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Have any of you adjusted your weight with a doctor's note for WW? How did you feel about it? Did you keep losing or did you maintain? Happily maintain? Can you feel disappointment and relief at the same time?
Saturday, August 6, 2011
To adjust or not to adjust...that is the question
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Twice in less than 24 hours I've had health/wellness professionals tell me that I might want to consider adjusting my goal weight. Earlier this week a co-worker of mine was surprised to hear that I was still losing - she thought I had finished (guess it really IS falling off slowly now!). Yesterday I had a discussion with my personal trainer about it and she said that the BMI (what WW uses to determine healthy weight) is not realistic for everyone. Today WW-leader-Fiona suggested the same thing and she also suggested I may want to visit my doctor to set a "doctor's goal" weight for WW (something in the 170s maybe). Fiona thinks that doing this might take some of the pressure off of me and help me maybe relax a bit (yes, I'm a but OCD on this journey). The only difference from WW's perspective is that I cannot work for WW if I'm at a doctor's goal weight and if I go more than 5 pounds below that doctor's goal weight, I have to set a new goal. Not being able to work for WW doesn't disappoint me too much, but not getting to what the world deems as a healthy weight does bother me. I told Fiona today that if I adjust (upward) my goal weight I feel as though somehow I've failed. I know outwardly (with clothes on) I look "normal" now (with the right gut-suckers on), but in my birthday suit...that's another story. I can comfortably fit into a size 12 in nearly every store I go in - and sometimes a 9/10 if it's stretchy material. I'm a size medium top. I don't think I'd ever be a size small on top and being a 12 on the bottom doesn't upset me too much. There is so much to think about. Am I failing if I give up and get a doctor's note? I kinda feel like the kid who hates gym class so always brings a note from their Mom excusing them from class... Will I feel like a true "lifetime member" of WW? I think I will phone my doctor's office this week and have a chat with her. She's great to talk to and she knows me well. The logical part of me knows that I obsess over this (often way too much) and I completely obsess over the numbers (as you can tell from the plethora of tickers I've had on this blog!). Maybe setting a goal 10 pounds higher than the WW goal will be good for me. I'm feeling rather emotional about all this and not sure why - I should be happy that I might be "finished" sooner rather than later shouldn't I? When I began this journey, my goal I had in mind was actually a couple pounds heavier than what I am now (set for me by the trainer at Nubody's gym). Maybe I'm PMS'ing. Maybe I do need to take pressure off myself and then concentrate on maintaining and strength training to tone.
Have any of you adjusted your weight with a doctor's note for WW? How did you feel about it? Did you keep losing or did you maintain? Happily maintain? Can you feel disappointment and relief at the same time?
Have any of you adjusted your weight with a doctor's note for WW? How did you feel about it? Did you keep losing or did you maintain? Happily maintain? Can you feel disappointment and relief at the same time?
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4 comments:
Tanya, I'm really torn about what to tell you about all this. I DO know, and understand completely, how you feel about 'upping' your goal weight. I struggled with the same concerns when I was going to WW and trying to reach my 'goal' weight, set by Weight Watchers. I was using the top end of my goal weight at that time, which was 159 I(I'm 5"9'). I never did talk to my doctor about it, because I knew deep down I wouldn't have felt good about raising it. I wanted to be what WW said was a good healthy weight. I mean after all, I wasn't trying to reach the bottom end of my range, or even the middle. I wanted to get to the MOST WW said I should weigh, and going higher than that, would have made me feel like a failure too. So I understand your feelings. I did eventually reach it, and it wasn't all that hard to maintain after I did, and I eventually did go to work for them, (for 15 years)which I KNOW is what helped me keep it off. At that time (I'm not sure how it works today) you couldn't go anymore than two pounds over your goal weight without either paying, or being spoken to by upper management to 'work on it'. That's what worked for me!
I'm thrilled to say that some 25 years later, and that much older I maintain a weight of 150 pounds, give or take. I've had some bumps in the road along the way, but I always get back on track before things get too far out of hand.
I'm not saying that everyone needs this kind of discipline, but I did/do.
You look FANTASTIC right now, and if you didn't lose anymore weight you'd be perfect, but if you don't 'feel' perfect than you'll never be completely happy. As you have experienced through your journey, everyone reaches a 'plateu' for want of a better word, at some time during their weight loss journey, and it appears you're going through that again, right now. You've done so well up to this point that the one thing you shouldn't do is get discouraged. It will come off in time. I mean, do you really need to see a certain weight on the scales every week to KNOW how you feel about yourself? If you KNOW you've done the best you could possibly do in any given week, let that be your guide through all this.
Do whatever makes you happy!!!! If that means raising your goal weight to know you've finally done it, then do that! But if you know you won't be 'completely' happy doing that, then just keep on going, and I guarantee you, it will come off eventually. During your weeks of maintainence you'll continue to lose a little more anyway, until you reach what your body needs to maintain, so who knows, you might end up very close to your WW goal weight anyway.
I wish you ALL THE VERY best, and I don't like to see you feeling so torn right now. You should be happy with what you HAVE accomplished to this point, and do whatever you feel will make you happy in the end!
I'm so PROUD of you lady!! You're an inspiration to all the people who read this, who are experiencing this same journey.
I started WW about 1.5 yrs ago. Lost 10 lbs in 5 weeks. By about 6 months I had lost 17. And since then I have been gaining and losing the same 5 lbs. My fault, I know it. I did everything online and don't go to meetings ( 2 kids, etc). When I filled out my info it asked my goal weight. I put what I weighed when I got married (12 yrs ago). For my height it said it was a good weight (though the low was 114 and the high was 140). Big span. I have often wondered what my doctor thought and if he would go totally on BMI...I'm not a fan of the BMI. I have also been wondering if my lack of motivation has been due to the fact i set my goal too low and i think there is no way to get there. 30 lbs is not a lot to lose in the scheme of others who have lost 50-100...but i should have lost it by now.
I really like what your friend Donna Huskins said.
Maybe instead of changing your goal weight...change the deadline to meet your ww goal.
You have been a huge inspiration to me!
--Patricia
Hi Tanya,
Only you can decide what is right for you - a number based on gender and height will not work for everyone. Try not to get too caught up in the numbers! You need to choose a weight that you feel great at and can comfortably maintain - forever. If it's too low, you may feel like you're always struggling to stay at goal. And I would think that would be very frustrating and counter productive to living your new life in your healthier body!
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