How did you pick your maintenance weight?
Onedaywriter
Posts: 326 Member
I originally set my goal weight as the highest number in the “healthy” BMI category (195 lbs). I’m a little over 6’2” tall. When I got there I felt that I actually looked and felt better at about 10 lbs more. Some of me is loose skin - I did lose >110 lbs. So I stayed at around 202 -205for many months. Gained the dreaded Covid 15 but now I’m back to around 10 lbs “overweight.”
So, I’m thinking about maintenance again. Is it healthier for me to lose the extra 10 - ignore the turkey neck and always being cold? I was telling myself that the loose skin has to weigh something- but not likely 10 lbs.
would the extra 10 lbs make a real difference to my health? I might try to get back to 195 then do a serious bulk to 205 to add some muscle.
How did you all decide when you were “there?”
So, I’m thinking about maintenance again. Is it healthier for me to lose the extra 10 - ignore the turkey neck and always being cold? I was telling myself that the loose skin has to weigh something- but not likely 10 lbs.
would the extra 10 lbs make a real difference to my health? I might try to get back to 195 then do a serious bulk to 205 to add some muscle.
How did you all decide when you were “there?”
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Replies
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ROFL. Ooo, brother. My family calls it the gobbler's knob and the warbler.
I think most of us have a dream weight in the back of our mind. We carry it around in our heart and write it down on the 'fridge. We put a sticky in the linen closet and one on the dashboard of the vehicle. We have a dream weight and most of don't want to settle for more or less. We want our dream weight.
Come hail or high water, I worked 2.5 years to reach it and wild horses couldn't change my mind. You will know when you get there. I am bent on maintenance. I don't ever, ever want to go through any of that again. I edged my way down slowly. I had to defy my brain and it did fight against me each and every day. It always wanted its way but I'd had enough of flying by the seat of my pants. That ship has sailed and those days are over.
You will reach your dream weight. Don't worry about the warbler. Your skin will continue to tighten if you're patient. You'll see.
Think Tom Petty here. Runnin' Down A Dream
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Hmm @Diatonic12 ... I am not sure all of us young bucks always do remember what our "dream weight" used to be. Especially if we've been obese most of our lives.
My concern would be not the weight but the feeling cold etc. This tends, for me, to be an indication of adaptive thermogenesis and a sign that you're over-doing your deficits either in size or length of application. And recovery from that could be quite time consuming and/or involve regain.
So... the turkey neck... well... the turkey neck will be and it is what it is. I am more interested in how I feel than how my neck looks. I mean... plank position is not to my advantage... and I am not quite willing to go under the chopping block to change that
But the lbs for health? Nothing stops you from "getting in shape" as they used to say, and doing more strength training while allowing the exercise to create a slow deficit to drift down in weight while building up lean mass. Would that be slower than a bulk? For sure. But a bulk at high normal or higher BMI is probably the wrong decision for MOST people who started 100+ lbs higher... right @psychod787 (you being the reason I say MOST instead of ALL!)
At this point protecting your weight loss comes ahead of incremental further losses. So the answer from me is always going to be that you should do whatever it is that increases your chance of not messing up the 110lbs you've already lost.7 -
The reality of maintenance is rather different than our perception when we are working towards it.
It's not just one place and one weight forever and has to incorporate change and our bodies also change.
During maintenance I retired from a full time desk job, took up a part time active job, my cycling volume and activity level went through the roof. There wasn't one eating level and one weight that worked for all that so I've experimented with small adjustments to find what makes things easy and enjoyable. There isn't one "there" to get to - just right for now. My "there" even varies with the seasons which is probably quite unusual but works for me.
One experiment dropping to my lowest maintenance weight showed to me being hungry all the time simply wasn't worth it for a few pounds, better ab definition and a marginally better power to weight ratio.
Your skin will recover (to a personally variable degree) over a long period. I hated my stomach in that most unflattering position of push ups but the skin tightened and vastly improved over a couple of years. Plus you have to factor in age - at 60 my skin simply isn't going to be like a young man's whether I'd gained and lost weight or not. BTW the cold all the time thing also sorted itself out for me without intervention beyond eating at maintenance for a few months.
As for health - what you have achieved has obviosuly been tremendous for your health, 10lbs isn't going to make a huge difference.
A "serious bulk" with your stats and age is a bad idea! Your ratio of muscle gained to fat gained would be dreadful - just train toward your goals and be patient as you can't force something that your body isn't capable of. Keep it simple.
