Setting My Goal Weight

When I lost weight in 2007, I don't remember if I had a specific goal weight in mind during the whole process. I just wanted to see how much weight I could get off, and as I slowed down I decided to go for just under 130. I never made it and spent a long time hovering between 130 and 135. I wanted to get to 129 on that scale just to see it, but close as I would get I never made it. It felt good to be where I was though, so I didn't really stress about it too much; after all, I was at my high school weight so what's to complain about?! My goal weight was between 130 and 135 and I was very successful at maintaining that. (I believe in a range, not a specific number, especially since I weigh every day.) Then came the trip to Europe. I gained 9 pounds during that trip and had a lot of trouble getting that back off, but came close right before we made the switch to a vegetarian diet. With the switch I threw my portion control out the window; after all, I'm not eating meat anymore so I have to eat a lot of carbs to make up for it, right? Well, not so much. I went back up to where I was when I got back from Europe. I now know what I need to do though, and it's as simple as KEEP MEASURING MY CARBS. (And keep walking, of course; can't forget about exercise!)

But something funny has happened while I've been a little heavier. I've realized my face looks better. The weight has filled out some of the lines that came out of hiding when I lost weight. At below 135, I looked craggy. (Like Alton Brown; have you seen him since he lost weight? His face looks hollow.) I also have a tendency to be jowly (runs in the family) and store weight in my chin area when I'm heavy. That means when the weight came off I had the old "turkey neck" to deal with; blech. At a few pounds heavier, it's not quite as noticeable. But I've also noticed I tend to get hot more easily when I go over 138, and since menopause is right around the corner I don't want anything that will exacerbate hot flashes. (I've had a couple of mild ones already.) So, considering a healthy weight for me is anywhere between 118 and 159, according to one source, I can set it where I want it to be within that range.

Now the balancing act. Below 135 is too thin for my face but I can't handle 140 psychologically. (I stress about continuing to go up, and up, and up when I see 140+ on the scale.) I get hot, hot, hot over 138 and I'd rather be cool, cool, cool. (Are other people that temperature sensitive with weight loss??) My face looks better around 140 but my clothes are getting uncomfortably snug at that weight. Sooo, drum roll please, my new goal weight is between 135 and 138 instead of between 130 and 135. Which means I still have a couple of pounds to lose since I'm right at 140, but if I start getting serious about measuring those carbs I KNOW I can do it. :)