New Member Intro

[ClareR]

Hi, All!

Just wanted to finally join a forum as I have a question or two about ongoing weight loss/maintenance.

I have been doing the Atkins diet since March 2011 and have lost a total of 45 pounds thus far. My doc wants me to lose an additional 5 pounds before I start maintenance and figuring out my carb threshold. So, I am trying to do that, but those last 5 pounds are just being really pesky about coming off LOL

My scale gives me my weight, as well as caloric intake requirements to maintain my weight and my BMI. Today I am at 146, BMI 23 and around 2000 calories. I know I need to lower my caloric intake at this point but should I start lowering fat intake?

I walk at least 3 miles per day, so I consider myself active....also have a gym membership that I use infrequently.

Any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated....Thanks!

Clare

[aj_cohn]

BMI is useless for assessing individual health (http://www.drbriffa.com/2006/11/17/why-the-body-mass-index-bmi-is-virtually-useless-for-assessing-health/). An epidemiological study of 33,000 American adults, published in the American Journal of Public Health (Vol 96, No.1, January 2006, 173-178), showed that male life expectancy is greatest for BMIs of about 26 - overweight under the CDC's rule, and equivalent to 24 lb extra for the typical man. For women, the study found an optimum BMI of about 23.5, about 7 lbs heavier than the CDC's standard.

The paper's author, Dr Jerome Gronniger, a government scientist, concluded that, "I found that the current definitions of obesity and overweight are imprecise predictors of mortality risk."
"Imprecise predictors (http://www.maa.org/devlin/devlin_05_09.html)"? Gronniger was clearly using "scientific understatement." It was, after all, a scientific publication. Dr David Haslam, the clinical director of Britain's National Obesity Forum, was more blatant in a statement he made to the Daily Telegraph newspaper: "It's now widely accepted that the BMI is useless for assessing the healthy weight of individuals." (My italics.) [In the UK, it's almost impossible to be sued, and there is no massive lobby of medical insurance companies looking for ways to avoid paying for your medical treatment, so commentators tend to be more forthcoming.]

I suggest that you focus on getting to an appropriate body fat %. Your BF % target should drive your weight target, not the other way around.

Start by referring to the body fat % chart (http://www.builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ideal-body-fat-percentage-chart/) that this link points to. Make sure you look at the chart for women.

Next, figure out your own BF%. The cheapest way is to get a tape measure and use an online calculator (http://www.linear-software.com/online.html). The number is accurate to within 3%.

Now you're ready (I hope) for a little math to calculate your ideal weight (http://www.builtlean.com/2010/05/04/ideal-body-weight-formula-how-to-calculate-your-ideal-weight/).

If your calculated ideal weight is at or above your current weight, congratulations! You're ready for lifetime maintenance. If not, you'll have to reduce your calories; after all, there's not as much of you to love as there used to be. But don't decrease your percentage of fat calories much, if at all. Eating fat doesn't make you fat; fat is your friend (http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=437526) (unless you're doing strenuous weightlifting).

[dappermalu]

Hi & Welcome! All the best in your journey. :thup: