How do you know when to stop?
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tracyannk28 wrote: »So... I'm a guy.... so I'm not sure if my experience is valuable to you, but I just went through this exact same thing.
I hit 100lbs lost, then thought "I bet I can get under 200". Then I hit 195 and thought "I bet I can get under 190".... this went on and on until I found myself seriously entertaining the thought of going down to 175lbs. I knew I could get there, but I had no idea if it would make me any happier.
So I stopped.
I just kind of woke up one day and said "where does this end"? I had to shift my mindset away from the number on the scale and into the framework of focusing on my fitness and overall health and happiness. It wasn't easy. I actually hired a professional nutrition and fitness trainer who helped me see that a shift in priorities was going to be beneficial in the long term and that I could, in fact, stop chasing scale weight. I'm not sure I would have been any happier if I had lost another 10lbs or 15 or whatever.
So I'm sitting at 185 right now (consistently) - eating more, working out smarter and with better goals in mind, and am really feeling positive about what this next year holds. It wasn't easy though.
OMG! This is exactly how I feel! You'd think that I'd be all proud for losing this weight, but instead I keep thinking that losing 5 or 10 or 15 more pounds would make me happier, but it doesn't. I'm no happier now then I was when I was 165. So yeah - where does it stop? I feel like I need to jump off the train before it derails...
I'd like to add (gulp) that was anorexic in my 20's and have been in recovery since 2001. Sometimes I feel like MFP is kinda feeding my demon.
I hear you. It was literally keeping me up at night, and that mental energy was really draining. I think that's when I knew it was time to make a shift. I used the term "stopped" previously and that probably wasn't the right word. I just pivoted.
I feel really good right now because I'm still being mindful of my intake from a maintenance perspective, and I'm still working out, but in a different way. So I'm still actively focused on my health but a lot of the pressure of "losing weight" has receded.
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Try for maintaining right now I'm at 168 shooting for 140. I can't imagine myself smaller than that for my body type. I'm 5'5.0
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If you do choose to maintain please be aware that you will see a ~5# jump on the scale in the first few days. This is not fat!!!! This is water and glycogen weight which will signal to your body that it dosnt have to conserve energy any more.
Most people have a metabolism range of +/- 2-300 cals. Don't be surprised if after 3weeks of maintaining you begin to lose again. At this point you just up your cals by another 1-200 cals till the loss stops.0 -
tracyannk28 wrote: »So... I'm a guy.... so I'm not sure if my experience is valuable to you, but I just went through this exact same thing.
I hit 100lbs lost, then thought "I bet I can get under 200". Then I hit 195 and thought "I bet I can get under 190".... this went on and on until I found myself seriously entertaining the thought of going down to 175lbs. I knew I could get there, but I had no idea if it would make me any happier.
So I stopped.
I just kind of woke up one day and said "where does this end"? I had to shift my mindset away from the number on the scale and into the framework of focusing on my fitness and overall health and happiness. It wasn't easy. I actually hired a professional nutrition and fitness trainer who helped me see that a shift in priorities was going to be beneficial in the long term and that I could, in fact, stop chasing scale weight. I'm not sure I would have been any happier if I had lost another 10lbs or 15 or whatever.
So I'm sitting at 185 right now (consistently) - eating more, working out smarter and with better goals in mind, and am really feeling positive about what this next year holds. It wasn't easy though.
OMG! This is exactly how I feel! You'd think that I'd be all proud for losing this weight, but instead I keep thinking that losing 5 or 10 or 15 more pounds would make me happier, but it doesn't. I'm no happier now then I was when I was 165. So yeah - where does it stop? I feel like I need to jump off the train before it derails...
I'd like to add (gulp) that was anorexic in my 20's and have been in recovery since 2001. Sometimes I feel like MFP is kinda feeding my demon.
I hear you. It was literally keeping me up at night, and that mental energy was really draining. I think that's when I knew it was time to make a shift. I used the term "stopped" previously and that probably wasn't the right word. I just pivoted.
I feel really good right now because I'm still being mindful of my intake from a maintenance perspective, and I'm still working out, but in a different way. So I'm still actively focused on my health but a lot of the pressure of "losing weight" has receded.
