on a swimming holiday with Swimtrek in August, so must get to goal by then.
 
For me, I love my shape. I'm an hour glass... Just a wide one lol but I want to keep my actual shape. Just slim it down. My waist is looking brill at the mo but my boobs are rapidly shrinking!! I'm hoping that by doing toning excercises and zumba I should hopefully keep the shape I have always had, but just a slimmer version?! Fingers crossed x
 
I totally agree - I've seen so many women go too far and age 10 years because of it :eek: Everyone is different and some people just look better with a bit of weight on them

I feel good now and I'm happy fitting into clothes that I thought I'd never get into again - and I'm lucky cos I'm also an hourglass and I seem to be keeping that basic shape.

My True Weight is a good half stone more than I had set out to lose but I'm going to stick to my original goal for now and see how I am when I get there. I want to be slim, but I also want to look like a woman - boobs and bum and all :)
 
Teasy I am one of these women who suits a bit of weight I reckon. My sister is very tall and slim whereas I'm short(er) and curvy. I really wouldn't wanna have my sisters shape as it's not me and I've never been like that. I like me, just want to fit into smaller clothes and stuff like you said and not worry about looking fat if that makes sense x
 
The other thing is what people say you need/don't need to lose vs what we see in the mirror and feel on the inside. For example, when I was 2 stone heavier all friends and family lovingly reminded me that they loved me the way i was and that this is just me... 2 stones slimmer and they still love me the way i was but say i should stop now because i perhaps should just accept that i was born a little bigger than the rest of my slimmer and diet free friends... but until i get to my true weight i don't think i will be happy, because for me at least, although wider and curvier, i know there is a slimmer version of the me everyone loves! At 24, maybe the subject of age does not yet effect me, although i do understand that the change in a face shape can be a good reference point. I think until you find your personal balance then you should just keep going and always allow yourself a margin of a few pounds to play with, so if you fall or go over a couple of pounds you will still be happy! x
 
Actually thinking again on the weight vs how you look i would like to share this with you in case any of you are frustrated with the scales results. I still weigh an annoyingly 9stone 11 - something that is taking a really long time to change. But last year november i had a pair of adidas trousers -no elastic, no stretch - just really tight trousers that i couldnt even open my legs in for fear that the seams would split! those were my 'fat pants'. Yesterday i had to paint so i pulled out these fat pants and put them on but to my surprise in the waist i could fit half of me and there was so much room in the bum and leg area that I could have done the splits without fear! Moral of the story - be at muscle mass, or inch loss or the confidence-ometre - it's all sooo much more important than the number displayed on the scales!!! so keep going until you see the change you want; the right weight for you!! x
 
Ha! Final Countdown - I can relate to that!

At my lowest ever weight I was still wearing size 12 jeans - now I am 6 stone heavier I wear - 14! 6 stone, 1 change in dress size.

I know now that starving myself will never ever ever make me a "size 0".

Why? - because I have almost no waist, wide hips, short legs, and until I was almost 30, no boobs.

When I had a BMI of 18 I was still haunted by the old nickname "fat-arse" (there are cruel kids everywhere). Because, like a camel in the desert, the only fat store I had left was clinging on to my bum!

Now I have a figure I enjoy, which is in a healthy range.
 
It's so true. My old dance teacher (who was very supportive of me trying to lose weight as a teenager - a real lady) had a great motto.

Nobody can see what you see when you look at the scales but everyone can see what you see when you look in the mirror.

Everyone is different, there are girls I know who are the same height and weight as me but wear a bigger size or look "fatter" (sorry.. but you know what I mean) I'm solid and quite muscular as I've always been fit, I'm also naturally curvy - so now at just under ten and a half stone I'm looking and feeling slim but I still have a shape. There are others who might feel huge at 10 stone or others who feel great at 11 stone. That lady knew her stuff and she gave good advice - you know when you're looking your best and you shouldn't let a number on the scales or a number on a tag inside your clothes change your mind about that
 
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