How did you know when to stop losing weight

qwho

I am finding it hard knowing when to stop losing weight now that I have reached/surpassed my original goal, I am thrilled with the pounds lost, but not sure if I should go a bit further or stop.

People at work tell me to stop, that I am tall and carry my weight well and did not need to lose weight in the first place. But I knew when I was carrying too much weight around.

I feel like continuing to exercise will help tighten and tone, but I think a few more pounds lost would be good too.

I am a 5' 11" tall female, I started out weighing 183 and now weigh 157. I have a medium frame and am now wearing a size 12. (When I was 33 I used slim fast and lost 70 pounds and weighed 115, then I was a size 5, but I am sure I was borderline anorexic, my periods even stopped. So I know not to go that low.) My bmi was 25.5 and is now 21.9. My supposed ideal weight is 155. I am tempted to go to 153 (30 pounds total lost) and definitely no lower than 145. People often guess my weight at 20-30 pounds less than it is.

Any thoughts from those of you that reached your goal, how you know when you have lost enough. I don't want to go too far but I don't want to stop too soon either. I know sometimes our view of how we look can be off. Thanks for any advice you can offer me.

btw, my bmi at 145 would be 20.2, still well within the normal range of 18.5 - 24.9 (ack! I just looked and my bmi when I weighed 115 way back when was 16!)

megano_d

Your best bet is to talk to your doctor about it. They will be able to give you a better range since they are actually looking at you and basing it on your actual body instead of a random one size fits all assessment.

Amber030583

I haven't reached my goal yet but I am 5'10" and my goal weight is 155. 150 is my ideal weight for my body. You being taller then me there is no reason to get any smaller. Maybe just work on building muscle and toning. Don't lose anymore weight. And also see a doctor.

Natural

great question. i am somewhat in the same boat, 5 10 and formerly 170s, now 150. i still have some belly fat to get rid of but not much. yet i'm still exercising and counting calories - i guess to maintain and maybe lose a few more pounds. i probably can't afford to lose more but need to trim the middle. i was wondering do i lose another 5, scale back my exercise or what. interested in what others have to say. i would be content with the belly fat gone and not much more weight. how is that possible, strength training and lower carb intake? not sure.

hmmmmm

redefiningmyself

Your best bet is to talk to your doctor about it. They will be able to give you a better range since they are actually looking at you and basing it on your actual body instead of a random one size fits all assessment.

I completely agree- its best to talk to your doctor at this stage.

megano_d

Also, I just did a bunch of calculators online which all indicated that your weight should be between 145 and 170. If you are really of a medium frame then most likely you should be at 155-160. And remember that muscle weighs more so you should be more focused on being in shape with good muscle tone since you are already in your goal weight range than losing weight. It sounds like you have likely gotten rid of any extra weight you had, so good for you!

michlingle

If you cannot see a doctor, I'd stick to a bmi chart...if you want to get down to 145 and still be in a normal weight range, then go for it.

guardup

I am 6 feet tall and now weigh 150... down from 160. My frame is medium. I am now a size 8 long. However, I have some muscle on me... so that throws off the poundage. I getting back into a regular lifting routing and therefore stepping off of the scale. I don't want to go by lbs anymore and instead by measurements and overall feeling of health.

I think I could lose another 5-7 lbs... but that would put me at a fat percentage of a professional body builder, which I am not. And since I live in New England, I need at least some body fat to keep me from being constantly cold.

I would suggest stepping off the scale and just do maintenance from here. At the very least, drop your deficit to just 100 calories and see how you feel. Give yourself time to get used to a maintenance level and enjoy those extra calories for a few months. Then, if you want to go for a few more pounds, give it a try. But if you are feeling and looking healthy, don't sweat it.

I would also talk to a doctor if you feel you cant decide what a healthy weight is. They will give you a range based on many different attributes you may not know and then you can focus on that.

Sumatra

Good question. I'm still losing, but I'm wondering where I will end up. I'm 6'1", so just a few inches taller than you. I'm not at about 169 with a BMI of 22 with a medium frame. I think I need to lose another 15 lbs based on my belly fat. If I do lose that much it will be less than I've ever weighed at this height, but I just think that's what will be best for my body at this point. I'm also really working on toning and adding muscle and I can see it making a big difference, so maybe with the strength training I won't need to lose quite as much.

I say, just do what seems right for your body. Talking to your Dr. is also of course a good idea. You might want to get some pictures of yourself. It's very eye-opening to me to see myself in pictures. Somehow I look much different in pictures than I do looking in the mirror where I tend to focus only on flaws.

ChancyW

I would talk to your Dr as everyone has mentioned. If you're eating right (getting enough calories as well) and exercising and still losing weight, perhaps your body can healthily go a bit lower. Being that tall will definitely allow you to weigh more.

Have you gotten your body fat % taken? That may also help your Dr determine where you should be :-)

-Chancy

Umpire57

Make yourself happy!

People have been telling me to "eat some cake" etc for the past 30 pounds.

I have maintained since June and It would not bother me to lose a bit more but in the end you have to be happy with yourself!

PLEASE do NOT listen to the nay sayers who constantly tell people who are losing that they need to stop! Stop when YOU want to stop, not when others want you to.

RMX82

That thought has never even come close to crossing my mind, haha. I'll cross that bridge once I'm on the south side of 200.

qwho

Thanks so much all of you for your opinions.

I did manage to take a photo (not very good, lol) and I think I do not look
too thin it it.

(thanx for the tip on the photo Jesse!)

JStarnes

make the [IMG]lowercase :flowerforyou:[/img]

NeuroticVirgo

Your best bet is to talk to your doctor about it. They will be able to give you a better range since they are actually looking at you and basing it on your actual body instead of a random one size fits all assessment.

I completely agree- its best to talk to your doctor at this stage.

Me too, but if you can't get in to see them for whatever reason, I would try to stay with in your healthy range. If your comfortable where you are, try to maintain and try to lose, but maybe not so die hard as before...if that makes sense. Definetly stop if you get BELOW your healthy range.

qwho

Me too, but if you can't get in to see them for whatever reason, I would try to stay with in your healthy range. If your comfortable where you are, try to maintain and try to lose, but maybe not so die hard as before...if that makes sense. Definetly stop if you get BELOW your healthy range.

Thanks, I am thinking that too, continue to get into exercising more and up my calories, maybe not to maintenance but
add a couple hundred so that I continue to lose, more slowly, and hopefully tone up too

ka_42

Looking for answers here too! Many of you mention going to a doctor and getting their opinion. What kind of doctor should we go to? A nutritionist?

I feel like I want to stop the obsessive life of counting calories and letting the way my body looks consume my thoughts. I weigh 135 and I'm 5'3". My BMI is 24 and my waist measures 35". I've read that my waist should be smaller and it's an unhealthy size... I know I'd like for it to look smaller! I never thought I'd weigh this little or be this small (I've lost 60 lbs). Knowing that I'm the smallest I've ever been (aside from adolescence) makes me feel like I'm ready to just maintain. I'm stuck. Thanks for any words of wisdom! :flowerforyou:

gillleeman

Been wondering this myself. I'm 5ft 11 started at 183 and want to get to 168lb. Then re-assess. Its so difficult because we are all different and when I hear of your weights they are far lower than mine. When I weighed 158 lbs I was scrawny, my ribs and hips jutted out so definately too low a weight for me. I think my ideal weight is probably about 165 lb. My weight is also coming off slowly so another reason for me to think I must be nearly at goal weight. If you're still losing weight pretty regularly then you probably aren't near goal weight yet.

qwho

Been wondering this myself. I'm 5ft 11 started at 183 and want to get to 168lb. Then re-assess. Its so difficult because we are all different and when I hear of your weights they are far lower than mine. When I weighed 158 lbs I was scrawny, my ribs and hips jutted out so definately too low a weight for me. I think my ideal weight is probably about 165 lb. My weight is also coming off slowly so another reason for me to think I must be nearly at goal weight. If you're still losing weight pretty regularly then you probably aren't near goal weight yet.

what is your frame size? I understand one way to figure this out is to put your thumb and index finger around your wrist. if they overlap, you are a small frame, just meet, medium and don't meet, large. Did you see the picture I posted? Curious how you look compared to that since we are the same height and started at the same weight

Looking for answers here too! Many of you mention going to a doctor and getting their opinion. What kind of doctor should we go to? A nutritionist?