I think I'm totally shifting...yesterday I put down MFP and enjoyed the day sketching/drawing just like I used to. I felt so zen lololol I really think that I'm starting to feel drained and would rather spend my free time doing more creative things.
I'd like to just be mindful, watch my portions and make smart choices instead of logging all the time.
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Have not read everything but I do agree to the go into maintenance for a bit and let your mind adjust to the new you. You can give in 3 or 6 months and re-evaluate then.0
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tracyannk28 wrote: »tracyannk28 wrote: »So... I'm a guy.... so I'm not sure if my experience is valuable to you, but I just went through this exact same thing.
I hit 100lbs lost, then thought "I bet I can get under 200". Then I hit 195 and thought "I bet I can get under 190".... this went on and on until I found myself seriously entertaining the thought of going down to 175lbs. I knew I could get there, but I had no idea if it would make me any happier.
So I stopped.
I just kind of woke up one day and said "where does this end"? I had to shift my mindset away from the number on the scale and into the framework of focusing on my fitness and overall health and happiness. It wasn't easy. I actually hired a professional nutrition and fitness trainer who helped me see that a shift in priorities was going to be beneficial in the long term and that I could, in fact, stop chasing scale weight. I'm not sure I would have been any happier if I had lost another 10lbs or 15 or whatever.
So I'm sitting at 185 right now (consistently) - eating more, working out smarter and with better goals in mind, and am really feeling positive about what this next year holds. It wasn't easy though.
OMG! This is exactly how I feel! You'd think that I'd be all proud for losing this weight, but instead I keep thinking that losing 5 or 10 or 15 more pounds would make me happier, but it doesn't. I'm no happier now then I was when I was 165. So yeah - where does it stop? I feel like I need to jump off the train before it derails...
I'd like to add (gulp) that was anorexic in my 20's and have been in recovery since 2001. Sometimes I feel like MFP is kinda feeding my demon.
I hear you. It was literally keeping me up at night, and that mental energy was really draining. I think that's when I knew it was time to make a shift. I used the term "stopped" previously and that probably wasn't the right word. I just pivoted.
I feel really good right now because I'm still being mindful of my intake from a maintenance perspective, and I'm still working out, but in a different way. So I'm still actively focused on my health but a lot of the pressure of "losing weight" has receded.
I think I'm totally shifting...yesterday I put down MFP and enjoyed the day sketching/drawing just like I used to. I felt so zen lololol I really think that I'm starting to feel drained and would rather spend my free time doing more creative things.
I'd like to just be mindful, watch my portions and make smart choices instead of logging all the time.
Yeah and you know, the way the next step looks for you, only you can determine. I'm still logging but I've found that my maintenance calories are higher than I had anticipated, so eating, and therefore logging, has become much less stressful. I hope it works out for you and you find some happiness. 0 -
tracyannk28 wrote: »I find that people give me the "too thin" comment even if I know I'm not "too" thin. Someone said that when I went "down to" 165 before I got pregnant with my second son...and I'm 5'1!! I think people have been used to seeing you one way, and now by comparison, you look thin. So they comment. But only you can say whether you're "too" thin.
If you lost the weight quickly - or if it seems quick to the next person - that person may automatically wonder whether you've been ill.
How do you feel? How do YOU think you look? I would base whether you go into maintenance on that, not on what other people have said. JMO.
I think I look pretty decent compared to other women my age. How do I feel? Ummm- honestly I feel like I'm sick to death of weighing/measuring and logging all my food and would love more than anything to eat like a 'normal'person. I'd love to go to lunch with my friends and and not have to look at the restaurant website so I can pre-log my meal. I'd love a few cocktails and the weekend and not have to worry about removing those calories from my daily food intake. I'd love some extra ketchup on my veggie burger without thinking "OMG!! I didn't weigh it...what if I go over my calories!!??"
I'm not "too thin" but over the past 3 or 4 weeks, the weight I've lost is pretty much only upper body - so my face got pretty thin.