PS - there's a lesson to learn from your COVID lockdown weight gain. Suggest you set an upper limit that triggers action (15lbs is too much), don't risk a slide continuing. There is a thread in another forum about people's weight movement during the pandemic and there's a big difference between those that lost or maintained that welcomed the increased control over their environment and those that regarded being near the kitchen and fridge as a temptation they couldn't resist.
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I don't have much to add, but do want to reinforce 2 ideas above, and add one:
* My experience (at age 60) after weight loss was that my loose skin - where there wasn't a layer of subcutaneous fat conspiring with gravity to keep it stretched out - kept slooooowly shrinking at least into year 2 of maintenance. I won't make any representations about whether other people's will shrink or not, but at our age I'd almost guarantee that it will be slow. (If you want it to shrink, bulking is not your best ally. But only you know which of the tradeoffs looms larger. I'm inclined to share sijomial's skepticism about bulking in our later decades, but I don't have any great basis for that belief, as he may. I'm female, and that's another detriment when it comes to muscle gain.)
* I agree with PAV about the cold thing. Losing very slowly, and keeping activity level high (but fueled) might help avoid that. I lost weight as a young woman, down to about the weight I lost to this round. Back then, I was cold all the time. This time, not at all. The big difference was exercise activity - more now - IMO.
The added thought:
When you're talking about the impact of 10 or so pounds on your health - especially when none of know you or have seen you in person, let alone know your health history - we regular folks on the internet aren't IMO going to be a great source of well-informed advice. It would be a good thing to discuss with your doctor(s). S/he may still not be all that helpful (mine mostly isn't 😆), but at least it's someone who understands your health history, is looking at your body composition at the time, etc. In my poorly-founded understanding, in statistical terms, the health differences between populations that are a little into the overweight BMI zone vs. in the mid/high side of the normal zone are not super dramatic, among folks our age. But that's statistical stuff, not individuals, and you're an individual.
Best wishes!7 -
Hi @Onedaywriter !
I was driving myself nuts over this very question!
I finally asked my doctor “to make the call” for me. At a previous appt, he had been thrilled with my drop from 228 to180-185. When I said I wanted to get to 164 (25 BMI) for Female my height, he was Great!
Came back in around 155.
Asked him if I should stay there or lose 5-10 more. He said, “you are healthy at this weight. But if you want to go lower, that’s fine. How about this, go ahead if you want, and lose 5 more & we’ll revisit. But don’t lose more than 10 lbs.”
So I got down to 150.2 for a day - hungry all the time. (Not cold at age 64, used to be freezing when I lost and was younger.) And use the skin bothered me - - a lot. Wondering if it is the every day exercise Ann mentioned!
S l o w l y regained and declared maintenance at 155.
Fast forward a couple of years - average wts 155 & 158. I’m used to the skin now.
I’m now attempting Sone wt loss again very slowly again. Pure vanity. I want a smaller stomach & this time I’m willing to deal with some of those wrinkly skin surfaces (that have less fat/gravity under them.) However I’m already hungrier & I’m only down to 156.2
SO I’m doing a tiny deficit over the next 4 months and hoping I can trick my body into not feeling hungry.
On the Other Hand... I don’t know if 2-4 lbs is worth all this energy. Likely it won’t make such a big difference. Vanity has never been my thing... but I read about dangers of visceral fat ...SO I’m going to try again.
To answer your question...
I’d maintain your weight loss another year. Let your body adjust. Cement your healthy habits. Become comfortable in your new body. Exercise daily.
And revisit next August!
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I picked the weight I was when I graduated from college and came back to after each pregnancy. It's BMI 22. I look good. It works fine for me. I gave myself a 5 pound range around that.
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I picked a number that is roughly mid-point of the "healthy" range for my height, and it's a weight I was stable at for about 7 years prior to having a child. Being middle of the "healthy" range gives me a bit more buffer for weight fluctuations than I would feel uncomfortable with if I was right at the top of the range (balancing on the line to overweight).
After I reached this goal weight, I did a DEXA body composition scan so I could have a more accurate understanding of how much fat and muscle I actually have - as I know the scale weight and BMI is not as accurate. This was my double-checking process to make sure I made a healthy choice based on evidence, and wasn't chasing numbers for the sake of it. I had lost 120lbs, and my fat, muscle and bone were all in the healthy range.
