It’s a funny thing, weight. We put all our eggs into the weight basket as it pertains to our overall health meter. When we weigh less, we believe we are healthier than when we weigh more, and while there is some correlation between weight and health, weight cannot and should not be used as a sole measure of overall health and fitness. Yet, this thought persists, even within me: when I weigh less, I’m healthier.
When I weighed 165 lbs, I wanted to weigh 160 lbs. When I got to 160 lbs, I was hoping to lose 5 more. Why? Looking back, I think it had to do with wanting to get back to a weight I was at when I was in my 20’s, but there was no other reason. I felt great at 165 lbs, I fit into all my size-small shirts, 30″ trousers, and exercise was super-easy. Now at 175 lbs, my shirts and trousers are all tighter, and I definitely feel the extra 10 lbs when I run.
With all that said, I absolutely, positively will need to get back to 165 lbs. No matter what, that is my goal. It is where my quest for weight loss will end. When I get to 165 lbs, I will try for no more. I will continue to work to maintain 165, but nothing less. Why? Because I realize that I felt great at 165 lbs. I looked good. My clothes fit great. Everything was where it needed to be at that weight.
I don’t feel right at 175 lbs, and that made me recall something about when I weighed 160 lbs: I didn’t feel right there, either. I was having to be super-super-super strict with my diet and exercise to be at 160 lbs. It was too restrictive and limiting. I am not willing to be ultra-strict with my diet for a weight on the scale when just 5 lbs more allows me to have some freedom in my diet and I felt GREAT.
Paleo works. It works wonders when you do it well, and combined with a good fitness plan and control of portion size and no cheating/sabotage will leave you very healthy. I do a firm Paleo: I will allow the occasional restaurant steak fry or waffle fry into my diet, and every now and then, I have some bread pudding at special occasions, and I just don’t want to do without that little bit of freedom. That extra 5 lbs isn’t worth it to me.
Paleo Marine 
As always, thanks for sharing this post!
On my journey to get healthy there was a point where I had to switch from a “weight-loss” mindset to an overall health mindset. Now that I am a more healthy weight, I try to focus more on health goals or “fatloss” goals.
Weight is really just a number. One that really doesn’t matter unless you are like a boxer or something, and have to hit a cetrtain weight to perform your work. Otherwise, weight is just a number.
I do weigh myself regularly but I do not worry really about what the scale says. It’s more or less to make sure nothing crazy is happening to me.
– Like I have been drinking butter coffee for about six weeks, so I have been weighing myself to make sure it’s not making me gain a ton of weight – the opposite has occurred actually.
I think for some people, getting on the scale all the time can create some stress. Stress then produces cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone in the body that makes it really hard for people to lose weight. It becomes a vicious cycle!
I was very stressed out about a year ago. I hit a bit of fitness palteau. Along with a lot of other stressors, like finishing college, moving from the house I had rented with friends for TEN YEARS, and having two mortgage deals fall through. I was stuck at about 170lbs for a few months. I couldn’t get the scale to go down, no matter how much I was working out.
The focus on the scale and weight loss was adding to my stress. I had gone from 245lbs to about 170lbs. To get past it, I had to go DEEEP! I had to rethink health goals. I told myself that weight loss was so awesome that I could just stop worrying about weight loss. Instead I focused on building more muscle, nutrition, and overall health; and not worry about getting on the scale all the time.
I worked through those challenges. My stress levels went way down. Finishing my degree program helped. Changing my mindset helped the most though. I lost 5lbs almost instantly after letting go of the “weight loss” mindset.
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