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Hey everyone, this may be an odd question, but I'm wondering if anyone else has gone through this.
In July I began a program of regular exercise (running daily 5k's) and watching what I eat closer in order to lose some weight I've been dealing with for some time. The results I got were amazing. Through this relatively "easy" program of cutting unnecessary calories, only eating when I was hungry, and running 5-6 days per week I went from 155 lbs to 128 lbs, a size 8 to a size 2. Oh--and by the way I'm a 5'3'' mid-twenties female.
Anyhow, the strangest thing is that I haven't been this small since I was probably 13 years old, if not younger (I'm now like 32-26-36). I'm rather befuddled with the amount of weight loss I've had, and I'm wondering when my body is going to determine that it has lost enough! It seems like every time I weigh myself (once a week or so) I'm down a pound.
I'm not getting hungry at all when I "shouldn't" be, and I'm definitely not starving myself, but should I start trying to intake more calories? Right now I take in about 1700 or so per day (my BMR + the 300 I burn from running/day)...which seems like it should be canceling out for no net gain/loss. The only "odd" thing that has happened so far is that I've noticed some hair loss, but supplementing iron has seemed to help this.
I know it might seem odd that I'm "bothered" by so successfully losing weight, but I didn't expect results this good this fast. I just don't want to burn too many and risk compromising my immune system or making my metabolism sluggish. I'd be pissed to gain it back, and for whatever reason I'm kind of paranoid of that.
Also--I absolutely have fallen in love with running, so I don't wish to stop. I have, however, cut to only about 3-4 days per week now.
My hair also got thinner when I lost weight but it is slowly coming back. I've lost 120 lbs since July of last year.
I wouldn't worry about losing too much; your weight loss will taper off and plateau soon enough. If it doesn't, eat more. If eating more doesn't help, see a doctor; but I doubt you will have to.
128 pounds at 5' 3" is fine for someone who runs 5k 3-5 times per week. Congratulations.
My advice is to forget about the weight and just keep concentrating on your FITNESS. Weight is no longer an issue for you. Now, you should eat healthy and sensibly, and see if you can increase your 5k run times. Also, you should take up some resistance training as well and you'll see your health and fitness level just skyrocket.
My hair also got thinner when I lost weight but it is slowly coming back. I've lost 120 lbs since July of last year.
I wouldn't worry about losing too much; your weight loss will taper off and plateau soon enough. If it doesn't, eat more. If eating more doesn't help, see a doctor; but I doubt you will have to.
Congratulations!
Wow. Congratulations to you! That is awesome.
Yeah...the hair loss thing, aesthetically speaking, is fine. I'm lucky enough to have very very thick hair, so it's really hard to tell...but I can tell, and when I take a shower I just notice more strands come out than I ever have had before. No biggie really, though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LaoTzuMindFu
128 pounds at 5' 3" is fine for someone who runs 5k 3-5 times per week. Congratulations.
My advice is to forget about the weight and just keep concentrating on your FITNESS. Weight is no longer an issue for you. Now, you should eat healthy and sensibly, and see if you can increase your 5k run times. Also, you should take up some resistance training as well and you'll see your health and fitness level just skyrocket.
Thanks.
I know weight/resistance training is the next step. Right now I'm pretty lean (although, to nitpick, I still have a tiny bit of abdominal fat that I'm trying to rid myself of...like I can grab about an inch or so if I bend forward). I love cardio, but for whatever reason I've always had trouble getting motivated for weights. I do a little here and there, but I know I need to get myself into a routine.
I guess I always sort of assumed that I'd be able to get my body to "OK" or "decent" if I work at it...but I'm kind of amazed that it seems I'm on my way to near "perfection" in a sense (or at least how I define it). I hope that doesn't come off as cocky, because I don't mean it to be--I just underestimated my success a bit!
I know weight/resistance training is the next step. Right now I'm pretty lean (although, to nitpick, I still have a tiny bit of abdominal fat that I'm trying to rid myself of...like I can grab about an inch or so if I bend forward). I love cardio, but for whatever reason I've always had trouble getting motivated for weights. I do a little here and there, but I know I need to get myself into a routine.
I congratulate you on your weight loss, but be sure that you dont starve yourself because if you lose weight through starving you will gain more weight when you start eating. it is not permanent. try to reduce weight using proper exercise and proper balanced diet.
regarding your abdominal fat there are lots of exercise reduce it so try to reduce using it. if you dont know ask the advice of a proper expert regarding the exercise.
I congratulate you on your weight loss, but be sure that you dont starve yourself because if you lose weight through starving you will gain more weight when you start eating. it is not permanent. try to reduce weight using proper exercise and proper balanced diet.
regarding your abdominal fat there are lots of exercise reduce it so try to reduce using it. if you dont know ask the advice of a proper expert regarding the exercise.
Thanks. I definitely don't feel as if I am "dieting" at the moment--my eating habits are a permanent lifestyle change. The reason my weight got that high in the first place is that I had a job where I was sitting on my butt for 10 hours a day, unable to leave the office (my job was kind of like being an air traffic controller...without the air traffic...high stress and coordinating everything from my chair) and too tired to cook when I got home--lots of takeout and not much exercise ensured. It was baaad.
However, now I work from home, and I live somewhere where I love being outdoors due to much better weather (moved from FL to Southern California) so I can easily get in my workout every day AND I can eat whenever I like (which means lots of smaller meals for me throughout the day).
Although I know that losing 27 pounds may not be a *huge* feat, it's crazy how inspiring it is to know that I DID IT! It's not a great feeling to look in the mirror and be like...damn!
Just commit to one month of lifting or some sort of strength training. I use bands & body weight because I don't want to bulk. When you lose weight your body goes through hormonal changes and its one of the things that can cause hair loss. Since you are athletic I would only use the BMI chart as a guideline to what your lowest weight can or should be. But when you get within 15 pounds of the lowest have your body fat tested. Hair also sheds for the lighting changes of the seasons. Have your ht taken again too. I was surprised that I grew in my 20's. Your minimum wt is 105:
1- strength training to see if putting on muscle helps your body eat that extra fat on the trouble spot (seems to happen for me that way)
2- cardio it off while paying attention to diet - Eat like the "zone diet" of 40/30/30: Carb, Protein, Fat Calorie Calculator
(calc)
Just eating the 40/30/30 way could even fix it. But that cut you are doing should not cancel out loss. Remember it can take up to 3 months to see a weight change even when doing everything right. Also make sure you are eating least amount of processed food as possible. Its good for body fat problems and packaged food has accepted/legal labeling errors that can add up to a couple extra pounds a year.
Oh yeh, thats true.
p.s. the lack of hunger can be a signal of a slowing metabolism and your body getting used to its new lower weight. It takes a bit for the body to accept you don't need as much calorie support after loss. But with calories I would bump them up to 2000 to see if you lose.
Thanks. I definitely don't feel as if I am "dieting" at the moment--my eating habits are a permanent lifestyle change. The reason my weight got that high in the first place is that I had a job where I was sitting on my butt for 10 hours a day, unable to leave the office (my job was kind of like being an air traffic controller...without the air traffic...high stress and coordinating everything from my chair) and too tired to cook when I got home--lots of takeout and not much exercise ensured. It was baaad.
However, now I work from home, and I live somewhere where I love being outdoors due to much better weather (moved from FL to Southern California) so I can easily get in my workout every day AND I can eat whenever I like (which means lots of smaller meals for me throughout the day).
Although I know that losing 27 pounds may not be a *huge* feat, it's crazy how inspiring it is to know that I DID IT! It's not a great feeling to look in the mirror and be like...damn!
I am very happy for you. since now you have plenty of time for you alone, you can very well concentrate on your physical health. got to agree that high stress can also be a reason for adding weight. i would like to say that what ever you do either exercise or dieting or what ever it is do it constantly then only you can see the proper result.
all the best.
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