I think the idea that more strength is required to manage extra weight is part of the misconception. Our bodies are not machines, but exquisite systems. Different sports require different physiques, too. You rarely see a very small competitive swimmer. Once you get into marathon swimming, girth helps a lot, too. 350 pound football players are not unusual at all. Some things like running you will see all body types. It just depends on the task at hand. But there are basic things that are really hard to see like core strength, balance, agility. We've been conditioned to see those things as functional consequences of looking like a fitness model but that is not so much the case. Unless you do it, though, or watch a lot of people do it, you never see that.

I chose my goal weight according to what I remember feeling good at previously but I am not married to that number if I find that I feel good at a higher number.

Your post reminded me of all the football players who take ballet to improve their stamina, coordination and flexibility.

Believe me, those guys, no matter how big they are or how much fluff they have, are already super strong and agile, even without ballet! All of us can do it, though - we just rarely try it out.

My goal weight is what I weighed at my most fit, at around the age of 24. Maybe that is a stretch goal, or maybe it is a goal that I can just briefly touch and then falls away quickly when I 'normalize' my eating.....which is what happened last time.

To be frank, I would just be happy to fit easily into 36 waist pants, and maybe 34 waist pants, and maintain a waist line that lacks love handles (I could handle a little gentle roll). For that, I really just need to stay below 200.

But back to the crazy goal of having back the body I had at 24...it is a fun thing to shoot for.

I used to be 135-140 lbs. until I hit 36 and then gained a lot of weight (as a side effect of a medication). Since I have a small frame my goal weight is about 150, even 160 would be nice. I'm not 36 anymore so...140 seems to be too extreme. I used to be very slender and fit (I'm a former gymnast) and now I still have some muscles but the extra fat is too much for my frame. I just want to lose it and get rid of the back pain. This is my first motivation.

I don't think it's crazy!

Few things in this thread, since my world exploded & I sort of disappeared:



This came up in a recent conversation. When I'm not obese (which I no longer am!) I'm hour-glass shaped. The current fashion is not helpful... barely a difference between waist & hips. Some days, I miss the pleated jeans/pants of the 80s. I could have something that fit both my hips and waist! (Nothing like having your tight-across-the-butt pants want to fall down OVER that butt!)



There's a story I tell, about when I learned what "big boned" meant (and that it was NOT a euphamism for "Fat")

When I was 11, my aunt got married & I was in her wedding. I was 5'7", weighed 110, and wore a size 10 gown.

When I was a freshman in college, my roommate was 5'7", 110 lbs... and wore a size 0. My naked skeleton couldn't fit into a 0.... my rib cage and shoulders would rip it apart. Could be, this was the difference. (Side note: I am MUCH larger framed than my mother, though we're of about the same height.)




I can attest to this... not for myself, so much, as for my old Sensei, who put on a ton of weight and became decidedly "fluffy"... yeah, she was carrying a ton of fat, and it upset her. She was also in phenomenol physical condition. I've also seen at least one amazing obese ballet dancer. Percentage of body fat and physical fitness have a very loose correalation. Not the tight one we're conditioned to believe.

Yes, I once had a similar insight when following a coworker down the hall. Her head came up to my collarbones. My shoulders were TWICE as wide as hers, so of course my behind was too. I wore a size nine shoe; she could probably sleep in them.