Anyone accept a weight that wasn't their "ultimate goal"?

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Replies

  • SmithsonianEmpress
    SmithsonianEmpress Posts: 1,163 Member
    Well I’m creeping up on my goal weight which is 125/130ish and I believe I weighed in on the 1st at a little bit under 135. I’m 5’5” and 35 yo. BUT I don’t like my body composition AT ALL because I’m still squishy in all my areas. I know if I changed what I ate I’d see much better results, I’m guessing my body fat percentage would go down—-so I’m not accepting this stall I’m having as of late. I think if you like what you see star there. If you don’t then work on what you can when you can and you’ll get to where you want to be eventually.

    It really has very little to do with what you eat other than getting adequate protein and everything to do with how you train. Food is food. Protein, fat and carbs. whether it's a pizza or chicken and potatoes.

    OP, I have toyed with just hanging where I am but I know I am perfectly capable of getting lower and staying there. Maintaining each new low weight is never an issue. Fork put downs are my problem when trying to hit a deficit. I'm having another push right now though, happens every year when a vacation starts looming. Re-find my motivation and get smaller than I was for the vacation the year before!

    You just have to weigh it all up. When I get back from holiday (last half of May), regardless where I am on the scale, I'm switching to a small deficit and recomping. Because I am done with full deficits now. Too much like hard psychological work.

    Well this is GREAT NEWS! Some more months of consistency in lifting and I should be better off.
  • LisaTcan wrote: »
    I had a baby 18 months ago and pre-baby I was 134 and a size 4 (I'm 5'6''). I was really happy at that weight but I worked out a lot, cycled 100miles a week and weight lifted 3-4x a week. I have been maintaining at about 140 for a year and I'm now a size 6 or 8. My diet is similar, 1600-1800 calories a day (I use a food scale), but I'm not working out as often (weight lifting 2x a week).

    For the past year I've had MFP set to "lose 1lb" a week, but I'm obviously eating too much/not exercising enough to lose the last 6lbs. I'm a full-time working mom and I just don't have the time, energy or motivation to workout like that anymore. Anyone experience this? I feel like I should stop feeling like "I can't lose weight" and just accept that I am in maintenance and at this stage in my life this is good enough.

    I think that motherhood at this age can be very trying. Likely you will lose the weight a bit more down the road, I would just focus on staying at the weight you are at for now and you will know when the time is right for the next push forward. Just my 2 cents!
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
    My initial goal was 150 lbs., based on body fat % and then rounded off. As I lost, some of it was lean mass, so I had to lower that goal further. I got down to about 138 lbs., which was a bit too lean. On the way, 142 lbs. seemed the most ideal.

    After a final crash diet to try to reach that goal by the end of 2017, I took a diet break at the beginning of 2018 and gained 32 lbs. in about 3 weeks; around 19 lbs. of which was fat. I've lost the water gain and a little bit of the fat during that time, but am not trying to lose at this point. I'm focusing on fitness now and I'll worry about the last 13 lbs.-16 lbs. of fat later.

    So for now, I'm accepting a weight that was not my goal. Eventually, I'll return to lose the last bit of fat that I put on last month.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    I've never had a number on the scale as a goal...
  • bisky
    bisky Posts: 953 Member
    I think you should listen to your inner voice that 140 is okay for now. You have a lifestyle change with a new baby and might not have as much time to diet and train hard to lose 6 lbs in a healthy manner. In the future you might change that but for today just listen and trust yourself.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    I haven't changed my goal or settings, but I've been hovering about 115 lbs for a while. Haven't been quite motivated enough about it to keep to my calories and not skip or shorten many of the non-group winter runs.
  • ChelzFit
    ChelzFit Posts: 292 Member
    I love how I look at 125 but I just can't maintain at that weight. I am 133 (5'7) and I have the energy to keep up with my 2 kids, workout 4-5 days a week and get 10,000 steps + a day. When I get under 130 I start to become fatigued, moody, and feel over-trained.
  • LisaTcan
    LisaTcan Posts: 410 Member
    edited February 2018
    Thank you again everyone for your insightful responses! I love the internet because it allows you to not feel alone in your experiences :)

    I remember this time last year I ended up with a pretty decent vitamin D deficiency, and I'm wondering if that's creeped up again.

    Either way, I've decided I'm going to eat at maintenance for a while--maybe until it warms up later in the spring--and give these last pounds some serious thought then. If anything, the maintenance practice will be good for me and I will be better fueled for reaching my running goals.

    I also just found out I have an iron and vitamin D deficiency again (I live in Canada and have malabsorption issues). Winter sucks for exercise and motivation!
    Alexson50 wrote: »
    I'm also full-time working mom and it IS HARD. Before kids, I was 130 (5'7), but it was a lot of worrying about food and exercising in almost all of my free-time. That isn't something I'm interested in now, so I'm happy at 140 for now. I eat smart and lift progressively heavier 3x/week and do cardio 2x, but I just don't have the brain power to spend quality time with two preschoolers AND futz with every bite I eat AND spend any more time in the gym than absolutely necessary. The scale does read more than I wish it did, but I know that if I ever wanted to shift my priorities, I could. I just figure that right now, I want to be healthy as a model for my kids and to live a long life, but anything beyond that is just vanity (for me, maybe not for everyone).

    Best of luck finding your balance!

    Thank you! Yeah, I'm also mostly focused on healthy habits that I can teach to my daughter and feeling comfortable in my skin. The difference between a size 4 and an 8 isn't a priority right now. I hope to have another soon so I'll have baby weight to lose again as well. Perhaps once I'm past the pregnancy and young kids years I'll have different priorities.
  • sofchak
    sofchak Posts: 862 Member
    _piaffe wrote: »
    Also a working mom. 3 kids. I hit vanity GW 2 years ago in April / May, and since then, I have tried (and FAILED!) to find a maintenance rhythm that works for me.

    I seem to have 2 modes: losing and gaining. It might simply be that I'm aiming to "maintain" a GW that is unrealistic or at least inconsistent with the lifestyle I want to lead. It is probably also inconsistent with my fitness goals (which involve lifting and recomp). Even knowing this, my brain continues to be programmed to want to see certain numbers on the scale.

    My solution has been to set fitness goals and basically, avoid the scale.

    This is so my life @_piaffe - I could have written this myself, minus the the kids part.

  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,088 Member
    edited February 2018
    I actually lost too much weight. My body went haywire. I am now trying to "bulk" up to 210lbs from 180 and maintain there. Slowly I might add. About 18 months or so. I am willing to accept a higher body fat at this weight, if it means feeling better