Thrown into maintinence by life. Should I try to lose my last few pounds?

unigirl143

SW 206
CW 157
GW 145

Over a period of 2 years I managed to go from a starting weight of 206 down to 149. I have maintained around 154-158 for over a year after getting thrown into family stressors last January. My Mother in law passed away and left us cleaning out a hoarded house that has taken a year to clear out around a full time job and our 5 year old just starting school.

I had changed my exercise program to assist my journey but then twisted my knee at work and had to cut back. I am now trying to get back any motivation to start my at home Zumba program again because I know I love it and I guess it would make me feel better overall.

I guess my question is.. If I have been maintaining my weight now, should I just revise for this to be my goal?
I picked the GW of 145 from online BMI calculators and the last time I was even close to that weight was 7 years ago. I know I should consider myself lucky to be maintaining instead of gaining and going back to bad habits, but I can't help but see my original goal weight 'on the horizon' and just out of reach.

kommodevaran

Objectively, normal BMI is a (one of several) markers of good health. Subjectively, it's way more complicated. You should pick a goal weight that you are both physically and mentally comfortable with. You'll be eating fewer calories to maintain a lower weight. You have to weigh factors like amounts of food you can eat vs amount of physical activity you get, how much eating a little more is worth weighing a bit more, or whether being a bit more strict is worth it to fit into a certain size clothing.

Maintenance is for life, and life is a continuous row of bumps in the road. Don't base your weight management plan on luck - build habits that you are able to and want to stick to through "thick and thin".

suzesvelte

You have to answer this yourself! Look at your original long-list objectives, have you actually met them all apart from this notional goal? How do you really feel at the weight you are now? Would you feel better if you lost more weight or should you be putting more effort into fitness?

Does not meeting this notional "goal" really matter to you? What are you real feelings about the "goal" - do you have to feel like a "failure" for not reaching it or can you feel like it is amazing what you have already achieved?

You honest answers to these questions will be your best guide to what you need to do.

It is great that you have maintained at the lower end of your weight range, and that is often harder to do than the actual weight loss, so setting yourself to stay at this weight is not an "easy" option. I am losing weight again for the upmteenth time and what I am really focussing on now his how do I avoid the pattern of coming unstuck in maintenance?

I think this is so hard and even though my weight re-gain is slow it is always inexorable. I am trying to learn the habits of successful maintainers, and what I notice from reading in here is that lots of them say two/three things:

1. Never stop weighing in - keep a regular check on the all-seeing scales!
2. Have an upper limit of weight and if you creep up (say 2 -5lbs) deal with that immediately.
3. (maybe) set other goals in fitness challenges.

I reckon if you stick with these two/three rules you might find you drop a few pounds over the next year or so anyway.
It is certainly counter-productive to beat yourself up for not getting to the "goal".

sijomial

Weight is just a piece of the jigsaw puzzle of life!
If you are happy with your current weight then stay there - if you aren't then get back to a small deficit.

I've revised my maintenance weight several times (down and up) depending on lots of factors, it's unrealistic to expect to be the same weight for the rest of your life. Really the only constant in life is change.....

TimothyFish

It is up to you, but I would, if for no other reason than it is easier to get motivated if you have a goal you are aiming at.

rosebarnalice

As others have said, it's up to you. I know that I'm actually more comfortable about 6-7 lbs above what the BMI charts say should be "normal" for me, and I've been able to maintain my weight here comfortably for more than a year-- where to maintain that weight 7 lbs lower always felt like a struggle.

goldthistime

I'm impressed that you went through a difficult year and only gained 8 pounds. I can gain that much in a difficult month. I gained 6 over Christmas. So kudos for losing it initially and for showing resilience.

Were I you, I would consider getting back to 149 and then re-evaluate from there. Perhaps 149-157 will end up to be your maintenance range. You're here posting, so that tells me that you are ready to put yourself first for a while and do all the "get healthier" things we tend to do when we start dieting.

kkress92

What if you just ate at a very small deficit? Like around 100 calories less than maintenance?

cllslcl

Sounds like you are recommitting. That is motivation in itself!
I like maintenance less 100 cal idea too. That would eventually level off to a regular weight as when you weigh less you get fewer calories anyway. It's like maintenance with a bonus.

try2again

cllslcl wrote: »

Sounds like you are recommitting. That is motivation in itself!
I like maintenance less 100 cal idea too. That would eventually level off to a regular weight as when you weigh less you get fewer calories anyway. It's like maintenance with a bonus.

Similarly, I was thinking maybe use the maintenance calories for your desired goal weight. But I couldn't tell from your post, OP- do you intend to count calories for maintenance?

unigirl143

Thanks for the replies. I guess I just mostly did not want to feel alone. I have taken to heart the "maintenance range" comments and am really going through a 'self diagnostic' of how I feel now vs 149.
I never went further than general eyeballing my portions to lose the first time. I'll measure out rice with a cup, but I don't weigh everything and don't think I will ever go to that amount of accuracy even for my dream goals.
I'm slowly inching my way back into just cutting out the overall junk out of my diet for the most part. I love cooking and I like putting my own cooking on the table instead of prepackaged anyway. (bonus is my 5 year old is loving helping mommy in the kitchen now )

Gamliela

unigirl143 wrote: »

SW 206
CW 157
GW 145

Over a period of 2 years I managed to go from a starting weight of 206 down to 149. I have maintained around 154-158 for over a year after getting thrown into family stressors last January. My Mother in law passed away and left us cleaning out a hoarded house that has taken a year to clear out around a full time job and our 5 year old just starting school.

I had changed my exercise program to assist my journey but then twisted my knee at work and had to cut back. I am now trying to get back any motivation to start my at home Zumba program again because I know I love it and I guess it would make me feel better overall.

I guess my question is.. If I have been maintaining my weight now, should I just revise for this to be my goal?
I picked the GW of 145 from online BMI calculators and the last time I was even close to that weight was 7 years ago. I know I should consider myself lucky to be maintaining instead of gaining and going back to bad habits, but I can't help but see my original goal weight 'on the horizon' and just out of reach.

I feel like congratulating you on maintaining your weight through difficult times, good going!