lose at least 10lbs, or buy a new dress?

[musey]

Date: 1/12/2009 10:55:58 PM
Author: choro72
Musey, you're so awesome!! So 94lbs. I don't think I'll fit into my dress without having it altered at that weight

, but I have to stay focused on what's really best for me.

No, BUT it would have to be altered less than at your current weight

and it may mean the difference between being able to use your dress with minor alterations, and not being able to use it because the alterations needed aren't possible.

All that is not to say you should start crash dieting to get to 94 lbs. Don't do it! Just keep that in the back of your mind as your low limit, you know?

 

[dcgator]

My dear Choro, don''t ever apologize for sharing, that''s what your friends are here for, to listen when you need it

As for the strict regime on times of eating, I can guarentee that method is not going to bring you the desired results. When you starve yourself or even make yourself not eat when you are hungry, you are sending your body crazy signals. Mainly, when you finally do eat after being starving, your body is going to horde the calories you just ate, b/c it is afraid you won''t give it any more when it is hungry. Thus, you are not going to loose the weight when your body is holding onto it.

The better idea would be to eat every few hours, and just eat smaller portions. It is especially important to eat breakfast, as that gets your metabolism started early. When you continue to have little meals or snacks later in the day, your metabolism is already running, and will continue to burn through what you eat. Also, diet or not, you should try tracking your hunger. This will allow you to better know your body needs and work with it, instead of against it.

Either way, since you know this is an issue, you need to be careful not to indulge yourself in worry. Try setting goals for yourself that have nothing to do with weight. Get a new hobby, or do something constructive. And, if this continues to worry you, I would go to a nutritionist. They could give you professional advice on what is right for your body and the best way to keep your healthy and happy!

PS If you ever need a chat, don''t hesitate to post, we are here for you!

 

[choro72]

jstarfireb, actually your thread was what prompted me to write here because even though we have similar goals the situation is quite different

I also love corset backs! It''s just that my dress is designed for a zipper, and I would hate to change it

.
btw, do you secretly know me?

Because I don''t remember writing about menstrual cycle problems but you wrote about it, and it made me do a double take! How long did it take to get yours back?
I admire you for not yoyoing. My weight has fluctuated at least 25lbs 4, 5 times in the last 4 years, and it''s really not fun. Especially at my height that''s a lot of weight.

MustangGal Thanks!! *runs off to check...*

musey, True, and less work the alteration is the less cost. It''s so funny because I thought I was saving money by ordering it in my size from the start. What I should have done was to only have a custom length, and left the bust and waist to a factory size.

dcgator, thank you so much. People here are so sweet and supportive. I''m going to listen to what my body says and go eat something.

 

[jstarfireb]

Date: 1/13/2009 10:02:20 PM
Author: choro72
jstarfireb, actually your thread was what prompted me to write here because even though we have similar goals the situation is quite different

I also love corset backs! It''s just that my dress is designed for a zipper, and I would hate to change it

.

btw, do you secretly know me?

Because I don''t remember writing about menstrual cycle problems but you wrote about it, and it made me do a double take! How long did it take to get yours back?

I admire you for not yoyoing. My weight has fluctuated at least 25lbs 4, 5 times in the last 4 years, and it''s really not fun. Especially at my height that''s a lot of weight.

Thanks for the kind words! It took me a long time to develop a healthy attitude about my weight. I still have good days and bad days. I really had to come to terms with the fact that I''m just really tall with a solid bone structure, and I''m never going to be supermodel-thin, but just because the scale says 145 doesn''t mean I''m overweight. It may take a long time for you to find a goal weight that''s both healthy for your body and comfortable for your mind. You might benefit from talking to a nutritionist (or even a psychiatrist/psychologist...although my parents tried to get me to do that and I said "no way," but I conceded to talk to a nutritionist). Certainly if you''re bingeing/purging (vomiting, laxatives, or excessive exercise) - and I don''t know if you are, just putting it out there - you need to talk to a mental health professional.

Losing your menstrual cycle is a very common physical response to starvation (it''s actually one of the criteria used to diagnose anorexia...it''s not the only one of course). You remember the movie GI Jane? It happened to Demi Moore''s character. Most women who maintain a body fat percentage as low as what you mentioned stop menstruating. I don''t know what my body fat percentage was, but mine stopped for about a year before I was put on birth control to stimulate my hormones back into their cycles. Then it was about another year or two of being on birth control for a few months, then stopping it to see if my period came back, then starting again, etc. It was actually quite a while after I returned to a normal weight before my period came back...I estimate that it took about 3 years from the moment it stopped until the moment I first got a period without birth control.

Actually, there''s a whole cluster of things that happen when you''re starving, not just physical but also psychological. You already know about the hair loss, but did you know that little fine baby hairs start growing over the rest of your body? It''s supposed to keep your body warm when there''s too little fat. And as for the mind, there have actually been psychological studies done where they took healthy young people and put them on starvation diets, and they all started developing the same coping mechanisms...building their schedules around meals, talking/thinking about food all the time, hoarding food in secret places, etc. I was a psych major in college and learned about this during my intro classes...it really struck a chord because it was exactly what I went through. It''s amazing how the exact same thing happens to people as different as a teenage girl caught up in the beauty craze, a healthy male research volunteer, and a victim of famine in a third-world nation.

You have good instincts to know what''s healthy and what''s not with respect to your body, and you''ve gotten some great advice in this and the other thread. Glad we could all be here for you!

Oh, and as for the dress, I think Musey''s advice was great...find a healthy ideal weight goal (this is where a nutritionist would really come in handy), eat in a way that doesn''t make you starve but isn''t too much, and certainly keep up a reasonable exercise regimen (something like 45 minutes 3 times a week of mixed cardio and strength training). There is a healthy way to lose weight and maintain your goal, but it of course takes a ton of effort, and sometimes professional help. I think you and your dress can certainly meet in the middle (i.e. alterations will have to be done, but they won''t be drastic). Good luck!

 

[MustangGal]

Choro, the girl that didn''t fit in the dress (even with the slimmer) had a corset added (her mother and I did it ourselves), and it looked fine. Her dress was also beaded/lace, but with a low back the corset part ends up being small, and you could even tuck the bow/laces in to make is even less detracting. She also originally had wanted a corset back, so it was the best of both worlds.

Most of the pictures of you at the wedding won''t be of your back anyway, so even though your guests may see a lot more of it, you won''t when you look back through your pictures!