I feel like I want to stop the obsessive life of counting calories and letting the way my body looks consume my thoughts. I weigh 135 and I'm 5'3". My BMI is 24 and my waist measures 35". I've read that my waist should be smaller and it's an unhealthy size... I know I'd like for it to look smaller! I never thought I'd weigh this little or be this small (I've lost 60 lbs). Knowing that I'm the smallest I've ever been (aside from adolescence) makes me feel like I'm ready to just maintain. I'm stuck. Thanks for any words of wisdom! :flowerforyou:

congrats on the 60 lbs lost! woohoo! Also, I found the weight came off first where I did not want it to (my face and tush, lol) and then began to come off my stomach and hips. So perhaps the same will be true for you. When you reach a weight that you feel comfortable at, then it is time to stop I think. I intend to continue to count calories after I stop activly losing weight, to make sure I do not slip up and start regaining, but it will be nice to have more cals everyday too. Supposedly my maintenance will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1900-2200 a day vs the 1200 I am on now.

I can see my ribs, but they are not prominent, and my tummy is much flatter than it was, and my waist went from 36" to 30-31, so all that is good. My weight loss has slowed down. I do know a smaller waist is very important and one of the biggest reasons I started this, along with just not wanting to feel like I had let myself go.

lculian

You sound like you are right where I am. I'm not going to lose more weight, but I do want to tone up. I'm try to add more proteins and strngth training in order to do that. I have set my calories to maintenance mode and so far so good:happy: I'm starting to see changes. I understand a couple of things toning takes effort , time and a balanced lifestyle. Be patient, it's the hardest part.

The other thing I want to share with you is that my sister is a Clinical researcher for Stanford and while healthy BMI ranges from 18-25 women who have a bmi of 22-23 are healthiest, if you drop below the 22 mark, your body tends to start having problems. I thought that was very interesting and has helped me set the weight I want to keep my body at. I too was under weight at one time and I was sick all the time! I have been overweight and while I wasn't sick, I was tired, and my body couldn't cope with the weight so I experienced pain, and lots of it. So far I'm liking my BMI of 21.9-22.6 (I fluctuate a little every month)

I hope this helps. Good luck, and congrats on getting to your goal!!!

ka_42

I can see my ribs, but they are not prominent, and my tummy is much flatter than it was, and my waist went from 36" to 30-31, so all that is good. My weight loss has slowed down. I do know a smaller waist is very important and one of the biggest reasons I started this, along with just not wanting to feel like I had let myself go.

Thanks for the advise! I started out with a 42" waist.. and it has been getting smaller most recently! I'm going to keep on keeping on! I've heard that the last place you lose is where you put on first or your problem area... hoping this holds true for me too!

ka_42

congrats on the 60 lbs lost! woohoo!

Oh and thank you so much! It's been a long journey... but as I like to say, Life is truly better smaller. I'm a happy girl.

qwho

lculian, I would love to know what sort of exercises you do. I walk a lot at work 5 days a week (4 - 5 miles a day) and have never
really been into exeercising, so I have started small, pushups, butt crunches (lol) and exercises to try and firm my triceps. I use weights for the arm exercise I am doing. I remember when I was underweight I was cold all the time.

qwho

Kimberly, we are the most at risk for health complications, the ones that carry our weight in our midsection. My mom was the same way and I have her tiny tush too. Just wish I had inherited her legs, hers looked better when she was 70 than mine do now. I get the varicose veins from my dads side of the family.

gambitsgurl

When you're walking down the street and fall through the grate?

qwho

great, thanks LOL!, but I might weight about 16 pounds before that happens

lculian

lculian, I would love to know what sort of exercises you do. I walk a lot at work 5 days a week (4 - 5 miles a day) and have never
really been into exeercising, so I have started small, pushups, butt crunches (lol) and exercises to try and firm my triceps. I use weights for the arm exercise I am doing. I remember when I was underweight I was cold all the time.