I still do wonder from time to time if I should lose another couple kilos (say 5 lbs), but also I know at this point "scale weight" is less relevant than body composition, and if I want to improve my body composition I should do strength training... but I'm not particularly motivated to do that.
Having lost so much weight, I do have looser skin in some places, and a little bit under the chin... but I can see it has already tightened up a bit in the 8 months I've been maintaining, and will do more given time.
Ultimately it makes sense to pick a weight that you think is achievable for you to maintain, and which meets your health needs, but pair it with other non-scale measurements (such as considering body composition, how you feel, lifestyle factors, what you like, etc).
The biggest risk is during maintenance is fat regain - so do ensure you have a plan to stop that from happening.6 -
The first time I lost weight I had a number in mind because losing 100lb got me just into my healthy weight range and it made sense.
16 years later I started losing again. I didn't need to lose as much this time to get to that same weight, and when I did I didn't stop losing. I never really had a lighter weight in mind and it's more that I'll stop when I feel I should. I'm now over 15lb below that original target and trying to eat at maintenance. I probably could lose more but don't need to, so I'm happy with a slow drift down as I get my numbers dialled in.10 -
I choose mine after looking up. What highest weight online.that Is healthy weight for my height.143 lbs is the highest. So that's the one I pick. It'll also be very much maintainable/sustainable for me.4
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Like you, I picked the highest number in the "normal weight range" of BMI. Halfway there!5
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My current maintenance goal is 75kg +/- 2.5 kg. For me 75kg is a bmi of 23.15 so solidly in the normal range (the very top of the normal range is 81kg). I want to be at a weight that means whenever I weight myself - morning, noon, or night - and whatever I am wearing (normal street clothes), I am comfortably under 80kg. 75kg does that for me.
Once I have got there and maintained for a while I might adjust down a bit to 72kg (bmi 22.22). I don't expect to go much lower than that. I weighed 68 kg for much of my adult life (until I met my husband; I then gained to 86kg by the time we got married), but although 68 kg is still in the normal range for me (bmi 20.99), I didn't seem to do all that well at that weight. Last time I lost weight, I maintained (sort of) between 72kg and 75kg for just over two years before medication and (peri-)menopause contributed to my regaining to 88kg. I am at just over 76kg, now, so in my maintanance range and just trying to lose that last 1-1.5kg...4 -
I looked at the BMI chart, and picked a target comfortably in the range considered healthy for my height. Yeah, it's not a perfect metric but it's not a bad place to find a goal number.4
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Onedaywriter wrote: »I originally set my goal weight as the highest number in the “healthy” BMI category (195 lbs). I’m a little over 6’2” tall. When I got there I felt that I actually looked and felt better at about 10 lbs more. Some of me is loose skin - I did lose >110 lbs. So I stayed at around 202 -205for many months. Gained the dreaded Covid 15 but now I’m back to around 10 lbs “overweight.”
So, I’m thinking about maintenance again. Is it healthier for me to lose the extra 10 - ignore the turkey neck and always being cold? I was telling myself that the loose skin has to weigh something- but not likely 10 lbs.
would the extra 10 lbs make a real difference to my health? I might try to get back to 195 then do a serious bulk to 205 to add some muscle.
How did you all decide when you were “there?”
Like you, I looked at the bmi chart. I feel better on the heavier side of my range (174). Anything under that and I look too skinny.3 -
I haven't picked one. My weight loss has multiple phases. At the very least they include a chainsaw phase and at least one vanity phase.
The chainsaw phase is done. I have met or surpassed all my initial goals. All of them were NSVs. The only numbers that mattered were the ones in my blood work and the one scale number that dropped me out of obesity.
I am stopping now. I am not sure for how long. At least 90 days but it could be a year. I am not comfortable making that decision today. I will make it in February of next year.
My plans going forward in maintenance will always have either banking or corrective periods of deficit. If the deficit will always be a part of my life there is no true end to weight loss so I do not feel compelled to cross some sort of goal line right away.
