When did you know it was time to maintain?

CassieReannan

Obviously when you hit your goal weight right? But what if your goals keep changing?

Were you ever unsure about maintaining when you started? How did you know it was the right time? Is it ever?

HaibaneReki

when my belt couldn't get any tighter due to the hip bones - no additional fat there still little bit of chub around my belly, but working on that on maintenance calories

sijomial

When I hit my initial weight, body composition and fitness goals it was time to maintain - that was end of 2012. After a while I set new goals (for all three) and have since nibbled my weight and body fat downwards in a series of mostly 3lb steps with periods of maintaining in between. Now 14lbs under my original goal weight.
My original goal was to get back to my happiest/best weight in my 20's but that didn't turn out to be the best weight for me in my 50's.

TavistockToad

i got to my goal weight... maintained for about a year and then decided i wanted to lose some more bodyfat... my weight is only a couple of pounds lighter but i am a lot smaller... i am now maintaining while i'm training for a 10k... in the new year i might try and cut a bit more fat...

if you're not sure, do it for a few weeks, and then reassess - for example between now and the new year would be a great tiem to maintain and enjoy a bit more food!!!

yafashelli

This is a great question, and I am excited to see the answers.

amusedmonkey

I haven't hit my goal weight yet, but once I do, I will eat at maintenance for a while and see: Too hard, increase calories. Too easy, reduce calories. Then I will let my body settle at the weight it wants to be. What's the point of being skinny if I'm going to be miserable? And if it's too easy and I still have a bit of a chub, why not take it off?

RaspberryTickleChicken

Once I reached my original goal weight (I had an ultra secret goal that I was too afraid to put in writing in case I didn't get there - hehe) I just carried on with what I was doing & let mother nature take it's course.

My weight has pretty much leveled off & stabilized at a very comfortable place which can be effortlessly maintained.

But I think a better question to ask yourself is where are you most comfortable in maintaining for the long run?

Good luck!

dopeysmelly

When I had about 7 lbs to go until my goal weight (which hasn't changed since I set it super-scientifically as BMI equivalent of 21.5..). I still have things I want to work on like improving muscle definition, so the goal weight is just one indicator. Also, I'm now petite XS in practically all store sizes and if I go any lower, getting clothes to fit will become a major headache.

I don't know if unsure is the right word to describe it. It is taking a lot of trial and error to get the calories right (I'm trying a "base" calorie setting, and then eating back all the calories burned according to my Vivofit and HRM - I may increase/decrease my base calories depending on how the next month goes). "Challenging", "interesting" and "exciting" are better words for how I feel about it.

rainbow198

As for me I did not have a goal weight since I didn't know how I would look at a particular weight. I did have a dress size and measurement range in mind however.

I just got to a point where I was really happy with my body and did not want to get smaller. Also I felt comfortable with my workout plans and eating habits so I decided to move to maintenance.

I slowly increased my calories week by week, kept my workouts the same and monitored how things were going. That point of time for me was much, much tougher than losing. I think because there were no more celebrations like "I'm down another half inch in my waist!"

At that point I decided to challenge myself and focus on reaching fitness goals. Almost 2 years in it has really helped me maintain.

Good luck OP!

cwolfman13

When I hit my desired level of BF%. Goal weight is pretty arbitrary...scale weight is made up of a lot of things, not just fat...BF% is a much better measure, particularly when used in conjunction with the scale and a mirror.

I would also add that a lot of people make the mistake of thinking they need to lose more weight...and keep losing more and more weight...and more and more weight, etc. They think this because they are "soft"...and in reality they don't need to lose weight, they need to do some resistance work and work on their body composition.

StaciMarie1974

I adjusted my goal a few times - but honestly my first few goals were benchmarks at best. When I started out I didn't know what a final goal would be. As my weight got lower, I could hone in on that.

iRun_Butterfly

I'm about 10lbs off my desired goal weight, but have been maintaining for about 5 months. Seems my body has settled in at this point and to be perfectly honest, I'd like to lose that last little bit, but I'm pretty happy where I'm at. I like knowing how I can eat and exercise and having the wiggle room from day to day. There are other things I want to focus on right now, such as body fat and strength, so maintaining is really working for me.

