Nearly at goal...

beerfoamy

...and feel weird.
Am 13lbs away from hitting 168lbs - which was an arbitrary goal, nearly healthy BMI, just a round number that I never thought I'd reach.

Now I am close and I can feel my brain starting to worry about 'what next'. (I have a mini 'what next' to get to 165 for an official healthy BMI)

Just wondering if anyone else has felt like this and any advice. In theory I know what to do once I hit goal - keep logging, weigh still, but less often, give myself a weight range for maintenance and I will probably want to focus more on lifting and swimming goals

Actually typing this has helped a bit, but I still get the feeling I will suddenly be left in limbo with no real aim.....

so yeah.....weird

RachelElser

I just started (5 lbs down) but I think as long as you give yourself goals- eat five fruits/veggies a day- you should stay motivated. There are so REALLY cute charts you can keep track of stuff like that.......for kids but I still like them! If you print them on a clear plastic sheets- backwards, then attach to a white board (so you can write on the un- inked side) and you can hang it on your fridge.

https://pbhfoundation.org/pri_sec/gro_proc/more_matters_pledge/TrSheets_adults.html

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://shk-images.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/fruit-veggie-tracker-1024x791.png&imgrefurl=https://www.superhealthykids.com/5-tips-for-5-a-day-free-fruit-and-veggie-printable/&docid=6kfeH9tN3w8xGM&tbnid=eirS2y1pxXRB7M:&vet=10ahUKEwigiaSPro7XAhVMySYKHbjfAGcQMwg-KAEwAQ..i&w=1024&h=791&bih=768&biw=1600&q=fruits and veggie tracker&ved=0ahUKEwigiaSPro7XAhVMySYKHbjfAGcQMwg-KAEwAQ&iact=mrc&uact=8

I like this one- it does all the food categories, and activity
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51tAI1lj6rL.jpg

elisa123gal

The only words i have for you is to weigh yourself every day. i regret so much not weighing myself and letting pounds creep on...and before you know it.. you're back to square one. The biggest way not to regain it all..is to face the fact each day.. see how much you weigh..and keep it within a range you determine. congrats..btw.

aemsley05

It's really common to feel a bit at a loss when you're nearing your goal, especially if you've been losing weight for a long time and are used to the 'losing' mindset where there's a clearly defined goal and an 'end' in sight. What can help is to set yourself other, non-scale related goals, for example fitness goals (like your swimming and strength training). Maybe choosing and following a structured lifting programme would give you something to focus on with progression and a set time period acting as goals and purpose to continue?

I've only recently hit my goal weight, so understand how you are feeling. The original goal I'd set for myself was at the top of the healthy BMI range for my height but when I was nearly there I realised that I didn't want to be 'just under' overweight, so I reset my goal for the middle of my BMI range. Now I've hit that and have been maintaining for the last couple of months. It's really difficult to stop yourself wanting to see the scale numbers go down and to get out of the habit of wanting to have 'leftover' calories in your diary at the end of the day! You can find a lot of help, advise and support in the maintaining weight threads- you'll see that many people feel just as 'weird' about hitting their goal weight as you do

beerfoamy

thanks guys!

have been reading the maintenance threads today to help!

88olds

Yes! I've lost 100+lbs and been at goal 11yrs. The last 40lbs lost on Weight Watchers. WW had message boards, gone now, had 1 for guys Guys On A Diet. Now on MFP. Search for GoaD if you want to join.

Anyway, WW was great for me. I got in trying to hit my long time mini goal of 200lbs. But I found myself closing in on the healthy BMI for me of 184.

On the WW message boards I did a post I called A Fat Guy Changes Careers. It was about my identy crisis. What would happen to me when I didn't have to be "dieting" all the time? If I wasn't going to be someone "struggling with their weight", who was I?

What happened- I kept tracking. I blew through 184. At one point all the way to 169. Didn't like it. I gained back to around 176lbs, my weight when I graduated HS. I was 56 yrs old. I'm 67.

I kept tracking for 5 years. Twice in the last 6 years I've gone back to tracking. I refer to my issues as point creep or calorie creep. It becomes scale creep. I don't run off the rails, but must remain vigilant.

Only real difference to me is the nagging inner voice is quiet. I have to be mindful and vigilant but I'm not kicking myself for not being able to close the weight loss deal.

Keep tracking. Prepare to do it for a long time. Once you're in the habit and know a lot of the numbers it's not hard. Prepare to fumble around in the dark. Truth is there's no way to know what it's going to be like. It's the great unknown.

Last- been at this a while, regaining is a real threat. Not only did I keep tracking, I stuck with my WW meeting, an endless parade of "I gained it all back." Beware. Good luck.

TavistockToad

i started with some fitness goals once i got to maintenance