Well, I made it! Sort of...

astralweeks82

Hi all. I've decided to maintain my current weight for now, so here I am!

I am hovering between 15-153lbs at any given time, and have pretty much been there since May. I am slowly increasing my calories to see how close to the recommended "maintenance level" I can get to and not gain, as I know it's not an exact science. Quick question - how many of you have stopped losing short of your initial goal? I know a lot of people get to goal and want to lose more. My initial goal was about 10-12 pounds less than I currently am, but a few things have made me decide that, despite all that and BMI saying I should lose the last 10 to be considered "healthy", I am okay where I am. I am now in small/medium tops and as of this weekend, size 6 jeans (which has never happened in my adult life). I can run 7 miles non-stop currently, trying to build up for a half marathon. I am healthy, my waist-hip ratio is in a healthy range. I have been at this for a year and a half and think maybe my body needs a break from the calorie deficit. I've been successful and feel silly to chase those last 10lbs when I am pretty content where I am.

So, that's a long-winded way to ask if any of you decided you were happy at a higher weight than you initially thought? Very nervous and excited to be entering this phase!

OBXbound4me

Sounds like a good plan. You have done a great job in your loss and maintaining. Good luck with the marathon!!

nxd10

I think you have good reasons to stop now. And congratulations! That's amazing.

The nice thing about lmaintaining is you can always decide to maintain for a while (or forever) and lose a bit more later if you decide to.

Joanjett88

I've actually been pondering this for myself as well. I've lost 30 pounds since feb and didn't really start trying until May. I'm down to 145 at 5'7" and my goal was 135. Right now I feel good about my weight and I'm looking more for recomp than actually losing. I'm going to keep my deficit to lose a little more and see how I feel then. Congrats to you! It's a good feeling being in control of your health.

logg1e

9st 7lb was my original goal, it seemed pretty unattainable that it didn't really matter at the start! After a few weeks, losing 2lb per week, I thought that 9st 5 or 9st 2 would be attainable, so I changed my goal. By the time I hit 10st I realised that my goals were changing from weight-loss to strength and fitness. So I went back to 9st 7lb,

Short answer - yes.

I think the biggest thing I've learned is that there's no end point. So I'm happy at 9st 7 for a couple of months, trying out maintenance and building muscle. Next year I can see me trying a cut to 9st 2lb.

gabylewis22

My original goal was 10 stone, then 9.12, then 9.7 and so on and so on. I went onto Maintenance calories at 9stone and now I am 8.12. In one sense I get annoyed and say COME ON EAT MORE AND GET BACK TO 9 - as the boyfriend and mother keep telling me I'm now too skinny. In another sense I've still got the psychology of thinking 'yay - more weight loss'. I'm not doing as much cardio as before and if you ask me am eating considerably more - but i'm still losing.....

pkw58

This is really a great topic in maintaining weight. I think what makes it difficult to determine the right weight as an individual is that after carrying any amount of "excess weight" we get addicted to that "feeling lighter". It took a while for me to adjust to my new size because I am now smaller than when I graduated from high school close to 4 decades ago. I am working on energy level, strength training now, and body recomposition. It's like layers of healthy. I only walk / run up to a 5k, and I am gradually working on weight training with a PT... Yoga and Barre3 are my exercise of choice, but I can feel the benefits of weight training after 3 sessions. I just switched to a standing desk and it really helps!

Long winded, but there's a reason that the charts give a wide range of "healthy".. I feel great between 125 and 135 (I am 5'8") but most charts or BMI pegs me at healthy between 129 and 149.. some go up to 159.

I am all about feeling great, and having the strength and energy to enjoy work, play and life in general. I think feeling great at the weight you are currently at is a really good springboard to explore what "maintenance" is to you as an individual means.

Squirrel698

Why are you asking us? It seems you already know the answer yourself.

This doesn't have to be the end, it can be a rest, a pause, a scenic plateau before you continue on at a later date. You've done great for yourself and you deserve the break.

Your body will be primed to lose those last 10 lbs or whatever you like after take it easy for a bit. Your leptin levels will go right back up.

It's a good plan, you don't have to do it all at once.

dawnmcneil10

Go for it, there's nothing wrong with appreciating the body you have now. I stopped "trying" to lose weight and ended up losing another 5-7 pounds, not sure why perhaps my body wasn't done yet but I wasn't trying to lose instead I was enjoying the body I've created.

You have other goals you're shooting for so I think maintenance won't be an issue for you at all. Enjoy!

Llamapants86

I did the same thing. Just decided that weight wasn't the goal any more, even if I could stand to lose a couple more pounds. I think it is perfectly fine to change priorities once in a while. Mine went from eating at a deficit to lose to (trying to) eat at maintenance and increasing my fitness for a while. I always can switch back to weight loss mode, if I decide to.

astralweeks82

Thanks everyone! I guess part of me felt like I was "giving up" by maintaining before hitting that ultimate goal weight. But you're right, I will hang out here for a while and go from there.

Sabine_Stroehm

FABULOUS! WELL DONE! Yes, maintenance is an adjustment. You sound like you have your head in the right place for it.

As for stopping...I didn't. The weight loss did. So I figured that was a good place to be.

Best of luck with the new journey. You really do sound like you have this figured out!