how do know when you should stop losing weight?

Zomoniac

I think it should just be when you are happy.

This. End of thread.

Do you feel there is something you could do to be more happy with your fitness and/or body? If yes, you're not done yet. If no, you are, get maintaining.

elliej

Calipers are the most accurate fat % tool. Online cals are rubbish.

At 5'3.5 my goal was 112-120lb, I got to 119lb but I'm now finding that size 8 trousers (that's a US 4 I believe) are sometimes too big, but because I've got muscular legs size 6s are too tight. That was all that stopped me really. I'm now focussing on maintaining and weight lifting, after a at least a year of maintenance I'll reevaluate if I really want those last few pounds to go I can cut then. That said, I've lost only 1lb since January but because of lifting people have commented I still look like I'm getting smaller. Muscle is denser than fat after all.

JohnLang2013

I would say when you hit your proper BMI and can maintain it, you're there.

I agree. I started out with what I thought was an ambitious goal. When I reached it, I thought; “screw it, let’s do it” (Richard Branson style!) and targeted BMI25. I reached it and feel great!

HIITMe

my BMI is 21 but I still have more BF than I'd like.... so I have long term goals of another 5-10 pounds off the scale which would include an increase of lean muscle....

you'll know when to stop ( unless you have an eating disorder or body image issues) because you'll love how you look naked!! you'll love how you look in clothes.... you'll love how you feel.....

GBrady43068

*Do you feel fit and strong? Does the doctor say your weight is healthy for you? Are you happy with how you look?

If the answer to all three is "yes" then you're there.

* Of course you can always get strongER.

53welshlady

When most of the fat has gone from around my middle - weight is irrelevant.

PugsMagoo

Good question...I'm pondering this as well. I've lost 72 lbs, and the scale keeps going down. Slowly, but still losing.

jmv7117

So I just wanted to know the opinion of others, what are signs to you that you have lost enough weight, and/or are at the proper weight?
Do you just wake up one morning and know "this is it?".. Is it better to go off of other people's opinions? Compare yourself to other people/athletes your height? I know it's great to have mental peace of mind in your weight, but depending on a person's personality, that may or may not ever come. Any thoughts?

This is precisely my concern. I was within my healthy weight range when I began the weight loss portion of my fitness journey. I lost weight to get to ideal (111.8 lb) and am now 109.4 lb with BMI 21 and BF% 21.2. I'm debating whether I should continue losing or not. I'd like to get my BF% a little lower. I know not to go below BMI 18.5. A weight of 100 lb would put me at BMI 18.9 so at this point I only have 9 lb to play with. I really don't care about other people's opinions and there's no point comparing myself to others. Basically, I'm going to go with how I feel, look and health markers.

newfie026

When I started my weight loss journey, I had no idea if I would make it or not. At 186 last May, I felt uncomfortable in everything, couldn't do much more than walk , but I could walk for a long time. It wasn't enough. I faithfully tracked everything on MFP and my transformation began. I didn't have high hopes, because at 48, losing was tough. I lost 52 pounds total. My goal was to no longer be overweight according to the BMI rating on this site. I was so happy when I was no longer obese, then about a few weeks ago, officially no longer overweight. I now weigh 134. I am 5'2", so that's high on the BMI scale for me, but what the heck! I am healthy! I have no desire to be skinny. I was supposed to try to get to 125, but at 134, maintaining is way more fun. I exercise at least three days a week and I try to eat as healthy as possible. I'll probably lose or gain more as I get more toned, but I'll deal with that. At 49 now, I'll probably never lose some of the slaggy skin I have, but since I've never had children, I don't think it's that bad. I can finally wear sleeveless tops and not have to cover my arms!!! I want to keep my curves and now that bigger butts are all the rage, I am finally in style!!

rainbow198

For me I never had a weight goal since I didn't know how I would look.

All I knew is that I wanted fit & strong with no rolls and no jiggle (well a little in the back was okay lol), but I did have an ideal measurement range and a dream dress size. I wanted to wear tank tops, tube tops and a bikini comfortably.

After doing tons of research I discovered for my goal I needed to focus on body composition and fat loss and not the scale.

It got to a point where I really liked what I saw. Healthy, a little visible muscle, a little curvy, not too thin and I decided to stop and move to maintenance. I didn't even know what I weighed at when I stopped!

BreonnaQueen

I say when you are happy with your size and its realistic. I know its time to maintain and not focus on losing when I'm happy with the size that I am (I say size and not weight). There's a pants size I'm happy at and I know I don't want to lose anymore weight when I hit that.

hamminit

It's a combination of "I feel good", "I look good" (in my eyes; not others) and "I can still eat enough to enjoy Life and a few treats in moderation". I find the numbers are a bad indicator of whether I'm at my personal correct weight. The numbers really don't mean anything except as a guideline to indicate whether you're maintaining or not.

You can get to a weight where you think you look super great....BUT it's so low that your maintenance calories leave you constantly hungry. This weight is wrong for you. It is underweight for your body. You don't want to be hungry for the rest of your life, right?
You can get to a weight where you look good and healthy. It may be that you see little pockets of "fat" that you'd like to get rid of BUT you can eat an adequate amount of food so as not to be hungry and you can have a treat once in awhile. This is the right weight. Exercise those "fatty" spots away.

