Readjusting goals to get ideal body...

arains89

So at what point, if ever, did you need to readjust weight loss goals realizing that your original goal would not get you to where you wanted? Let me start by saying I lift as well as do cardio. I haven't had any issue losing and I am not looking for someone to help me figure out why I am "stuck" or anything of that nature. I have lost 25 pounds since joining MFP and a total of 37 since getting home from the hospital from having my daughter in September and am about 12 pounds away from the weight goal I set for myself. The goal I had in mind was 135 I am 5'6.5" and 24 years old. All this aside what I am really striving for is to be fit and toned. Problem is looking at myself where I am now with only 12 pounds from this "goal", I feel like I will still have too much excess fat to be able to view any sort of muscle definition. Is it too soon to tell or is it possible that my body could sustain a healthy fit look at a lower weight and perhaps I should readjust? My profile pic is a side by side of me 37 pounds ago and me today if you would like to see what I am looking like now for a reference point. There are also the full pics in my profile. I feel like I don't look any different then I did 37 lbs ago...

arains89

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arains89

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marioalberto1

I'm on the same boat as you, when I started I weighted 275 pounds at 6'1" tall. My goal weight was 200 pounds, around 210-215 pounds I realize that 200 was not going to get me where I wanted to be. My new goal weight is 185 now. I am starting to think that weight is just I number and that I will get to my goal when the mirror tells me I am there.

arains89

I agree with that where the mirror is concerned I suppose I just feel a little overwhelmed at the thought that I may need to lose even more weight. I guess I didn't realize how huge I was to begin with. I never imagined being less than 135 that sounds super duper thin and I know I am maintaining muscle mass so it is super surprising that I may need to be even smaller to see significant results... I thought once I hit 135 I should start eating at maintenance and still work out but I guess I should maintain a deficit? I just don't want to become unhealthy... Idk Im rambling...

lin7604

i re adjusted my goals 3 times. i am 5.2 ft and i thought as long as i could get back to 125 ( started at 142) i would be happy. i wasn't so i re adjusted to 120 ( my wedding weight), well once i got to that i still didn't look like i thought i would being back at 120. so i dropped it to 115. well i haven't been able to maintain 115, i bounce up to 117, which i am totally fine with but i still don't look like i thought i would being back at 115 or what i used to look like at 115.... so i am just focusing on losing body fat now to help me achieve my look i want. I want to look tight, not ripped or anything, but not soft like i am now... it's mostly my lower belly that i want to get rid of and it's been just hanging around..... once i can reduce that i know i will be 100% happy!

marioalberto1

I agree with that where the mirror is concerned I suppose I just feel a little overwhelmed at the thought that I may need to lose even more weight. I guess I didn't realize how huge I was to begin with. I never imagined being less than 135 that sounds super duper thin and I know I am maintaining muscle mass so it is super surprising that I may need to be even smaller to see significant results... I thought once I hit 135 I should start eating at maintenance and still work out but I guess I should maintain a deficit? I just don't want to become unhealthy... Idk Im rambling...

I totally understand how you feel and what you are saying. I am always saying how I used to be in fat denial. Not in denial that I was fat, but in denial about how fat I was. I look at pics from before and I can't believe I ever allowed myself to get that big.

cwolfman13

This is why having a goal weight is kinda stupid. A goal BF% is much better. Also, at some point it really becomes about body composition work...which is detail work. Detail work is long and arduous...not weeks or a handful of months...you start getting into the months and years when you start talking overall body composition and really dialing in to get your ideal body.

Personally, when I got to this point I just really put my focus on my fitness and getting really good nutrition. Sometimes I'm at a small deficit and sometimes I'm at maintenance...and sometimes I'm even at a surplus. It's all good...my focus is on nutrition and fitness now. To keep me focused on those things I train for actual events rather than just working out...this keeps my *kitten* moving at full throttle...I know if I don't get out there and bust my *kitten*, the next race on the calendar is going to kick my *kitten*. It's extremely slow, but little by little I'm getting a "fitness" body...I continue to lean out little by little by little and carve my body.

I've also found that, while I'm a big advocate of a calorie is a calorie...when you get to a certain point, I've found that what makes up your diet really makes a difference as well. Mind you, this is just my experience as a 38 pushing 39 year old man. I've really had to dial in my nutrition once I hit about 22% BF...I've dropped another 2-3 points in the past 4 months or so being at roughly maintenance and getting my fitness on and really eating nutritiously.

stetienne

I'm in the process of doing that as well. I was so concerned about losing weight that I didn't realize how much muscle mass I was losing. I lost 25 pounds and still had a gut (skinny fat). So I'm upping my calories and starting weight training. Hopefully by including a higher % of protein and adding the weights, my BF% will get where I want it to be.