New goal advice / friends.

mcclelland0484

I weighed 364 when I started this process and I set an ambitious goal weight of 250. I achieved this goal very rapidly (6 months). I reassessed myself at my goal weight and decided to goal lower. 235 lbs which is pretty good considering I'm 6'6. I know I can reach my goal but I'm scared to ease up on my diet. I think I look fine right now and subconsciously I wonder if I increased my goal to avoid facing the crisis of maintanance. Friends and advice are welcome.

spoiledpuppies

Congratulations! I've been maintaining for about a year, but while losing I was similar to you. I reset my goal weight a few times since losing was much easier than I had expected, and just thought "why not keep going?". I ended up losing to a few pounds below where I'd want to maintain, then started heavy lifting and eating a lot more. If 235 is within a healthy range for your height, I'd say stick with that more aggressive goal. Then set body composition or fitness goals to keep yourself on track. (I know that when I have a tough workout planned for the morning--which is pretty much every day--I don't want to eat junk the day before. I want to be as effective as possible at every workout!) Maintenance can take some transition time for physical and emotional adjustment, but it doesn't have to be a crisis. It sounds like you've been quite committed, so I'm sure you'll succeed in maintenance too! Feel free to send a friend request.

nxd10

Congratulations! I found it tough to change to maintenance. In fact, I hit my goal and stayed there two months and then went to a 250 cal/day deficit for the first year because my weight was stable.

Maintenance is only challenging because it's boring. It's exciting to dump all that weight and see the scale move. It's boring to watch it stay the same. But I've been doing it for several years now.

1. Remember that your goal is to STAY THIN not GET thin. So every day you're in your range is a small victory.

2. Make a check in part of your routine. I weigh every morning after I brush my teeth and before I brush my hair. That way I know I'm okay. Weighing that often makes some people nuts. Tape measures are good (I kept losing inches long after I stopped losing weight). Or weigh less often. But keep monitoring regularly so you can get back on track if you start gaining again.

3. I got a fitbit (you can use anything) to try to get my steps up and increase my muscle tone. I also got a Pilates chair to help my core muscles and started using a standing desk. Lots of more ambitious people exercise in more vigorous ways. When you lose a lot of weight there's often a lot of flab that doesn't look great. Next goal was to get rid of it.

4. Read your diary carefully and see what you did to drop those extra calories out. For me it was just a very few small changes. Those were easy to maintain. If I stopped doing them, I'd have regained.

5. Enjoy the extra calories. I love to eat.

mcclelland0484

Thanks for the advice from both of y'all.

Always_Smiling_D

I think that once you have embraced your journey as a life style change rather than a set goal, it will make it easier. Eating mindfully and exercising should come easy to you by now - and their benefits go beyond the number on the scale.

loulamb7

Wow 114 lbs in 6 months that was fast. My experience was similar to spoiledpuppies, lost easily and kept lowering my goal. As I approached my planned final goal (205 lbs - above BMI for me but I was satisfied ) I started to increase my daily intake by 100 calories, waited 2 weeks and if I was still losing added another 100 per day. I managed to lose another 5 lbs until I leveled off at new maintenance of 200 lbs. I started lifting at maintenance and lost another 5 lbs (195 lbs). New plan for 2015 is to eat at maintenance on non-lifting days and eat +200 on lifting days.

Liftng4Lis

Awesome work!

dopeysmelly

Do you have any goals for what you want to achieve next? I found it really helpful to switch from a goal of a number on the scale to fitness goals (steps per day, weights I push/pull/lift, distance/resistance on the stationary bike, and eventually running when I feel my knee is fully recovered post-surgery). I also have a couple of health-related goals (cholesterol numbers, blood pressure and resting heart rate).

I found it difficult to switch mentally to maintenance for the first couple of months, but it did pass and I found having these other goals to plan for and figure out have made it much easier. I also played around with my data so I could estimate my calories based on a variety of different activities, but that's just me because I like data.

mcclelland0484

My numbers are all good as for now. Blood pressure, sugar, cholesteral etc. I am working out everyday. I have purchased lots of gym equipment and converted my shop into a gym. I planning on buying a really nice bicycle next.

mcclelland0484

JayRuby84

^^^^ Omg I would love to have your home gym.

samhynes7469

great job!i hope to have your enthusiasm. you have the tools , and knowledge,and healthy habits, i think you just need to remind your self what and why every day. good luck

mcclelland0484

samcaroen7469 wrote: »

great job!i hope to have your enthusiasm. you have the tools , and knowledge,and healthy habits, i think you just need to remind your self what and why every day. good luck

Thanks for the encouragement

mcclelland0484

JayRuby84 wrote: »

^^^^ Omg I would love to have your home gym.

I had to buy all of my own gym equipment. I live in the middle of know where. I would have had to commute a pretty long way to use a gym otherwise. I can't come up with any excuses this way.