Well, if you are happy with the way you look and are sort of "over" counting for now, then sure, take a break! IMO.
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Okay, this changes things a little. If you feel like you're heading down that slippery slope, reach out to someone and remind yourself of everything you've learned in recovery. Your weight appears to be perfect right now based on your height. Do you realize that, honestly, or do you feel past demons creeping back in?tracyannk28 wrote: »So... I'm a guy.... so I'm not sure if my experience is valuable to you, but I just went through this exact same thing.
I hit 100lbs lost, then thought "I bet I can get under 200". Then I hit 195 and thought "I bet I can get under 190".... this went on and on until I found myself seriously entertaining the thought of going down to 175lbs. I knew I could get there, but I had no idea if it would make me any happier.
So I stopped.
I just kind of woke up one day and said "where does this end"? I had to shift my mindset away from the number on the scale and into the framework of focusing on my fitness and overall health and happiness. It wasn't easy. I actually hired a professional nutrition and fitness trainer who helped me see that a shift in priorities was going to be beneficial in the long term and that I could, in fact, stop chasing scale weight. I'm not sure I would have been any happier if I had lost another 10lbs or 15 or whatever.
So I'm sitting at 185 right now (consistently) - eating more, working out smarter and with better goals in mind, and am really feeling positive about what this next year holds. It wasn't easy though.
OMG! This is exactly how I feel! You'd think that I'd be all proud for losing this weight, but instead I keep thinking that losing 5 or 10 or 15 more pounds would make me happier, but it doesn't. I'm no happier now then I was when I was 165. So yeah - where does it stop? I feel like I need to jump off the train before it derails...
I'd like to add (gulp) that was anorexic in my 20's and have been in recovery since 2001. Sometimes I feel like MFP is kinda feeding my demon.
I think if you go on maintenance, you're still probably going to need to log your food/exercise, at least for a little bit while you make the change over. But you can learn to let go of the obsession. Which is good advice for anyone. Your health and happiness are the priorities, not just the number on the scale. So change your focus a bit away from the scale and work on being the healthiest you can be ... physically, mentally and emotionally.
And put those shorts on this summer and parade around like you own it!0 -
herrspoons wrote: »When I look passably like Daniel Craig in Casino Royale.
Haha - that same thought has occurred to me once or twice.0 -
tracyannk28 wrote: »tracyannk28 wrote: »So... I'm a guy.... so I'm not sure if my experience is valuable to you, but I just went through this exact same thing.
I hit 100lbs lost, then thought "I bet I can get under 200". Then I hit 195 and thought "I bet I can get under 190".... this went on and on until I found myself seriously entertaining the thought of going down to 175lbs. I knew I could get there, but I had no idea if it would make me any happier.
So I stopped.
I just kind of woke up one day and said "where does this end"? I had to shift my mindset away from the number on the scale and into the framework of focusing on my fitness and overall health and happiness. It wasn't easy. I actually hired a professional nutrition and fitness trainer who helped me see that a shift in priorities was going to be beneficial in the long term and that I could, in fact, stop chasing scale weight. I'm not sure I would have been any happier if I had lost another 10lbs or 15 or whatever.
So I'm sitting at 185 right now (consistently) - eating more, working out smarter and with better goals in mind, and am really feeling positive about what this next year holds. It wasn't easy though.
OMG! This is exactly how I feel! You'd think that I'd be all proud for losing this weight, but instead I keep thinking that losing 5 or 10 or 15 more pounds would make me happier, but it doesn't. I'm no happier now then I was when I was 165. So yeah - where does it stop? I feel like I need to jump off the train before it derails...
I'd like to add (gulp) that was anorexic in my 20's and have been in recovery since 2001. Sometimes I feel like MFP is kinda feeding my demon.
I hear you. It was literally keeping me up at night, and that mental energy was really draining. I think that's when I knew it was time to make a shift. I used the term "stopped" previously and that probably wasn't the right word. I just pivoted.
I feel really good right now because I'm still being mindful of my intake from a maintenance perspective, and I'm still working out, but in a different way. So I'm still actively focused on my health but a lot of the pressure of "losing weight" has receded.
