The FastDay Forum

Triggered by a comment by someone on another thread..
Would you prefer to be slim and at the right goal weight or toned.

If you are getting close to your goal weight, should we abandon the weight loss trail, particularly if its becoming a struggle and focus on getting toned.. doing the pushups, situps, walking, running, swimming or whatever activity takes your fancy?

Maybe the extra weight will come off in the process anyway.

In abandoning the weight loss trail, I would recommend continuing your preferred fasting regime of course.


Postscript. After starting this thread i noticed the "diet fatigue thread" turned into a discussion about increased activity and possible impact on weight loss.

This is a slightly different tack though as I am suggesting that we just dont worry about the weight... get toned, fit and healthy in preference (in those that are "nearly there")

My aim is not to be slim or thin but to be lean. I could do with some work in that area. I would be happy to weigh a few more pounds, provided they were pounds of muscle, and of course my waist should not get any bigger.

I'm looking not to be really thin, but a reasonable size that I can maintain. But, as I have lost 20+ pounds I have been looking in the mirror and wishing to be a little more toned. So, I hope to work on that soon!

My aim was/is to get to a healthy weight and not be classed as obese. Also to improve my overall health so toning has come into that. My DH summed it up for me with " I 'd rather a toned size 14 than a flabby size 12". ( He talks in dress sizes).

Sometimes, I wonder if we need to accept what's plausible, irrespective of scale weight, notional body fat percentage and even dress size.

I lead a relatively active lifestyle most weeks (as long as my musculoskeletal issues don't get in the way) but despite a BMI of <19, it's not realistic that I'll ever be truly lean. My waist is approx. 23 inches (58.5 cm) and I don't seem to have unduly large amounts of visceral fat.

But, I have reduced skeletal muscle mass in my arms and legs which means that I look comparatively larger than other people of my height would at this weight/BMI and even body fat percentage. I have no wish to reduce my weight any further and even if I did, I still wouldn't look lean. (I continue to strength train but for various reasons both the quantity and quality of my muscle mass is continuing to decline.)

There's a remarkable post by Andrea of Imperfect Life who has shed 164lbs (she's now at her doctor's goal weight):

10+ Reasons I love My Ugly Body http://imperfectlife.net/ilovemyuglybody/

The photographs are eye-opening and her overall message is inspirational as well as eye-watering in both senses (for me) as she discusses her decision to celebrate what her weight loss and fitness allow her to do rather than grieve for the absence of a body that would win her a swimsuit contest.

I was faced with a “Look Good Naked Challenge” at my gym that I knew I had no chance in hell of winning. I remembered that summer was just around the corner and realized that I would go a 25th year wearing shorts over my bathing to hide the legs I’ve hated since I was 11. I tried on a jean skirt that I wanted so bad only to see my misshapen knees that have kept me from wearing anything above them throughout all of my adult years, and out of nowhere it hit me like a ton of bricks…I felt frustrated, discouraged and sad. Like really, really sad. I even cried a little.I felt like all the hard work that I’d been doing wasn’t paying off and it made me want to give up.
...
...I decided that it was time to REALLY celebrate what my ugly body CAN DO rather than focus on what it looks like…or doesn’t look like.

Andrea's toned and admirably fit - without surgery (that she doesn't plan to have), she's not going to look lean and her toned muscles might not show through that loose skin or subcutaneous fat for quite some time.

But, I wonder if we will eventually all find peace in settling down to what makes us feel comfortable and is in line with what we believe to be best for us in health terms. To quote one of my favourite posts from Yoni Freedhoff:

http://www.weightymatters.ca/2015/01/th ... -life.html

"...success is about consistency, embracing imperfection, and being proud of your best, where your best is the healthiest life that you can enjoy living, not the healthiest life that you can tolerate.

Her best, and yours, are great, and scales can't help you to determine what your best is."

I think Andrea's best is amazing. My current best is a compromise but it's one that I enjoy tho' I'll continue to have some sadness about feats that I will not be able to achieve. We don't always get to choose between our preferred options but I hope that it's practical for most of us to recognise the point at which our shapes, fitness, and weight are sustainable and allow us to thrive and pursue enjoyable lives.

