The FastDay Forum

[carorees]

Getting back to the question about whether the target can be too low, here's an interesting analysis: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20216568


After the researchers corrected for confounding factors like smoking, poverty etc, they concluded:

Overall, we could not conclude that the underweight were less healthy than individuals in the other BMI categories.

[wildmissus]

I have found the majority of this really interesting. I got down to a BMI of about 24.5 in August and haven't lost any weigh since. Yes, I know that is a healthy weight but I am still carrying too much weight around my belly. Also re Carolines previous post 'They used a definition of obesity as fat% over 30% for women, over 25% for men.' - then with a body fat of around 37% that puts me into the obese category.

A number of years ago I got down to a BMI of 21.5 which was bordering on 'looking' too skinny for me. Now that I am almost 20 years older I know it would be too low for me. I am aiming for a BMI of around 23ish.

But, I wonder if we just get too caught up on numbers. I have met a couple of people from the forum, Caroline for one and I know that what is right for her body shape/bone structure is completely different to what is right for me regardless of BMI. Yes, I want to be a healthy BMI but I think my target weight will the weight I feel happy with myself inside and out.

Quote from Carorees:- They used a definition of obesity as fat% over 30% for women, over 25% for men.

Ok, so by this stat I'm fat/obese as according to my scales I'm about 32% fat and my waist is 2" above half my height.
This gives me something tangible to work at now, reduce the apple on my abdomen, or does my greater age nullify the above?
Confused (as ever) :0.

And wildmissus has beaten me to the draw! Snap, honey :0)

My BMI is currently 22.2. I am an apple and still have a pad of fat right down my torso. Annoyingly it extends to the sides round my middle and I can definitely pinch more than an inch. The top of my arms and thighs are still well covered so I don't feel right yet. However my wrists are tiny and my watch strap buckle is now on the smallest hole. I am 3lb off my original target but I am going to carry on until I do feel right and am going to take no heed of BMI. I will know when I get to my correct weight because I will feel it.

[carorees]

Remember, you need to be measuring your waist above the belly button to estimate abdominal fat. The pad of fat under the skin on your lower abdomen or any fat you can pinch is not the really dangerous fat, it's the fat within your abdomen that's the big problem, which is best reflected by measuring your waist above the belly button.

As the % fat reading on our domestic scales is probably not that accurate, and because that includes all fat, I still think the waist: height ratio is the most important.

[wildmissus]

Thanks Caroline. That is really encouraging. I have lost lots of fat above the belly button, my tyre is below my bellow button but above my c-section scars. Having had 2 c-sections may have quite a lot to do with it as well. My scales also measure visceral fat (0- 10 being healthy) and I have gone from 10 down to 6. I know domestic scales are very inaccurate when it comes to fat but at least they show a trend. And now I feel a lot happier .

Any tips for getting my stubborn waist down 2"?

Won't say hula hooping AB - that's already been suggested on another thread somewhere but as Ballerina has said up-thread, maybe sometimes it's not possible - I am the same, waist still out of proportion with the rest of me - maybe we might just have to be satisfied with being the same shape - but smaller

Any tips for getting my stubborn waist down 2"?

A lace up corset or basque? .....I'll get me coat!

Any tips for getting my stubborn waist down 2"?

Hi @Azureblue

Not sure why a hunch nudged me to google this, but it seems that the hunch might have had something to it: going low-carb could possibly help (I would say that, wouldn't I?).

http://caloriecount.about.com/smaller-waist-gt1387-5

Though this one indicates that an up in protein might help (how they disentangled things I've no idea):

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/unca ... ner-waist/

Not sure what this adds to the discussion, but it looked promising:

http://www.examiner.com/article/does-wa ... -your-diet

Anecdotal stuff, I know...

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/u/sty/rea ... -Waist.htm

And women's mags are full of guff, but...

http://www.womanandhome.com/diet-and-he ... -cut-carbs

So, if you've not tried low-carb it might be worth giving it a shot?

I was amazed at the way my waist came down once I'd moved to low-carb: two and a half inches between 25nd June to 25th July (see my tracker). Little movement now, but that's not *really* surprising All the very best, FatDog

[carorees]

I strongly suspect that FatDog is right. There is a link between insulin resistance and apple shape, and the best approach for insulin resistance is to reduce carbs. Fasting helps of course, but I'd suggest trying to reduce carbs more...why not try reducing by 50g per day from your current level or to below 100g a day, whichever is higher and see what effect that has?

You need to work out how sensitive you are to carbs, it may be that a small reduction could be enough.

@kencc ' please don't leave us, you have been a very helpful and interesting poster here and although I personally took you to task earlier, I would hate to see you go. You had made very useful points but I'm afraid that when you implied that some were just being lazy, well, that was an insult too far. I have read so many posts on here from individuals who have had a lifelong struggle with various ailments and subsequent drug regimes to mitigate their physical discomfort at the expense of their weight that I hate so see their painful struggles be downgraded to simply being lazy.

I accept that you did not set out to insult anyone but, I am afraid you did, if inadvertently so, can we all kiss and make up, but, no tongues please

Ballerina x

Wow Fatdog and Carorees - just had a look at a couple of these - looks impressive and convincing . .. and Fatdog, that is some reduction you mention I am wondering whether my rapid waist reduction in the first couple of months of fasting was due to this - I was amazed because I hardly lost any weight in that time - do you think it could have been the reduction in carbs missed from just those 2 days a week of fasting?


Edited to add: lost 4.5 inches off waist in first 3 months - but only 4 lbs!

[carorees]

yes, I found a paper somewhere that suggested the metabolic changes seen with fasting are due to the lack of carbs rather than lack of calories per se. I posted about it in the lab somewhere...

I second Ballerina's request to you, ken, not to leave the forum. You have a great deal to contribute--we would be the poorer for your loss.

Many of us have been made to feel anxious about our looks and are, therefore, very sensitive to what might be construed as criticism. That's one reason why we need a place like this where we get so much support for our efforts.