Focus on losing to ultimate goal or lose to an interim goal and maintain for a while

Ridley2011

Hi all -- I've been using MFP since the beginning of the year (this time!) and it along with my fitbit and of course this message board have been great tools/support. I'm now trying to figure out whether I keep on this path until I reach my ultimate goal weight or I get to an interim goal, and learn how to maintain before trying to lose more.

I've been a yo-yo'er most of my adult life -- so I know I can lose and I know I can gain. Maintaining at a lower weight is my challenge. I'm currently down about 50 lbs from my recorded high and to be at a normal BMI, I need to lose another 40 more. The last time I was at a normal BMI was about 25 years ago. I thought maybe I should work on losing 20 more and then try to maintain that for a period of time (a year?), before working on the last 20 lbs. I want to make the changes I need for this weight loss to be permanent and am not worried about taking more time to get there if I can stop the yo-yo'ing.

Thanks for sharing your experience/advice.

jennifer_417

It really cones down to what you think you will succeed at. Both ways are perfectly valid, it's more about what you will stick with.

minizebu

Just play it by ear for now. Keep going for as long as you still feel motivated. But if you start to find that trying to maintain a deficit is becoming harder and you are becoming apathetic, then that's a signal that a diet break is in order.

At that point, take some time off and eat at a maintenance calorie level for as long as you think that you need to to keep your sanity and feel refreshed. Then get back at it when you are ready. Just make sure that you keep exercising through the maintenance period. Don't ever stop moving. It's that whole inertia thing. It's much harder to get started again once you've been inactive. So stay active and eat at maintenance, then re-start eating at a deficit when you are ready to get back in the game.

jessupbrady

Well, this is my second round at getting my weight down. I fell off the wagon because I hurt my back and was laid up and it didn't help that it occurred during winter when exercise is hard to begin with.

My experience showed me that the closer I was to my goal weight the slower the weight came off.

My initial transition into maintenance wasn't so bad because I wanted to go into lifting after I hit my goal weight and that required a surplus; But, trying to find the right surplus i bounced back and forth between gaining, losing, and maintaining. (Hopefully this time around it will be easier to slide into my calorie goals when i reach the end weight because I know what they should be) but to maintain you can expect some ups and downs overall until you find balance.

I'd suggest getting to your goal weight before maintaining. Why learn how to maintain something you don't want to be at?

junebugdal

I have found that interim goals work best for me. 5%, then 5%, then 5%, etc. If I look at the big number I'm almost frustrated before I begin.

earlnabby

I found that setting interim goals really helped me. My goal is a loss of 151 lb which seemed way too daunting at the beginning. Having interim goals gave me a sense of accomplishment each time I reached one and also gave me more incentive to keep going. I did not stop at any of the interim goals, just kept going. Everyone is different and, as others have said, if that is what helps you, by all means stop at an interim spot and maintain. Maintenance is just as much a part of the learning experience as losing.

The first one was losing 10% of my total body weight. Next was the first 50 lb. Then losing 1/2 of my total amount to lose. My next big goal is Onederland, then the final push to goal.

I also have fitness goals like being able to walk a mile, then 2 miles, etc. I also started swimming laps and I have goals for that too. Right now I can do 34 laps in an hour (36 laps is a mile) so my next big goal is to be able to do a mile in an hour.

casshazelwood

My eventual goal is 74lbs down from my current weight. And that's just totally beyond my ability to think of it. But my first goal is 2lbs down, a week from now. And that's doable.

leggup

I recommend aspiring to the main goal without waiting at an interim goal, making sure that you develop healthy habits along the way and that you transition slowly to maintenance, starting now with 40 lbs left to lose. Use the chart below and as you get into the lower ranges, change your weight loss goals to the lower ranges.

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.

So right now you have 40 lbs left to lose, it's time to switch to 1.5 lbs/week loss, if you haven't already. When you get to 25 lbs left to lose, change your settings to 1 lb / week. Or, if you struggle with that, change it right away to .5 lbs/week. A slow transition to maintenance means that you don't just stop with your good habits when you hit your goal.

Ridley2011

Thanks all -- great advice.

Ellaskat

one other thought - be open to your goal changing. I started at 148, and am now at 137. I originally chose 130 as my goal, because about 10 years ago, I liked the way I looked at about 127. Figured I'd give myself 5 pounds for my advanced age I have been keeping my measurements though, and my current measurements at weight of 137 are the SAME measurements I had when I weighed 127! This means I've put on 10 pounds of muscle. Which I think is awesome! So now I'm reevaluating my final weight goal. Do whatever you want, but as your body changes, be open to the idea that what you think is your idea, may not be. Now that my measurements are my old ideal, I'm thinking about what I want to do. I personally feel like I still have quite a lot of fat to lose, so I'm going to continue losing weight, but I'm switching the focus of workouts to gaining strength. More muscle please!