cdcjensen

The "normal" range for my height/build is a spread of 30 lbs. Not knowing what anything in that range would like in my 40's (was last in that range when I was in my 20's), I made my goal right in the middle of that 30 lbs range. As I reached the final 5 lbs to the goal, I realized I just needed to hit my goal once so I could psychologically move on from "weight loss mode" and move into "maintenance mode". Sure enough, the day I hit that arbitrary goal, the scale stopped mattering. Since then, it's been how I look and feel. That made me realize that the process of losing weight had me too focused on a number, but the second I stopped trying to lose weight, it became about how I look and feel, and that, I think, is when I figured out that where I'm happiest now is actually a few pounds higher than what my goal was but isn't even an "exact" number. I wish I could have gotten to this mindset just by monitoring my clothes and looking in a mirror, but after years of being so overweight, it was hard to have a non-distorted view...for some reason, I "needed" a number tied to it to feel I was successful, but once I hit the goal once and could say I was successful, all perspective changed for the better. Probably not the type of insight you were looking for, but that "how do I know" issue was very real for me, too, and I only figured it out after I hit my arbitrary goal and then felt I could move past the number and settle into a more meaningful gauge.

nxd10

This is a good question. I started at 188 pounds and my original goal was the 172 that was the top of my healthy BMI and a point I had been at for the prior 15 years (I had a sudden weight jump). I put my goal in at 165 but never thought I'd get there. Dropped easily to 172 and then 165 and reset my goal to 160. Easily hit that. Then my goal range was 150-155, the weight I was when I graduated from college. That took longer, but I did hit 150 and then stopped. I had been that weight after both my kids were born and I was nursing. I know I get grumpy if I weight less than that. At that point I was lower than I ever expected to hit at my age and maintained for a year.

Then I dropped 4 pounds more and had to up my calories to maintain there. Your body keeps changing. But a good healthy BMI in the middle to bottom of the range seems like a good goal for health. Then you go for fitness.

mjglantz

CassieReannan wrote: »

Obviously when you hit your goal weight right? But what if your goals keep changing?

Were you ever unsure about maintaining when you started? How did you know it was the right time? Is it ever?

I initially had a higher goal weight but then I had a heart attack after losing 50 pounds (bummer) and decided I had to get to "normal" BMI. After i hit that I added calories but I also was doing more cardio and strength. I finally settled in at a weight range between 141 - 144 and that is my goal weight.

50sFit

CassieReannan wrote: »

Obviously when you hit your goal weight right? But what if your goals keep changing?

Were you ever unsure about maintaining when you started? How did you know it was the right time? Is it ever?

I was fit coming out of the USMC and had also been an athlete. I knew my body, so when I set my goals, I knew exactly where to aim. Once I hit that weight after losing 93 pounds, I then knew the exact body fat percentage I desired at this maintained weight.
If you don't know these things, do whatever you must do to learn.
Know and love your body!

Patttience

You can take a maintenance break any time. If you get sick of restricting, its not a bad idea to stop and stabilise your weight for a while. But ultimately, you want to keep losing weight until you are in your healthy weight range and happy with your appearance. That said being still in the overweight range is not so much unhealthy as just not so attractive as being slimmer.

Sorry to hear about your heart attack mjglantz but being a bit fatter was probably not the cause of your heart attack and being slimmer may not save you from further health issues. At this stage its probably much more important to improve the quality of your diet, reduce stress, be moderately fit. Just my opinion for the most part but health experts also say that women who are moderately overweight do not have a higher health risk.

SezxyStef

I hit first GW in Feb of this year...wanted to lose 10 more. So I did and was there by May....

So all summer I ate at maitenance or slighly below (since I kept losing) and since I had lost another 5 over the 3 months of summer I though eh why not another 5.

It's almost time for maitenance again...just because I want to see what 6-12months can do for my body comp...

pipmcgrath

amusedmonkey wrote: »

I haven't hit my goal weight yet, but once I do, I will eat at maintenance for a while and see: Too hard, increase calories. Too easy, reduce calories. Then I will let my body settle at the weight it wants to be. What's the point of being skinny if I'm going to be miserable? And if it's too easy and I still have a bit of a chub, why not take it off?

Couldn't have said it better myself. I have lost 6.7 stone and wanted to go another 14 lbs but I honestly don't think I can lose anymore without eating any less or being miserable. My body is stubbornly holding onto being in and around this weight and has been now for months.

I officially hate BMI coz according to mine I'm still overweight!

jrline

when I hit my goal weight, now I am still toning but more weightloss needed.

keefmac

I'm 4 kilos under my original goal weight now and just about happy!. Still top end of heathy BMI but if I aimed for the lower end I'll look to thin..

jane837

I know how you feel, not knowing when it's the right time... I'd been "overweight" to "obese" since I was probably 12 years old, so I had no idea what normal would look or feel like for me, and I worried a lot that I wouldn't know it when I saw it. I started with a 100-pounds-lost goal (which put me into a healthy BMI range), but then when I reached it, I realized I wanted to lose a little more.