I think I'm totally shifting...yesterday I put down MFP and enjoyed the day sketching/drawing just like I used to. I felt so zen lololol I really think that I'm starting to feel drained and would rather spend my free time doing more creative things.
I'd like to just be mindful, watch my portions and make smart choices instead of logging all the time.
I just read your comment about your history with anorexia. Yes, please!! Keep doing what you did yesterday! Allow yourself to pay attention to what is going in your mouth. So you don't put back on those 65 pounds that you worked so hard to take off. But it sounds like tracking has become a bit of an obsession and you could easily slip back into the anorexia.
You've got the power to do this!!!0 -
Personally I don't think I'll ever stop. I have been massively obese my entire life. I was a fat baby, a fat kid, a fat teenager, and a fat adult. I'm kind of curious to see just how skinny I can get.0
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Personally I don't think I'll ever stop. I have been massively obese my entire life. I was a fat baby, a fat kid, a fat teenager, and a fat adult. I'm kind of curious to see just how skinny I can get.
This might not be a good idea.
How about just aiming for healthy and within your non-overweight range for your height?
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Personally I don't think I'll ever stop. I have been massively obese my entire life. I was a fat baby, a fat kid, a fat teenager, and a fat adult. I'm kind of curious to see just how skinny I can get.
This might not be a good idea.
How about just aiming for healthy and within your non-overweight range for your height?
A few reasons. I'm kind of afraid of thinking I'm "done" and then blowing back up. Secondly, I don't see it actually happening. I can't imagine me going from being fat for 28 years, to being super skinny.
Honestly I'm just really curious to see if it would even be possible.
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Personally I don't think I'll ever stop. I have been massively obese my entire life. I was a fat baby, a fat kid, a fat teenager, and a fat adult. I'm kind of curious to see just how skinny I can get.
This might not be a good idea.
How about just aiming for healthy and within your non-overweight range for your height?
A few reasons. I'm kind of afraid of thinking I'm "done" and then blowing back up. Secondly, I don't see it actually happening. I can't imagine me going from being fat for 28 years, to being super skinny.
Honestly I'm just really curious to see if it would even be possible.
That really doesn't sound like a good thing to put your body through...
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haha like I said, I highly doubt it will even get that far. I just can't realistically see myself being anything other than some kind of fat. I'm sure I'll plateau somewhere and say *kitten* that plan.0
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[quote="OMG! This is exactly how I feel! You'd think that I'd be all proud for losing this weight, but instead I keep thinking that losing 5 or 10 or 15 more pounds would make me happier, but it doesn't. I'm no happier now then I was when I was 165. So yeah - where does it stop? I feel like I need to jump off the train before it derails...
I'd like to add (gulp) that was anorexic in my 20's and have been in recovery since 2001. Sometimes I feel like MFP is kinda feeding my demon.
[/quote]
by all means if you think tracking, weighing, monitoring, "obsessing" is causing you more stress and encouraging any habits that are taking you to where you were when you were anorexic -- stop. maintain. go from the scale to eyeballing and see how you do. you have learned good habits, now it's time to take them into the real world! you can always go back to being exact if this doesn't work for you. enjoy.
you are gorgeous.
maybe setting another goal that has nothing to do with weight? i'm 5 lbs past my first goal and about 4 from my "next" which i came up with in the same "i can do more" mentality. my husband finally told me to stop losing weight just to lose and and focus on something else. so i'm training for a 5K (i have never run before so this is hugely exciting and motivating for me!).
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[quote="OMG! This is exactly how I feel! You'd think that I'd be all proud for losing this weight, but instead I keep thinking that losing 5 or 10 or 15 more pounds would make me happier, but it doesn't. I'm no happier now then I was when I was 165. So yeah - where does it stop? I feel like I need to jump off the train before it derails...
