Think in terms of a deck of cards when adding protein (equiv to 30g)..now if you compact cooked chicken into that shape, its not a whole lot, but enough to satisfy. All the veg will help the bowels too. Good luck and keep us posted.

Val

Val- I thought I would answer you here instead of Nancy's journal. How come you don't have one?

Anyway I much appreciate your comment. I have been thinking about the same thing myself. I am pretty happy with the way I am but there is always room for improvement... why not?

I am really not looking to lose weight but just have less BF. I really am very muscular and I workout every day so I am pretty tone as it is, don't think I could get much toner without body building. I started out a size 11, 155 lbs years ago and I feel much better now, size 7-9 ish and 140 but I have a lot of muscle now (without the muscle I would probably be 130).

I do not want to be thin, I am looking more for that "fitness model" look. It seems after about 1.5 months of working out every day and low cals (around 1200) I can't seem to get any smaller, which is why I was thinking psmf could get me leaner to the size I would like to be. I have been doing ashtanga yoga (power yoga) and my arms are getting much stronger!

This question is for anyone... now my problem is obviously weight can't be a factor for my goal so now I have to look at BF %s. But how can I figure out what % I want to be..?

Well I think you look perfect as you are to be honest, and I wonder what you have to gain by becoming leaner? Maybe its time to put that mental energy into other interests, while not letting up on your healthy eating and exercise. Most of us would give the earth to look like you already do. The key now is to maintain, not to become leaner, and to develop good exercise habits for life. The Ashtanga yoga will surely be enough for additional upper body work that should help anyway...just be cautious to not overdo it as I once did..

Just my opinion, but perhaps you might think about this seriously. I am sure others here would agree with me..

Val

Val I understand everything you are saying, but while I feel like I am 'okay' why not be 'better'? Why settle for less? Maybe my pictures are misleading, I still do have fat on me!

I took a pic of what I am talking about.. all my weight is on my lower half. It's my thighs that have the saddlebag thing going on...

Well the problem with this is that in my experience, one becomes emaciated on the top before losing the saddlebags. My figure used to look like yours a bit when I was young. So if you are going to diet them off, you will need to get into some serious body building on your upper body. But honestly, your legs look good to me. Had any complaints from love partners?

You know, the other day we had a guest 'teacher' in our belly dance class. She is very solidly built, quite muscular without being over-so, probably weighs quite a lot, and very feminine. Doing the belly dancing I thought, Gosh if I were a man, would I ever love that! So, rather than get skinnier and look like some ascetic yogi, maybe go do some belly dancing! LOL

Val

You are really a lovely looking girl and it concerns me that you think being thinner will be better.

off topic - man I love bellydancer bodies!! They're all different but it's the mesmerizing way they move... I'd love to be decent at that one day. Right now I just piddle with it for fun.
It's amazing how you can look at a lady - middle aged and older, showing all the "scars" and battles of life and bearing children etc. in a revealing outfit and because of our visual conditioning it's nothing impressive..... and then she starts to dance and it is unbelievable how powerful, beautiful and sensual she becomes. Her full personality shines through. No 18 year old hottie can compete with that force because it hasn't been developed yet. (like fresh cheese compared to beautiful aged ripe full bodied stuff) Sending out some cheers for bellydance!
Sorry, in a sleepy rambly mood this morning

Well the girl I described is fairly young..probably about 30 at a guess. But most folks would say she is a bit heavy. Like you say, once she starts belly dancing all of a sudden she looks like the ultimate in sex symbolism..I can't imagine a skinny girl looking half as good.

Val

Val and I share a journal!

I know the saddle bag thing. I also know about people badgering you to not lose weight. I have the same thing going on with the skinny upper body, fat lower body. Even weighing 165 my Mom is already starting with the "you don't need to lose more weight" thing. What can I say? Her eyesight is going bad.

The thing about saddle bags is, they're the very last fat to go. So you might have to diet down to levels where you're really, really skinny to get rid of them. I was just reading how lower body fat gives off good hormones that keep the heart healthy so actually having some fat down yonder is a good thing.

I dieted down to 125 once, on my 5'8" frame, and I still had the saddlebags, the inner thigh fat and the chubby knees. Meanwhile my neck looked horrible with the bones sticking out, my ribs were visible. I think the only way that stuff is coming off would be with the skilled hands of a surgeon wielding a canula. Or else getting really, really, really gaunt.

If you aren't already struggling with a sluggish metabolism its probably fine. If you are, I'd go for the weight training versus the cardio. I remember poor Sona kept adding more and more cardio and her weight just wouldn't budge. Even eating 1000-1200 calories a day. She got her thyroid looked into (it was lowish) and started on thyroid meds, started weight lifting and all of a sudden she lost 10 pounds.

Anyone else have the Low-Bounce Syndrome? I hates it! I get to a new low and I see it exactly one day. Then I bounce up for a week and touch it again, it might last a couple of days on the second time. Then I bounce up and next time, it seems to stick.

Argh!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG, how is this thermodynamically possible?! I'm 5'8", 213 lb (30+ % BF), 21, male, minimal diet history, and I've been strict with my diet - all favorable factors, I believe - and I've gained a pound? On 800 calories a day! I've been doing cardio only ~3 times a week, I do use the EC stack twice a day, and supplement vitamins and minerals properly. Maybe I just have the world's most incredible metabolism and can go from a 2300 calorie BMR to 800 in 5 days flat...

Is it possible to be drinking too much water? I've been getting in 5-8 18 oz glasses of water, on top of the 1 gallon bottle I drink every day, so I'm always over 200 oz for the day. Could it be that my body just can't get rid of it fast enough? This is too frustrating.

Yes, its possible to drink too much. You can dillute your electrolytes and get very sick. Someone that posts here did it recently and had to be hospitalized.

Its also possible you've got a metabolic disorder, like hypothyroid.

Are you losing any inches?

Well, while I do drink a little more water than I might naturally, I'm not exactly constantly forcing it down. I'll see about cutting back to about a gallon a day (which should still be plenty) and seeing if that makes a difference.

I went to the doctor before starting this and although I didn't see my test results, he phoned and said everything came back normal. I don't remember if he did the thyroid or not, but it's part of the normal battery; I can check on that during my visit in a week or two.

I've lost 1" from my belly, and nothing from my neck, but in the same amount of time I've also dropped 5 pounds since taking those measurements...tough to say whether the inch came from the 5 pounds or was independent. It could also be from eating less food and just having less stuff in me filling me out.

I mean, I'm going to stick with this but it's just really frustrating. I'm getting tired of fighting temptations when it's becoming increasingly difficult to find concrete motivation to do so.

Check out the hypothyroid FAQ in my signature and see if you have any of the symptoms. There's degrees and shades of hypothyroidism and it is posible that you've got a sort that isn't easy to detect.

Woohoo!!! True Diet Virgin Territory has been achieved!! I hit 269.8 today. That's the first time I've seen under 270 since starting to diet back in 11/03. I'm fairly confident I'll reach the 60lb lost point this week too. That's a huge accomplishment for me considering the trials and tribulations I've been through the last year and a half!

PSMF has totally restored my faith in dieting. I'm absolutely confident I can get under 200 and down to a healthy weight now!!