darkemeralds. (Reply)

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Thank you for the encouraging words and thoughtful analysis.

Defining a diet goal was surprisingly tricky. A hundred pounds (besides being a lovely round number) represented my weight at 18--adult height, pre-diet-roller-coaster. (To put numbers to this discussion, I started at 255 and was aiming for 155. I'm 5'10.)

But 155 was almost 40 years ago. As you say, what I'm after is a size, rather than a weight.

I have another reference-point that reflects your comments about BMI: about 20 years ago I got down to 175 with a body fat ratio (measured electronically) of 19%, and I wore [what was then] a size 10. I'm very heavy for my size. My doctor says that for best hormonal health in post-menopause, I should aim for a little higher body fat now.

So, in short, yes to all you've said here. I don't have the inclination to work out like a 35-year-old anymore, so 175 (which would be that 80-lb loss I've been aiming for) would probably put me at a slightly larger size and a BMI closer to 22%.

And that would be about perfect.

Oh, and I did a careful analysis this morning of my Hacker's Diet trendline, and my actual drift upward in the last three months has been only 2.5 lbs. So yay for the reality of numbers!