I'd like to add (gulp) that was anorexic in my 20's and have been in recovery since 2001. Sometimes I feel like MFP is kinda feeding my demon.
by all means if you think tracking, weighing, monitoring, "obsessing" is causing you more stress and encouraging any habits that are taking you to where you were when you were anorexic -- stop. maintain. go from the scale to eyeballing and see how you do. you have learned good habits, now it's time to take them into the real world! you can always go back to being exact if this doesn't work for you. enjoy.
you are gorgeous.
maybe setting another goal that has nothing to do with weight? i'm 5 lbs past my first goal and about 4 from my "next" which i came up with in the same "i can do more" mentality. my husband finally told me to stop losing weight just to lose and and focus on something else. so i'm training for a 5K (i have never run before so this is hugely exciting and motivating for me!).
[/quote]
I started working on my art stuff again
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I'm 5'6" and my final goal is 140-145 (I have a range) which I'm very close to reaching. I am happy as I can eat a decent amount of food while also still being in good shape. Remember - your body is also more than what it looks like - it's what you can do with it.0
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I say when you are happy as long as you are within a healthy body fat range.0
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tracyannk28 wrote: »I'm 5'8 and had an original goal weight of 165, but when I got there I knew I could do better. When I dropped 5 more pounds, I decided to shoot for 155...and so on and so on. So now I'm 143 and I just...I don't know if I'm slim emough yet. Which makes me think I should probably stop and go into maintenance, but part of me thinks I can go harder and drop more and the whole thing is making me very confused.
So, how do you know when you really are done losing?
I'm kinda asking because I overheard a colleague at work talking to my supervisor asking if I was "Ok" and saying "she just got so thin - is she sick?" Now, this wasn't said to be mean or gosspiy...she actually sounded concerned...
Heybales here has an excel sheet where you can enter all of your info including your measurements and it calculates your body frame size, fat % and ideal weight. I find that it is pretty accurate for me, though I don't know if it would still be accurate if I had a higher than average muscle mass. You can download it off his mfp blog.
PS, I am 5'7, and currently weigh 133, still have a muffin top. It says my ideal weight based off my small frame is 126, and I do believe that that would be my ideal weight, if it wasn't for having had 2 kids and have loose skin as a result.
In case anyone thinks that is ridiculously low, I am hovering between a size 8 & 10, so not too thin by any means!0 -
gotobedhungry wrote: »I'm kind of in the same boat. I started at 148 (Bmi 26.2) and am now 108 (Bmi 19.1). My first goal was 118 and I still didn't like how I looked, so I decided on 114. Then 114 wasn't good enough, so I changed it to 102. I'm not sure if I'll be satisfied at 102. Historically, there's no such thing as thin enough with me. So I would say you should maintain while you still can.
102 lbs would be BMI of 16 which is underweight. You sound like you have an eating disorder. It would be wise to talk to a therapist about it.0 -
I say when you are happy as long as you are within a healthy body fat range.
That's the thing...I thought I'd be doing a happy dance when I got down to my goal weight. But I don't feel any different - just a much smaller version of who I was before and I can wear much cuter outfits
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tracyannk28 wrote: »
Exactly. You ARE the same person only smaller.
I think sometimes we expect great, tremendous things to happen when we lose weight. We're going to land that great job, great boyfriend, or whatever the case may be. But you're still you and if you lose five more pounds, and five more pounds after that, you'll still be you. Just a smaller and smaller you.
A person can keep chasing that impossible dream of becoming, doing, or having someone/something else at a lower and lower weight, and just keep losing weight and not really having those things happen; or a person can decide what physically feels good, looks cute if that's a priority (as you said, cuter clothes), and is within a reasonable weight range.
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tracyannk28 wrote: »
Exactly. You ARE the same person only smaller.
I think sometimes we expect great, tremendous things to happen when we lose weight. We're going to land that great job, great boyfriend, or whatever the case may be. But you're still you and if you lose five more pounds, and five more pounds after that, you'll still be you. Just a smaller and smaller you.
A person can keep chasing that impossible dream of becoming, doing, or having someone/something else at a lower and lower weight, and just keep losing weight and not really having those things happen; or a person can decide what physically feels good, looks cute if that's a priority (as you said, cuter clothes), and is within a reasonable weight range.
Yeah- I'm realizing that those things may never happen even if I get down to a size 0
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