I don't really understand the question. Why do you have to choose? They're not incompatible. I want both. I've been exercising the whole time I've been losing weight and even before that. If I *had* to choose, I would choose toned, of course, but, within reason, I'm going for both!

I'm going for slim and toned. Well defined muscles. The athletic slim. Strong.

My goals have changed over the years. I used to just want to be thin but as I have grown older, muscle tone has become more important to me as things have started to go south.

My goal now is a lower body fat composition and if I can tone along the way, then even better.

[carieoates]

I'm toned and getting slimmer. Body fat percentage reduction is by goal then perhaps I might get a healthy BMI along the way.
That's why my weight loss is slower than many. Four exercises classes a week for me.

We are all after all different and it doesn't seem right that sometimes these choices are out of our hands.

I wish to be toned rather than looking thin. I am working for years but never tried to be slim and thin. I think we should have toned and fit body. I dislike being skinny.

I don't really understand the question. Why do you have to choose? They're not incompatible. I want both. I've been exercising the whole time I've been losing weight and even before that. If I *had* to choose, I would choose toned, of course, but, within reason, I'm going for both!

That's a perfectly good response and great you can strive for both.
I guess it was a bit of a trick question to make us all think about what are we really aiming for when we calorie restrict whatever method we choose.

Im really comfortable in my slow but steady weight loss and definitely not going for lean, probably inapproprate for my body shape and at my age it will age me too much.
So my challenge is how to get toned and fit that into my lifestyle which is reality seated much of the time apart from weekends.

Was my challenge a year ago and looking for some miracle like 5:2 in the exercise/fitness department.

Can I be a bit controversial after all it was a trick question? If I had to chose then I would go for slim, because I will always have control over what I eat but I might not always be able to exercise enought to keep toned as I get older or maybe ill. I exercise mainly for health not for appearance. My worry is that if I rely on exercise to keep me slim then my weigth might go up if I can't exercise for any length of time. Since eating patterns are not always conscious, I rather train my food intake.

I'd like to be slim AND toned - again <sigh>. I never was thin - it's not in my genetic makeup but that's fine.

I would rather be a few pounds heavier, toned and fit and strong than skinny with no strength or stamina.

That's why I'm not too hung up about BMI although I know that mine needs to be much lower!

I can't say I was really going for either slim or toned - my aim was healthy and fit. I'm never going to run a marathon, but I'm going to be able to run for the train without getting unbearably winded and I can speed walk up the hill when I'm late for class and still be able to teach. I probably won't ever have the toned definition of a gym junkie, but I will be able to heft heavy boxes when I'm moving house and pick up and swing around my seven year old niece. My genes tell me I'm always going to have a curvey hourglass figure with chunky arms and thighs unless I get very strict with my diet and exercise...but why worry? By the most popular measures I'm pretty healthy, and in 5:2-ing and exercising I've reduced my risk factors for a number of nasty diseases - for me that's the key.

Can I be a bit controversial after all it was a trick question? If I had to chose then I would go for slim, because I will always have control over what I eat but I might not always be able to exercise enought to keep toned as I get older or maybe ill. I exercise mainly for health not for appearance. My worry is that if I rely on exercise to keep me slim then my weight might go up if I can't exercise for any length of time. Since eating patterns are not always conscious, I rather train my food intake.

Contraversial is good as it stimulates thinking and hopefully a positive discussion. It was only because someone (Debs actually) mentioned her choice to go for toned at moment and sorry Debs if i took it out of context that it did appear that people may be consciously moving to one or the other. If one is overweight or obese, I believe the weight should be the focus and indeed it may be diffcult to accomplish any heavy exercising until the weight is under control. So this is more about when one gets their weight down to just higher than optimal.

Training food intake whilst undergoing some strict exercise routine or non-exercise activities would be good in the ideal world but each and every day we all make choices, sometimes without thinking. I have a feeling training our food intake is a darn side easier than getting up off the couch or in my case off the computer chair.

Im still looking for that miracle. The "what exercise have you done today" looks like a good thread but i wont go in for fear of guilt.