RIght now I'm doing a combination of things. I'm doing Couch25k its a short cardio workout, and I'm going to try to run my first 10k in April (we'll see how that goes) On Couch to 5k workout days I also use the weights at the gym for another 15 minutes, I do legs, arms, abs and back usually 3-4 minutes per area. I know they say you should workout one area a day. I don't know enough exercises to do it that way. I do 10-15 mintues of squats, lunges, and arm exercises 5 days a week We have a gym where I work so I can take a 15 minute break and use hand weights to do this. Most of the strength exercises I do came from the Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred. If I don't have time to get to the gym the 30 day shred gives me everything I need, strength cardio and abs. Abs are my problem area, always have been.
I know the too cold feeling too! So here's to staying healthy and warm:bigsmile:

gillleeman

qwho - I look pretty similar to your photo, but here are my stats.

UK size 14. Bust 36 in, Waist 30 in, Hips 41 in. I did the test you suggested and think I'm medium frame.

I carry a lot of muscle in my legs. My lowest weight ever has been 126 lbs (my periods stopped).

My lifestyle is active and I'm on 1790 cals before exercise. I'm down to lose .5 lb a week and at the moment its still coming off, so will probably keep going til 165lbs are reached.

I'm also 46 yrs and feel more mature ladies need slightly more padding

Kate_UK

I think you look fantastic in the picture you posted. By all means loose a little more if you feel you want to but honestly you look great! There is a ting as being too thin x

My goal is 154 (11 stone) and I'm 5ft 9 and a half. I'm only 0.5 of a lb short of that now and I've had so many concerned family members and friends ask if I'm ill in the last 2 weeks I figure I shouldn't go below that. Even though it gives me a healthy BMI of 22.6

qwho

qwho - I look pretty similar to your photo, but here are my stats.

UK size 14. Bust 36 in, Waist 30 in, Hips 41 in. I did the test you suggested and think I'm medium frame.

I carry a lot of muscle in my legs. My lowest weight ever has been 126 lbs (my periods stopped).

My lifestyle is active and I'm on 1790 cals before exercise. I'm down to lose .5 lb a week and at the moment its still coming off, so will probably keep going til 165lbs are reached.

I'm also 46 yrs and feel more mature ladies need slightly more padding

we sound very similar, those are my measurement almost exactly and I am in a us size 12 (not sure how that compares to a uk 14)

I do not think I look thin in the photo (admittedly not a great shot either lol). I still have some padding on my hips and perhaps a bit of a muffin top (depending on what I am wearing) and still have a remnant of the 'back crease' thing going on (not sure what to call it) so I think a few more pounds lost might benefit me (course, nothing says I will lose it in those places). I have noticed the weight has not been coming off nearly as fast lately, so definitely my body is trying to hold onto the weight at this point
still coming off but much slower

qwho

I think you look fantastic in the picture you posted. By all means loose a little more if you feel you want to but honestly you look great! There is a ting as being too thin x

My goal is 154 (11 stone) and I'm 5ft 9 and a half. I'm only 0.5 of a lb short of that now and I've had so many concerned family members and friends ask if I'm ill in the last 2 weeks I figure I shouldn't go below that. Even though it gives me a healthy BMI of 22.6

Well, I weight 157 right now, and would like to see what 145 looks like on me, but I am starting to hear stuff too about not needing to lose any more, but not sure who to believe. You look great in your photo, and I think look thinner than me, lol.
My bmi is 21.9 right now