Although they aren't accurate, I did check the BMI charts to see if I was somewhere in the middle of the "normal" range for my height & age. They may not indicate an accurate reading but they give a guideline of whether I'm obsessing too much.

I weigh in about once a month or month & a half to see how my weight is doing. I'm not looking for a specific number but a range. If I get too close to the top end of the range, I watch my intake for the next month (mainly cut back on treats, I find) and see how I do the next month.

Great advice!

congruns

My goal is to die from fitness to prove everyone wrong. Slim marathoner look would be nice. I'd rather people say I should eat, rather be polite and not say anything at all when I used to overeat.

Adc7225

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I've been trying to figure out my body fat percentage but I've tried over 4 different online calculators and they're all completely different number ranging from 20%-40% but I'd say i am considered feminine and fit-i have some muscle definition but my measurements are 33(breast) 27(waist) 39(hips)

Wow we have almost the same measurements for the most part - I am 5'2" CW 157, C-32 W-27 H-40.5 but I also have 'thunder thighs' my initial goal was 150 then I decided to go for an even 100 pounds loss (this would take me to 144) but currently wearing size 4-6 dresses and size 8-10 pants I really think going down 13 more pounds may take me down another size - not something that I really want.

I commend you on your weight loss and even though we tend to get caught up with those numbers on the scale it really doesn't matter - of course that is easier said than done Maybe give yourself an end date, mine is the end of August, that will be just about 2 years for me.

Valrotha

I would say when you hit your proper BMI and can maintain it, you're there.

^This^

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/ is a good place to find out what your proper weight range is. It's also a good place to find out how many calories you should be taking in based on your activity level, and has some helpful tidbits of information.

As far as body fat percentage, grab an Omron from amazon.com or some other health site. They're around $30-40, and are supposedly as accurate as you can get short of a water tank.

stealthq

Any of the following would work - do the one that happens soonest:

a) stop when you are totally happy with yourself
b) stop when you are, maybe not totally happy, but at least mostly happy and you're getting tired of cutting.
b) stop anywhere <= 24% body fat (women, specifically) and you're tired of cutting - you may not be able to get the body you'd be happy with by just cutting. You may need/want to do some bulk/cut cycles to get where you want to go, and you want to be reasonably lean before you bulk. <--- This is me. I just finished a shortish bulk and shifted to a cut cycle.
b) definitely stop before you're below the low healthy limit for BMI to reassess and to get a doctor's opinion, if nothing else.

ETA: Biggest thing to remember is that you can always start losing again if you want. Sometimes it is important to take a break and reassess how you feel about yourself, what your goals are, are they attainable and do you want to put in the work to attain them?

It's no big thing to take months off, maybe more, and see how you really feel when you aren't tired of cutting and aren't feeling its effects.

Stopin_da_yoyo

When u feel comfortable. Im not a BMI person. I think its a great tool but not the final answer. A little outdated even with all the other anthropometric tools out there that will give you even more precise readings. For me, I wont be happy till I hit my first goal of 235 and then im going to reassess and set a different goal most likely to drop another 30# but I will see whats what when I get there.

You know one of the funny things I never thought about and this might just be a guy thing. Clothes. I cant believe dropping weight can be a hassle when it comes to all my clothes! I'm glad my feet dont shrink too.

kk_140

I have no idea, this is a toughy for me. I'll wake up and feel happy one day and make a plan for maintaining, then a few days later I look in the mirror and think "actually maybe a few more pounds to lose"

I am hoping that when I really am happy with the size I am I will really get serous about maintenance.

Francl27

It's a combination of "I feel good", "I look good" (in my eyes; not others) and "I can still eat enough to enjoy Life and a few treats in moderation". I find the numbers are a bad indicator of whether I'm at my personal correct weight. The numbers really don't mean anything except as a guideline to indicate whether you're maintaining or not.

You can get to a weight where you think you look super great....BUT it's so low that your maintenance calories leave you constantly hungry. This weight is wrong for you. It is underweight for your body. You don't want to be hungry for the rest of your life, right?
You can get to a weight where you look good and healthy. It may be that you see little pockets of "fat" that you'd like to get rid of BUT you can eat an adequate amount of food so as not to be hungry and you can have a treat once in awhile. This is the right weight. Exercise those "fatty" spots away.

Although they aren't accurate, I did check the BMI charts to see if I was somewhere in the middle of the "normal" range for my height & age. They may not indicate an accurate reading but they give a guideline of whether I'm obsessing too much.

I weigh in about once a month or month & a half to see how my weight is doing. I'm not looking for a specific number but a range. If I get too close to the top end of the range, I watch my intake for the next month (mainly cut back on treats, I find) and see how I do the next month.

I really like this actually. I want to be thinner, but it's tough for me to eat less than 1800 calories now (it seems the more I eat, the hungrier I get, I don't know how I used to eat 1600 calories). And some days (every 3-10 days) I go over. I've lost two pounds in the last 3 months so it's been very slow, but I can't imagine cutting again to lose my last 3 pounds faster (I still have a bit of fat on my hips I'd like to lose), and knowing I'd end up maintaining with less calories... it's dreadful honestly. Most women my height on these boards have goals at least 5 pounds lower than mine too. I just can't imagine eating so little food.