Anonymous wrote:OP, if you've gone from 170 to 140 and the weight is now not melting off the way it did before, it could mean you've reached a plateau. 140 might be a a very comfortable weight for your body.

Something you may want to consider now is that the number you see on the scale is but one data point in the measure of how healthy you are overall. What is your body fat percentage? How much lean muscle mass do you have? Those are two major factors in how your body looks. You will look leaner and thinner at the same weight with a lower body fat percentage than you would at the same weight but less muscle and more fat.

pics here illustrate what I mean: https://www.insider.com/photos-women-look-different-same-weight-2018-3

Now that you've reached your target range, because 5 pounds from your goal weight is basically there, do not beat yourself up, you should be patting yourself on the back for working really hard to get healthier. Start thinking more in terms of how to structure your life around health, strength, endurance, and knowing your body's cues.

You mention eating 1,200-1,500 calories/day and running 10 miles weekly. Running is great for building stamina and endurance, but not as effective at building lean muscle as many other types of exercise. Build some strength and resistance training, high intensity interval training, pilates, barre etc into your exercise time.

Get on the scale less often and pay attention to how your body looks and feels. You can lose inches all over and not lose a pound (in fact, you can lose inches, go down in size while going UP in weight because lean muscle mass is denser and heavier than fat tissues).

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that if you are counting calories and eating only 1,200 calories some days, that you maybe have not checked macros lately to determine how many calories and specifically exactly how many grams of protein and carbs and fats you need to eat daily to continue losing. As your weight changes, your macros change. So the calorie intake and grams of protein etc you needed at 170 pounds is different than what you need now at 140.

Counting the macros is pretty PITA in the beginning, but with practice one can begin to eat more intuitively, as you will become more attuned to what your body needs to feel its best.

Another thing to keep in mind as you are on this journey is staying on top of your mental health and how much of your headspace you are giving to diet and exercise. It isn't healthy to be obsessed and become a diet/fitness/calorie counting warrior as a primary personality trait. I totally get the fear you likely have that letting up will mean you'll spiral back up in weight. If you begin to shift your focus to eating to give your body and brain the fuel it needs to be heathy and well and exercising because even when it isn't "fun" but because it is good for your overall health and caretaking of your body, you will be so much happier.

Good luck and congratulations for working so hard on your health.

Anonymous wrote:Cut out booze.