Hitting maintenance at higher than goal weight

justkeeprunning91

Hi everyone,

I'm wondering if anyone here has gone into maintenance at a weight higher than their original goal weight? My original goal was 133, and my ideal goal range is about 130-135. I'm currently hanging out around 137 and am seriously considering being done with weight loss for a variety of reasons. I'm already an xs in most clothes and am between a 2 and a 4. It's becoming more and more common that I can't find clothes small enough. I can see my ribs on the front of my body which I'm not crazy about. However, I've still got spare fat other places that I'd like to lose and 137 seems like a high weight to stop (I'm 5'4.5"). I'm also having a really hard time being objective about my body. I still feel big and still feel like I look big. It's quite the mind game. By way of background, I was an obese child and topped out at almost 230 lbs at age 15. I've never been a normal weight until this year. Any input or advice from anyone who's been in a similar place mentally or physically would be much appreciated! For further reference, the picture below is me 3 years ago at about 205 vs. a couple weeks ago at 137.

fitand50inSD

No advice, but you look great and very healthy. If you feel good, don't worry about the number on the scale. Maybe 137 is the ideal weight for you. Congratulations on your hard work!

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

Take a break for a month then see how you feel.

cwolfman13

I went into maintenance when I was at an overall BF% I was happy with and knew I could maintain easily...I never had a particular number on the scale as a goal. 4.5 years later I'm the same weight, but my body composition has changed with my training in the weight room and on my bike.

peaceout_aly

First off, congratulations...you look incredible! I suggest maybe sticking with maintenance for a month and then seeing how you feel, or transitioning to a recomp program. For me, I had a similar standpoint with my body - liked the number on the scale but still felt "too big" in some spots or overall wasn't comfortable with my progress. Recomp has you eat at maintenance while incorporating a heavy lifting program. I made this switch like three years ago and have never been happier. Although you're eating at maintenance and may gain muscle weight, you still appear leaner, more toned and the motivation for progress stems more from becoming stronger than losing inches or pounds so in a way it's more rewarding.

sijomial

You look fit, healthy and happy - well done you! :flowerforyou:

Take a break at maintenance. It's unrealistic to think you guessed your "ideal weight" with complete precision and it's also very unlikely your ideal weight will be the same weight for life.
Knowing your maintenance calories is also very valuable data for whatever you decide in future.

To answer your question.....
I hit my original goal weight but it turned out to be too high, I maintained and adjusted downwards in a series of small steps over an extended period of time.
Last year I adjusted back up again a few pounds.

Goals are great but don't let your goal be a straight-jacket.

cheryldumais

You look awesome! If you are happy I would SLOWLY start increasing to maintenance levels. Personally I'm 61 years old, female and 5'5" and my goal was 135. I tried and tried and just couldn't get there. I decided at 143 to call it quits. I'm dealing with some other issues which have caused some weight increase but I figure I will maintain for a while and see how I feel. Then I may try to reduce in a couple of months to at least 140. There's no rule that says you can't change your mind.

SummerSkier

I agree if you look and feel good the scale is just a #. For me I hit my first goal weight the end of Sept and have been slowly increasing cals every other week by 100. I am continuing to slowly lose which was the plan all along. More important to me was not to BOUNCE and end with a binge like countless other diets have for me in the past. Anyway, CONGRATS and you look awesome. ***CLAPPING FROM TX****** hope you can hear me.

Goober1142

Wow, you look fantastic! Nice and toned with plenty of muscle. Definitely maintenance. Congrats!

deputy_randolph

Do you have spare fat or are the areas that bother you just loose skin?

You don't NEED to be 130-135 if all of your health measures (blood pressure, glucose, etc) are in a desirable range.

I got down to 123 (5'3); I didn't like this range...I was "skinny fat." I've put on 14lbs in 2 years. I'm really only a size larger...b/c I lift heavy and have bulked/cut. I'm happier at this weight, stronger, more developed, look better, and can eat more. Scale weight isn't the end all be all.

jrwms714

I was in the same place 3 years ago. I wanted to get to 130 but was tired of the weight loss process. Like you, I am petite and at 136 wear a PS in most clothing. I looked good, worked out regularly, and felt great. I decided to take a break and then start again to get off the last few pounds. And I did that. But when I started again, it was so difficult and took weeks to even lose 1/2 lb. So here I am, 3 years later, still at 136 and feel just fine about it! Your body tells you when you are done ... you look great, feel healthy, and are small enough that finding clothes is a problem. (I sure get that! Same issue here!) Take the break, if you want to do that, start again if you want to do that, but know that if you maintain where you are, you are probably more than just fine!

LivingtheLeanDream

My original goal was 133lbs (I'm 5ft 2 and 48). It took me ages to get there from 154 and for a few years I hovered at 134 and decided ok, I must be where I should be. Fast forward on 3 more years and I'm now 126. I'm at my dream goal even though I didn't really decide to try to get there - I was obviously eating at slight deficit and it just went slowly. I'm really happy at my new lower weight and its a good place for me personally.

If you're happy where you're at, that's great From your photos you are looking fabulous so maybe just don't get hung up on scale numbers and just enjoy being you.

lucerorojo

137 is my goal weight and I'm 5'3.5-5'4. I'm 52 now but 135-142 was a good range for me in my 30s. As a teen I weighed about 100-105. In my 20s between 115-30. I think that if you are over 30 that your weight is probably optimal if you like the way you look, can sustain it and stats are good. Women's bodies often change late 20s and fill out a bit. If you are in your 20s that doesn't mean 137 is too much either. Just depends on you if you want to keep dieting or just work on the maintenance. Personally, I'm not an expert, but considering you've been overweight most of your life it makes sense to stay at this weight and see if you are able to maintain. If you can do so for a few years then maybe reconsider if you want to lose more. Congratulations and you look great!

b3achy

Congrats on the transformation! You've done well! And you look great - healthy and happy!

Now (for me) the harder part...maintenance without the 'loss rewards'. Yes, it's definitely a mind game.

My original goal was below 120 (I'm 5'3"), but after losing nearly 30 pounds I couldn't break my 120lb 'barrier'. So, I opted to make my maintenance between 120-125 (rather than my original 115-120). Now after 9 months or so (and having stopped logging for a few months over the summer), I've gotten slightly over the upper end of my maintenance range (126-127 regularly on the scale). So I'm now opting to log again, and trying to get down below that original goal (as I now had about 10lbs to lose total). I was ok at 120-125, but for me, I think I'd feel better below 120 as some of my clothes are still a bit tighter than I'd like when I'm at 125ish. Maybe when I get there, I'll change my mind. As someone else said, goals are targets, but not written in stone (so they should be adjusted accordingly). And I think taking a break for a while has given me that extra umfph to make it my original goal.

Also, if you gradually move up to maintenance calories (I added an extra 100/day each month (though some do it per week), so it took me about 4 months to get up to my daily maintenance calories), you will continue to lose a pound or two during the process as you will still be in a bit of a deficit...that alone might be enough to get you a little closer to that original goal. But I also totally agree with others, that the scale is just a number, and it's more about how you feel, and if you are happy with your body composition.

steveko89

Since you were overweight growing up you likely have higher bone density than the average person of your current size having adapted to support your extra weight, which could account for being a few pounds higher than you though you would be.

I sympathize was the mental game you're fighting against too; it's hard not to be your own biggest critic. I was also overweight growing up and didn't really hit a healthy weight until I was around 17. Eleven years later and I've not been quite as overweight since then; gained weight when I started working after college which I lost pretty easily. Now, though I'm heavier than I have been previously, I've gain plenty of muscle mass and considerable strength since I've started lifting in the last 2-3 years and maintained ~15% body fat. I'm sure the doughy 14 year old version of me wouldn't complain to see how I look now, but all I see in the mirror is the need to cut vanity fat, and add more muscle size and definition.

Congrats on your journey so far, just because you're "in maintenance" doesn't mean have to be finished improving your physique.

Zeuggma

Hi there!

First of all, congrats on your weight loss. You look healthy and strong to me!

I'm also at a bit higher (143) than what I thought my ideal weight was (135), but I feel good here and know I can remain here, despite problem areas. In terms of leanness, after a certain point, it all becomes vanity and fitness related more than anything, so you have to decide what you want and if that's maintainable for you.

I personally like referring to https://www.precisionnutrition.com/cost-of-getting-lean-infographic. For me, I think 20-22% BF is maintainable according to the infograph and that's where I'm headed based on my diet and activity levels. Not sure if my body is going to lose the weight or just build extra muscle though, so I'm kind of just eating how I've been eating during weight loss and being laisez-faire about it now so my mind can stop obsessing.

Graelwyn75

Well, personally, I think you look just great as you are, and should focus now on learning to maintain as apparently, that is much harder than losing weight. Set a range you wish to remain at and turn your focus to fitness goals and fuelling your body for those. You might lose a few more pounds whilst graduating to maintenance calories anyway or later decide you want to drop a few more... but the main thing is that YOU are happy with your body and with how you feel now.

WilmaValley

Great suggestions and support. You do look wonderful so go forward and enjoy your success!

lorrpb

I stopped losing about 5 lbs above my desired low weight goal. I lost at the same deficit until I stopped losing, because eventually that calorie number became my maintenance. I was not interested in restricting further just to reach a lower number. It was a somewhat arbitrary choice to begin with since I had 150 to lose. A few pounds doesn't matter now.

corinasue1143

You look fantastic! I don't see that spare fat you mentioned, and I doubt if others do either. So if it doesn't stop you from living a good life, don't worry about it. Stop losing now, you can always lose more later. Or lose a few more pounds first, then stop, you can always gain it back later. Sounds like such a delightful problem to have. I hope I can have a problem like that soon.

PAV8888

First of all you look fanta-bulous!

Ideal weight range? Ideal for what? And arrived at via what decision making process that was able to both measure your relative fat and lean mass percentage and decide that it was in an "ideal" range?

So yes. Practice some maintenance. And check out whatever other fitness goals you may want to pursue.

dailyzey

Agree with everyone here. You look like a million bucks! Very inspirational before and after.

justkeeprunning91

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I found out today that I have a stress fracture in my foot and won't be able to run for 6 weeks. The plan right now is to maintain at least until then because I'm not sure how I would fare eating at a defecit without running to give me more calories. Once I'm healed, I'll reevaluate how important those last few pounds are to me. Either way this will be a good chance to practice maintenance.

Juniper3411

Totally feel everyone in this. I’ve been maintaining well between 150 and 155 but I really want to maintain at 140 to 145. While I’m happy I haven’t gone off the reservation and gained more then 5 to 10 pounds because it is sooo much easier to lose that then 20+!

But the number really is arbitrary. My original goal was 125 but when I got to 128 I looked kind of bad honestly. Plus hard to maintain. Who knows my ideal weight may be between 145 and 150 and that’s ok too. Right now I’m just trying to train my body to be happy with a slightly smaller range

fiddletime

5’2” with GW of 125. I’m 63. I’ve been at 129 for 4 months with a 2 pound up and down range. At this point I’m just going to keep maintaining till after the holidays, and try to work out more. Then I’ll work on getting to 125.

stephs0214

My goal weight was 120. I’ve been at 123 for months. I decided to stop focusing so much on the scale (I feel like I have extra fat in certain areas too) and start weight training. I’m hoping with extra muscles, metabolism just might be a little better and the extra loose skin just might tighten a little more. It’s been about a month since I’ve started forcusing more on weight training.