how do know when you should stop losing weight?

MargaretSobers

I think you have to make your own standards for your personality. Make sure you are comfortable with your weight loss. For me, I am satisfied when my clothes get fit for me. Don't take advice from others just set your own goal, and you can take suggestion from your close ones about your health or figure.

FitnessInstructorKhalil

Keep your bmi between 18 and 24. Anything under 18 is bad for you. And never compare yourself to athletes, we are who we are, they were designed to look like they are and you are designed to look like you do. You can exercise to look better but dint compare your body to athletes as it will only depress you when you realise everything you do doesn't get you looking as good as they do.

macchiatto

I'll stop trying (although I've mostly maintained for 2 months) when I lose the small 'muffin top' I still have when wearing some of my clothes. My belly is a lost cause with all the loose skin anyway.

Same here. I need to lose about 3 lbs but my body seems to fight me on those last few pounds. I'm basically maintaining but if I lose a few more along the way, great. (I am starting a recomp so that will hopefully help.) If not, then I might just sell the few tighter-fitting clothes and keep the ones that fit me well at this weight.

sweetnlow30

This has been tough for me too. I keep going five pounds at a time. My problem is I lost some muscle and I am "skinny fat" especially my stomach. I also have lots of loose skin to deal with. It all contributes to a stomach that is no where near smooth. I plan to lose five more pounds which will put me at 125, (I'm 5' 3.5") then I will maintain and do some body recomp to build muscle. I hope that is enough. I have people telling me not to lose anymore weight but they don't see my fat belly when it's covered with clothes

sculli123

I know ahead of time what my goal weight is. Once I hit the goal, I reevaluate and see if I really lost enough or should keep going. So this actually happened recently, I hit my goal but decided I want to drop a little lower once I got there.

I wouldn't base my goals on someone else's ideals though. Only you can decide when you're done losing weight. OP for the record, I'm sure most women would love to be in your shape though!

1971MLJ

Don't base your goal on other people's opinions. I didn't have a goal weight, I just wanted to be fitter and stronger, the side effect was weight loss. The majority of other people have the opinion that I've gone too far and have lost too much weight. I haven't - I'm 5'3 and 126lbs, my body has changed completely and yes I do look smaller but it's down to recomp more than weight loss.

The only opinions that really mattered were mine and my PT because he knows what I'm aiming for and is there to help me stay on the right track and he did say he would tell me if started to look too thin, it's part of his job.

If I were you I'd decide on a ballpark of where you want to be and reassess as you go. The problem with numbers on the scale is they look different on everyone.

russkiballerina

I base it off my ballet dancing weight, which is quite lower than the usual low, but it has been my nor.al throughout my entire adult life since I've danced for over 16years. Since a lot of it is lean mass I think it should be okay.
This time around I'm aiming to be stronger and since I was put on steroids for life I don't know how I am going to figure that one out since I won't really know what will be muscle vs. Bloat/water weight. I suppose I'll just up two kg.

I guess the golden rule would be to ask your doc and get an accurate body fat measurement. Once you're at a healthy/fit bf%, and you like the measurements, I'd stop worrying about what number the scale shows.

meganjcallaghan

But for me, personally, a lot of it comes from feedback I get from other people. I keep being told that I look great, and I doubt everyone would lie to me. So I have to take that into consideration. I look good, so I need to take that in, accept it, understand it, and maintain this healthy weight for me.

I think people are more willing to lie than we'd like to think. Or at least wouldn't dare say "you look alright BUT you could stand to lose a few more". If i stopped when everyone was telling me I look good and that i "shouldn't" lose anymore weight I would still be well in the camp of "obese" at 190 pounds.

brevislux

I think you should use empiric ways to know, rather than only the way you see yourself, or how others react to you. Sometimes we don't see ourselves as we really are. And sometimes people say you're too skinny when you're not. Set a goal weight and body fat percentage according to medical recommendations and aim to be there. Take your time about losing for looks, and maybe look into strength training instead of losing more and more. I assume you want to be strong and healthy and look fit - losing too much won't get you there.

mamadon

My plan was always to just get into the healthy BMI range, even if it was on the high end. I weight about 149 at 5'4, and I am perfectly happy with it. I guess its a very subjective thing.

hopelessandmad

i totally agree. everyone says i am so skinny because i have a small frame and have lost a lot of weight but i feel like i am skinny fat now and even when everyone keeps asking me if i was sick lately i am ready to lose a lot more weight [110 lbs now] because i still feel fat. and when people exclaim when i say that, sigh....

amusedmonkey

For me the answer is simple: when I'm at a point where I look good enough while being able to comfortably maintain without being hungry or over-exercising. Reaching a certain number is one thing, keeping it for life is another.