So my answer is that I do not have to marry a number. I can keep playing around with it until I find something I like. If it takes 3 more years and I am in and out of maintenance, recomp, bulks, and more cuts I do not care. I know the body I need to do the things I want to do and I will keep refining.9 -
I wanted to be close to the weight I was in my late teens, I was never 'thin', always had curves so at 5ft 2, 125lbs looked good on me. And I did get there but found I was a bit gaunt looking and it was really hard to stay there, I had to be so vigilent about my calorie intake so have settled a few pounds heavier now and feel happier, healthier and maintenance is a breeze
(I'm now 51, and in maintenance since 2013) 5 -
My current and very stable weight hovers around 150 pounds. That is 5 pounds above the highest normal BMI for my height and age (145). The lowest weight I achieved was 138 to 140, but I struggled to stay in that range. Also I noticed that I had more sagging in my face and neck at that weight range. I can eat a healthy diet, sneak in a few treats (this week gingerbread and peppermint joe joes) I am very happy to be down to this weight after beginning my weight loss at 203 pounds 8 years ago. My waist circumference is 30 inches and I wear a size 8/10. I don't want to have to buy new clothes if I dropped more weight and the little bit of extra weight fills out my face and neck so there is little sagging. I plan to continue eating a healthy diet, exercising, stretching, and maintaining a stable weight for the rest of my life.6
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My mom's best advice for weight maintenance is to check the scale and the fit of your clothing. If you gain two pounds or more, then lower your calories for a few days until your weight normalizes again. She has maintained a healthy weight for her entire lifetime so I pay attention to what she says.
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I'm still struggling picking a goal weight.. at first it was 130lbs, then I got to 125, now last weigh in I was 118lbs... and I'm still not sure what to stick to (I'm a hair under 5'3), I feel like I'm in decent shape but still have too much body fat for my liking4
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I had a DEXA scan done few years ago which gave me a peek into my body composition in terms of fat and muscle. Based on that, I have decided to get down to 15%bf as my maintenance weight. From what I have read here, people tend to get extremely hungry below 12% so 15% feels more sustainable.1
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Mine picked me. I originally got very low in the BMI range. Didn't care for how I felt. I kept adding more weight back until I felt good.11
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BMI is not a good indicator of health. If you feel healthy and your labs are healthy, you are healthy. BMI is BS.1
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katiemcm1125 wrote: »BMI is not a good indicator of health. If you feel healthy and your labs are healthy, you are healthy. BMI is BS.
By that logic, I should have stayed at a BMI of 34 then, instead of losing 55lbs. I mean, I was in perfect health. Odds are that I wouldn't have stayed healthy at that weight long-term though.9 -
katiemcm1125 wrote: »BMI is not a good indicator of health. If you feel healthy and your labs are healthy, you are healthy. BMI is BS.
Of coruse people with normal bmi can be unhealthy, and people with bmi higher or lower than the normal range can be healthy. That does not mean that bmi is BS. It's not an indicator of health. It is a statistical indicator of where your weight lies in comparison to your height. Because excess weight is often a contributory factor for long term health conditions, including heart disease and type 2 diabetes, it acts as a warning indicator. It is, therefore, one of the factors I look at when deciding my goal weight.
kimny72's post at the top of p. 2 in this thread is really helpful on the question of what bmi is and isn't: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10816450/is-bmi-an-accurate-way-to-know-how-much-i-should-weigh/p2.6 -
katiemcm1125 wrote: »BMI is not a good indicator of health. If you feel healthy and your labs are healthy, you are healthy. BMI is BS.
I would not go that far. BMI is not the be all end all but it is certainly not BS. It is a marker, one of many...5 -
The BMI chart is your friend.. just make sure you're at the high end,,.and you're in the healthy range. I chose the middle lower of my BMI. If your turkey neck is not as bad at the top of you BMI.. you could settle there. .lift weights for definition and that will make you look smaller.. you can eat more.. and call it a day.
I did get turkey neck.. I've been getting morpheous 8 treatments. If you have the budget to spend.. they work on the face and body to tighten skin. Minimally invasive.. I have one more treatment to go before I declare a verdict on my neck. However.. my face looks years younger.0 -
I am trying to set my maintenance weight at 15% of my max weight, which was 325. Sounds like you were probably better at 205, but your idea of adding muscle to get there is a great idea. Muscle burns more calories than fat and is easier to keep toned and ready. So I encourage you to aim for that and hope that I can get there someday soon.1
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I haven't picked it yet. I hope I know when I get there. Its not my lowest that I was in my 20s as I had an ED its not my heaviest from my 30s its somewhere above being banned from giving blood small, and below getting asked if I'm pregnant at the airport check in desk large.2
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