Reaching your goal weight

jensauce

I reached my goal weight a couple of months ago, but I wasn’t as happy with my physique as I thought I’d be. I lost an additional 5 pounds and now I’m down to 103 lbs (I’m 5’0” so it’s not underweight at all). I think I’ll need to lose about 5 more pounds to look exactly as I want to look, but I’m not positive.

Has anyone else experienced this when they finally reached their goal weight? Or am I just never going to be satisfied with my body?

cinnygirl38

I absolutely experienced it. But yeah, there is the potential to just not be satisfied with your body. I'm well below what *my* goal weight was, but I'm still not satisfied. I'm nowhere near underweight at 5'5" and 136. I want to lose another 6-11 pounds but it's really hard at this point. I may have to just learn to be satisfied.........

talpaengi

You're definitely not alone in this.

Depending on your physique goals, it might be that you'd be happier with adding muscle at this point, rather than with losing more fat. Muscle adds shape and definition, so your smallest areas like your waist stand out more.

It's also worth considering whether your body type is in alignment with what you hoped to achieve - different people retain fat in different areas, and that's not something you can change through fat loss or muscle gain.

Do you know what's different between your desired outcome and how your body is now?

Shortgirlrunning

Are you sure it’s more weight loss that you need to be happy? You would probably be better served with recomp at this point. Focusing on exercising building muscle. It can really change how you look without losing more weight. Yes, 103 is healthy at 5 ft but it is very much toward the bottom and you have to think about if sustaining your weight at under 100 is possible even if you get there.

jensauce

Thanks for the insight everyone! I would consider myself a mesomorph, body-type wise.

I am hesitant to work out because I don’t like a very muscular look. I like the way Kendall Jenner’s abdomen looks - it’s slim but not muscular. I can’t seem to get rid of the little pooch of fat right under my bellybutton and it’s driving me crazy.

Other than that, I’m generally happy with the way I look. Shopping is fun again knowing that everything is going to look great, I just want to look as great out of clothes as I do in them lol.

jensauce

Here’s where I am at currently. I hate the way my stomach looks, I’d rather have it be perfectly flat with very little bulging muscles, or I want it muscular. Not this in between crap 😢

sardelsa

This is fairly normal. Were you doing any weight lifting as you lost weight to get to goal? If you were was it progressive, were you getting adequate protein and losing at a not too aggressive pace? If you weren't doing these things then you may have lost more muscle so your end result is more soft vs tight, and if you aren't happy with that I would eat at maintenance, start lifting (at least bodyweight if you don't have equipment or your gyms aren't open) and get at least 0.8g protein per lb bodyweight This will help you build muscle and lose fat over time without losing or gaining weight.

It takes a lot of time so be patient. I would definitely not lose more weight since you will just end up looking like a smaller version of your current self and eventually
be unhealthy and underweight.

sardelsa

And if you don't want to workout then you will have to be satisfied with your current physique. Even Victoria's Secret models like Kendall train hard in the gym. While genetics is at play they don't just wake up looking like that.

rainbow198

Congrats on reaching your goal!

I experienced something similar when I reached my goal. But for me it had more to do with my body composition not so much scale weight. I had some loose/deflated skin and I knew my body needed work under my clothes although I was very happy with the way I looked in clothes.

I just kept it at it and stayed consistent and patient. A couple of years later my body completely tighten up and I felt comfortable wearing bikini's and things.

mhassan160

jensauce wrote: »

Here’s where I am at currently. I hate the way my stomach looks, I’d rather have it be perfectly flat with very little bulging muscles, or I want it muscular. Not this in between crap 😢

Congratulations! I think you just need to tone your body instead of losing more weight, you look fabulous 👌

quiksylver296

Lifting won't make you "bulky". Hit the weights.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1120789/females-only-lifting-weight-training-results/p1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/977538/halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky/p1

Mithridites

Another vote for recomp (since you asked). If you lose any more weight you’ll just end up looking ill. Also you have nice thick hair now - you dont want that to start thinning.

jensauce

Thanks, do you have any specific exercises you can recommend to lean out my tummy?

And for the previous commenter, I hate cardio bc I always get a sharp pain in my side after a short amount of time. I have tried dozens of breathing techniques and I always end up winded with a stitch in my side.

It also sucks that I have to take 3 strides to cover the distance of ONE of my friends’ strides. So I’m working twice as hard, but still lagging behind in distance. I hate it so much LOL.

Treab123

As a mental health nurse. Can I advise caution it's easy to get stuck in the mindset of I dont look how I want and end up going too far...

blue_killen

i agree with this, im way past my initial goal weight, and it keeps getting lower

hrod215

Images and numbers on a scale can be deceiving. Someone you see with an ideal physique may look like they are 120lbs but if they lift weights, they may be 130-140. Gaining muscle gives the body certain aesthetics. I'm not talking body building, that's a whole other thread. Losing weight alone may not be the recipe you need. As others have suggested, doing a recomp might give you the look you desire and add some bad *kitten* confidence while you're at it.

ktsbell

You might learn a lot from this thread, I did - https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10689837/does-this-uterus-make-my-stomach-look-fat

MeganD1704

Going to say look into recomp as well- it takes a long time (sometimes a year or two) but it will be worth it.

sugarnspice0613

I think you look absolutely as you are now. I prefer a softer look on a woman though as to very toned.

sarebearr

Please consider lifting weights. I know it can be intimidating at first but there are tons of women-led resources out there to get started. Kendall Jenner without a doubt works out, if that's what you're aspiring to.

Check out Katy Hearn, Nikki Blacketter, Heidi Somers, Whitney Simmons...these are few great fitness influencers that initially encouraged me to get into the gym. You will NOT get bulky!

DonM46

I had an opposite reaction.
I reached my goal in November of 2011 and have maintained +/- three pounds since then, except for one short period.
My thoughts were that if I lost just 5 more pounds, things would be even better.
But no.
My wardrobe was completely replaced at my goal weight, but I lost 8 more pounds after that. Just because.
My new clothes were just hanging, my wife said I looked ill, and my energy level was depressed.
So over the course of a few months, I slowly built back up to my goal weight.
Things are all hunky-dorry now, and I can say, "Been there, done that."

MichelleMcKeeRN

I am not at my goal weight now but when I was, I was unhappy with my body. I think it helps to look at the why. What exactly didn’t I like? For me, I hated being flabby which I blamed on the scale. Hitting the gym ultimately made me less flabby. I spent a lot of time recomping and sculpting my body.

YadaYadaYada64

Congrats on your success! Finding the weight you can reasonably maintain is prob more important than total satisfaction with your appearance, at least the part of your appearance you get from losing. With weight training, much more is possible. Find a healthy weight you can maintain, then weight train to get as close to your personal ideal as you can. I can’t imagine more satisfaction than that!