When I'm closer to maintenance, I will just start testing out a maintenance level, too easy, move down, too hard, move up. If I find myself moving down too far (doubtful) I would just stop.

BarbieFromHellx

I do it until I am 100% satisfied.
I used to maintain at the weight I currently am for ages, but I decided I want to get down to lose about 10 more pounds (I am a perfectionist, even when I reach that target weight I still won't be satisfied, but that's human nature I guess).

Anniebotnen

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.

I agree with both of the above. I finally reached my goal this morning eating 1900 calories a day. I would have a very hard time eating anything less. I still have some fat on my hips I'd like to get rid of, so I plan to continue eating at this level for a while longer to see if I can lose a little more fat, but if not, I'll be OK with it. I'm about 7 pounds below my original goal. I think the key really is to set a goal weight that you can maintain without starving yourself, and that is healthy for you.

elvensnow

This is such a hard question really. But I'll give my 2 cents.

I think the best answer is a combination of NSV (non-scale victories), body measurements, and other people's opinions. DO NOT trust the scale or the mirror! Please! I myself was around 165 and thought I was still bloatedly fat, even though husband said I looked great. My goal was around 145. I knew I needed to lose more but I ended up getting exhausted of dieting and because of a lot of life stress I ended up gaining 30 lbs. Now I really wish I did listen to all that before, since now I am realizing that the way I felt at 165 and the way I looked did not match up at all. If I had just maintained I would have been a lot happier than I am now, for sure!

Anyhow, my sister also lost a lot of weight. And while she's short (5'3) she weighs between 145-150 which many would say is way too high. But she looks amazing! Maybe she could lose another 5-10 lbs but I think she would have to nearly starve herself to get there. She did get to 145 once and she looked almost skeletal. She is really tiny, and I don't just tell her that to make her feel good, I am being 100% honest that I don't think she *needs* to lose more weight. But if she went by scale weight or BMI her goal would be around 110 or less, and that would just make her look emaciated.

So please don't trust the scale, don't trust mirrors. After losing significant amounts of weight we all will experience a bit of body dismorphic disorder -- your brain just cannot adjust to your new body as quick as you lose weight so I think you tend to feel a lot fatter than you really are.

What you should trust are non-scale victories, like wearing a favorite pair of jeans or being able to fit into small seats, or whatever. Also have some non-scale objectives, like body fat % (for women it should be between 20-30% ideally) or measurements (although I find those are hard to set since every woman is different). Finally, please listen to people when they tell you you look good. I hear so many people on the forums get offended by people who tell them "You don't need to lose more" but honestly, if it's someone you trust like a spouse or close family member, I really doubt they are lying to you!

And finally if you just really can't decide, the best thing is to talk to a doctor. They will certainly set you straight.

KateK8LoseW8

My original goal was 120, but I decided to stop at 125 because I fit into the smallest size at my favourite clothing store. And I figured if I lost any more, it would probably just come from my chest and bum because those were the only places I had fat left, really.

dettiot

This is also something I'm trying to figure out. I'm 5'3" with a small frame and weigh 131 pounds right now, a month before my 37th birthday. I'm pretty much right in the healthy/average ranges for BMI, body fat percentage, and other metrics. Lots of people tell me how good I look and that my weight is good where it is.

I was aiming to get to 125 or 128, but the last few weeks, I've really lost a lot of my motivation to eat a restricted number of calories. I've also switched from primarily cardio to more of a mix of cardio and strength training. So the weight isn't really coming off lately--but on the other hand, even though I've gone way over my calories a lot, I haven't really gained any weight.

Even though yeah, I could probably lose some more, I'm not sure if right now I want to. I definitely wish I could have a flatter stomach, instead of the weird pooches I have above and below my waist, and I wish my thighs were slimmer. But I think, after a year of losing, it's okay to let the last few pounds come off slowly, if they are going to come off. And if they don't, I think I'd be pretty happy at 131 for the foreseeable future.

So as everyone else has said, it's up to what makes you happy. And it really does need to be more than just the number on the scale--it should be a combination of factors. Good luck!

angie007az

If you do the research, there are lots of sites that show you when you are at a healthy weight. If you want to go beyond that, you can but you do take a chance of doing harm to yourself.

Tomm88

for me on my last cut i got down to about 9% bodyfat, i felt all stringy and my strengh was shot to ****:/. Keep going until you look and feel comfortable with yourself:)

bald_navy_wife

Thanks everyone your advice and input is greatly appreciated. :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: