An outsider's thoughts on "You've lost enough!!"

[Kohinoor]

Hi all, that frustrated mathematician is at it again :P

Over time, I keep hearing people being concerned about friends saying "You've lost enough - stop now!"

But hey, let's turn it around ....

It struck me (I've been around a wee while now, and read A LOT of posts) that there may be a rather obvious (yet over-looked) answer as to WHY do others keep saying this. I'll endeavour to keep it brief (an achievement in itself if it's possible )

The BFO (Blinding Flash of the Obvious) hit me as the number of photos grew on here. I was seeing photos of people who look REALLY GOOD who were not yet at their goal weight. Some were 5Kg away - some were 10KG or even more - yet, they looked pretty damn good to me.

My BFO was this (or, more, a combination of these):-

1. Even if the posters may have a few niggles re "that flappy skin on the thighs" or "the slight belly when seated" or "arms are still a bit big", when your journey is down to "the last 10Kgs" that means you are also down to "the last 30cms" - near enough? Now, that 30cms is "spread around" - maybe 6cms waist, 10cms hips, 6cms chest/bust, 3cms arm, 5cms thigh. Not overly HUGE numbers, eh?

But wait, there's more - let's take that arm - with 3cms to go, that means the Diameter has only 1cm to go (thanks to pi) so, to the observer, this person might be 1 cm more than normal .... huh? Look around, and in a group of 10 people, you'll see 2 - 4 cms difference - JUST because of body type and/or fitness levels - even if all 10 were at a healthy weight and stature.

So, even if YOUR arm appeared to be 1cm larger than someone else, WE would hardly be thinking of you as "still fat"!! Or your hips 3cms larger, or waist 2cms over - that's what WE see (but YOU see those numbers multiplied by 3.14159 or therebouts). What WE see are TINY numbers people (1, 2, 3cms - a mere nothing).

So, even if YOU (with the tape measure, the fire in the belly, 10Kg to go, Santa's plan, and the bottle of water ) are seeing larger numbers, MOST of us observers see WAY LOWER numbers when looking at you - in short, YOU LOOK GREAT, WAY before you finish your journey.

Mathematically speaking:-
YOU see your circumference (the tape measure) but WE see your diameter !! And your circumference will always be THREE TIMES as big a number than what we see as observers. THIS may be a part of why YOU still see "so much to go" while we see "looking good".


2. I can only speak for me, but I see people via their face primarily - and it seems on this plan, the face is one of the earlier areas to lose the weight (my opinion only). Maybe that is not true - but the face seems to "come right" even when you are 20+ Kgs from "the end" - sure, you are correct if you "aren't quite happy yet" and have the right to go on.

But, poor old me (and maybe your Mum and Dad), are thinking you are "about right" WAY ahead of your goal weight. Could be those skin tones, the cheek bones, the happy look in your eyes, the missing double chin, the confident projection of YOU showing in that face of yours. Whatever it is, your face and eyes are your window to the world - and if they are looking their best, many other "failings" get over-looked (like that 2cm too big waist ... )

Of course, with my experience gleaned from all of you, there's NO WAY that I would say "Don't go lower" as I understand you at a level most don't get to see. But your poor old Mum, or Dad, or others are seeing you through those "diameter" eyes - and you are looking so good to them.


3. Following on then, their "don't go lower" may come from:-
a. seeing you "looking great" and not wanting to see you lose it
b. seeing some of the loose skin (that YOU know will tone AFTER you finish and can hit the gyms again)
c. some say "the hair falls out" - is Mum getting paranoid about this (even though YOU know it'll all come good at the end too)
d. disturbing "weight" experiences with others (friends or off-spring of friends with anorexia issues)?
e. having heard "enough" about this diet plan (sorry, but for some it may be valid) - maybe THEY need a break.....

Hehe - so much for "keeping it brief" - I hope some thoughts were useful though.

Koh