I was relieved when what I wanted for myself became clearer as I got closer to my current maintenance weight. Here's how I knew I wanted to stop losing:

- I was very comfortable with the size of clothing I fit into and the fashion options available. It seemed like my happiness and health wasn't going to be improved by being able to fit into an Extra-Small versus a Small, or a size 6 jeans instead of a size 8.

- I was beginning to feel like certain parts of my body were as thin as I wanted them to be (even though other parts were definitely NOT as thin as I wanted). I wasn't going to be able to change my pear shape by further weight loss, and didn't want to make myself look emaciated in the process.

- I was finally ready to get serious about building muscle and strength, which is MUCH easier to do now that I'm eating at a maintenance level.

Hope that helps!

lisele03

jane837 wrote: »

... Here's how I knew I wanted to stop losing:

- I was very comfortable with the size of clothing I fit into and the fashion options available. It seemed like my happiness and health wasn't going to be improved by being able to fit into an Extra-Small versus a Small, or a size 6 jeans instead of a size 8.

- I was beginning to feel like certain parts of my body were as thin as I wanted them to be (even though other parts were definitely NOT as thin as I wanted). I wasn't going to be able to change my pear shape by further weight loss, and didn't want to make myself look emaciated in the process.

- I was finally ready to get serious about building muscle and strength, which is MUCH easier to do now that I'm eating at a maintenance level.

Now THAT makes sense to me!!! Great job btw!

gothchiq

I will know when I reach the goal I set with the help of my doctor and nutritionist. I will weigh 120 lbs and my BMI will be about 21.

LivingtheLeanDream

mssheddy wrote: »

I'm about 10lbs off my desired goal weight, but have been maintaining for about 5 months. Seems my body has settled in at this point and to be perfectly honest, I'd like to lose that last little bit, but I'm pretty happy where I'm at. I like knowing how I can eat and exercise and having the wiggle room from day to day. There are other things I want to focus on right now, such as body fat and strength, so maintaining is really working for me.

^^ this ☺....only I'm 3 lbs away from my original goal but I'm no longer bothered cos I'm happy with how I look now ☺..If it happens it happens lol

Wheelhouse15

I originally went with an arbitrary weight then when I got near there I realized I was more interested in a BF% so that was more my target. I ended up lowering my target weight by a few pounds and it worked out where I wanted to be with my BF% and now I'm trying to recomp a bit for a couple extra BF% without losing more weight.

LivingtheLeanDream

....and I didn't want to have to go and buy yet more smaller sizes ...size (UK)10 will do me very nicely thank you very much ☺ going from 14 to 12 to 10 is jolly expensive lol

Francl27

I'm still not happy but I don't want it enough to lose the last few pounds, so I've pretty much been maintaining for a few months. So I guess the answer is when you're just tired of eating at a big deficit (still trying to keep a small one though).

cliffodom1

dopeysmelly wrote: »

I'm now petite XS in practically all store sizes

That is a problem I see. We don't have sizes anymore. We have small medium and large. They took a generic human and made generic sizes for them. But we are not generic. I am a 16-37. That means my neck size is 16 inches and my arm length is 37 inches. I also hate the size 16-36/37. I ask the clerk is it 36 or 37 and they always laugh because they never have that questioned. I had one of my employees that never could get clothes that fit him after he lost weight and I sent him to a grown up store (Nordstroms) to have them size him.

dopeysmelly

cliffodom1 wrote: »

dopeysmelly wrote: »

I'm now petite XS in practically all store sizes

That is a problem I see. We don't have sizes anymore. We have small medium and large. They took a generic human and made generic sizes for them. But we are not generic. I am a 16-37. That means my neck size is 16 inches and my arm length is 37 inches. I also hate the size 16-36/37. I ask the clerk is it 36 or 37 and they always laugh because they never have that questioned. I had one of my employees that never could get clothes that fit him after he lost weight and I sent him to a grown up store (Nordstroms) to have them size him.

I'm honestly considering asking a friend of mine in China to send me stuff to try on, or buying online from China, because the sizes there are smaller (I'd probably be a medium or maybe large). I've had to return things recently because they were the smallest size in the store and they were too big. And I'm not miniscule!! I'm 1" shorter than the US average, and slap bang in the middle of the "healthy" BMI range, with "healthy" body fat. It's a terrible indictment of the current and future health of the US, quite frankly.

NRBreit

My experience has been that you'll need to play with 5-15 lbs. up/down to see where you feel the best. I think that I 'feel' the best in the 10-12% BF range, but most people say I look the best about 10-15 lbs. heavier. Lots of people bash the BMI scale, but for the majority of people, you will fall somewhere in the that BMI range based on your height and bone structure.