I used to want to weigh 140-150 lbs.

I pushed for it, too. I chased it for many years. The obsession started when I competed in physique competitions. At the time, I thought leaner was better. After finally closing the competing chapter, I even pursued that number for a while.

I never reached it. Too low. And definitely not maintainable.

I had my come-to-Jesus moment when I was trying on jeans one day. If I remember correctly, I wanted to be in a size 4 or 6. I was constantly dieting to achieve smallness in and out of the yo-yo diet cycle. I finally said enough was enough.

I stopped pursuing that number, stopped competing, stopped trying to get as small as possible, stopped chasing weight loss, and ditched the disordered eating, otherwise known as orthorexia.

I didn't do another weight/fat loss phase for many, many years, and I didn't intentionally do one. I had a lot of healing to do to my mind, body, and soul.

I have come to understand nutrition better, nutrition periodization, training periodization, and how to diet better - the right way and when to do so through education, certifications and experience.

Not only that, to speak to scale weight specifically, I stopped chasing an arbitrary number. I shouldn't have been pursuing a specific lighter-scale weight, either.

If you know anything about physique competitions, what you weigh has no bearing on what you look like or what the judges are awarding. The lightest or smallest person doesn't win. The women that win are muscular, defined, visible, separated muscles, full muscle bellies, capped shoulders, well-developed glutes, and not too lean, lol, just right.

Well, your girl was tooooo lean. Yes, it's a subjective sport. Sure, I looked great, but I was too damn skinny and very stringy. During many of the preps to the stage, I lost too much muscle. <<---That was the result of doing extremes to drop as much weight as possible.

Anywho, I wanted to give you some background about competing and the scale weight I was pursuing.

All that to say, if there's a number you are chasing, you probably shouldn't! If you have to kill yourself to get there and then kill yourself to maintain it. It's not a healthy, sustainable weight for you.

You are a WHOLE different human now. Bodies change! Many women wish they could be their past or high school weight. Or a weight that we were able to achieve briefly after a 12-week diet cycle.

So, STRONG friend, ditch the arbitrary number even if you have body change goals. Find peace with where your body weight likes to sit without resorting to extremes. And understand that our body weight fluctuates, and that's NORMAL! We aren't robots.

Your best weight is whatever weight you reach when you're living the healthiest, fitness, STRONGEST life you actually enjoy living!

Also note that being toned, having muscle, being fitter, or even leaner isn't a specific scale weight. Muscle weighs something. Something you hear me say all the time.... if you want to have muscle tone, you should expect to weigh more than you thought.

Our muscles have weight to them. Muscle weighs because it holds water, about 76% percent! Each pound of muscle holds approx.—3 pounds of water.

Again, being/having tone isn't a specific weight!

I've been searching the archives for some of my weigh-ins on my phone from back in the day. One of the weigh-ins I found is 174 lbs - back in February of 2013 (way more body fat and less muscle than I have now). I'll have to find a photo from back then and put it next to my current jacked and juicy self!

Today, my average weight is 175 lbs - just a pound difference! I've been through multiple builds - done wrong & right, been heavier and lighter, and fat loss phases done right -key on phases and losing the right weight (body fat).
 

See, it goes to show you that in the grand scheme of things, scale weight is just a number and only a tiny part of the story. If I continued to pursue the above weight, I would be in a world of disorder and fragility, I'd imagine, or worse.

Well, STRONG friend, thanks for reading. This subject of weight comes up often with my clients and women in my everyday life, so I thought I would share my experience with trying to weigh an unrealistic weight. I hope it helps if you are struggling with pursuing unrealistic weight.

Don't hesitate to reach out to explore coaching options. I am here to help you you navigate your fitness, wellness, and even fat loss without extremes! Book a connection call here.

In Strength and to your Success,
One love
Coach Candace