Weight Loss Goal Achieved

rachellock

Hello
I am having an emotional moment because I've finally, today, achieved my weight loss goal. However, it is ridiculous because I am literally too frightened to tell MFP this and change my goals to maintenance. I feel tearful. I think it is because it has been such an emotional journey and I have stuck to MFP, daily logging and sticking to it's principles everyday for so long. I am just terrified of putting the weight back on.
Can anyone, who has reached their goal, reassure me that the weight stays off and you stay at goal from now on? I believed in MFP to lose weight so i should believe in it for maintenance - why do i feel so apprehensive that this will actually happen? I feel too scared to eat 1580 kcal instead of 1200 which has been the norm for so long.
Any help or support would be appreciated as at the moment I can't bring myself to change the goal calories.
Thank you x

hillfoothardy

I am only 3 weeks into this and have lost 3 pounds so far. I think what you have achieved is amazing and if MFP tells you that you'll be fine, then I'm sure you will be fine! Enjoy - you look fantastic from your photo!

SaraTonin

If you are scared, try raising by 200 calories a week to let your body adjust. I use MFP for gain/maintenance and its numbers worked for me!

SaraTonin

And CONGRATS!!!! I hope you celebrate!

helloiloveukitty

congrats! what an amazing thing you've done!

I'm 25ish lbs from my goal weight and I'm already terrified of eating my maintenance calories. Its scary. I can definitely relate to that.

SarahJaneDeschamp

well done on reaching goal, i was wondering this morning when i reach goal how do i stay there...this isn't a short term thing in my opinion its a life long journey....you look awesome x

janesmith1

Hello
I am having an emotional moment because I've finally, today, achieved my weight loss goal. However, it is ridiculous because I am literally too frightened to tell MFP this and change my goals to maintenance. I feel tearful. I think it is because it has been such an emotional journey and I have stuck to MFP, daily logging and sticking to it's principles everyday for so long. I am just terrified of putting the weight back on.
Can anyone, who has reached their goal, reassure me that the weight stays off and you stay at goal from now on? I believed in MFP to lose weight so i should believe in it for maintenance - why do i feel so apprehensive that this will actually happen? I feel too scared to eat 1580 kcal instead of 1200 which has been the norm for so long.
Any help or support would be appreciated as at the moment I can't bring myself to change the goal calories.
Thank you x

Interesting, well with 1580 cals some people still lose weight, especially if you exercise. Congratulations on reaching your goal!

suzycreamcheese

WELL DONE. Thats awesome!!

I put on weight when i went up to maintenance, so i just changed it to only lose half a pound a week, but dont stress too much if i go a bit over and that seems to have kept me "more or less" at the same weight. You need to find what works for you. Im disappointed to find that maintenance is just as much effort as losing though

Pebble321

Hi Rachael, that's fabulous, you've done really well to stick with it and reach your goal. I'm still a long way from mine, but happy to feel that I'm on the right track.
I think the suggestion to gradually increase calories is a good one - you could go up by 50 - 100 each week and be at maintenance level in a month or so.
This would give you time to gradually introduce more calories and get a feel for how your body is responding, and might be a bit less scary!
Good luck with the next phase of your journey, it's easy to think that it's all done when you reach the goal, but I guess this is when you get to consolidate those good habits into a long term pattern of healthy eating.
Go for it, and let us know how you go!

rachellock

Thank you all so much - you have all been so supportive and I REALLY appreciate that. I will definitely just increase my calorie intake gradually rather than the whole lot at once and see how it goes. That's a really good idea - thank you. I think you are right - maintenance is just as tricky and just as hard work as losing weight. It would be so easy to say -done it and go back to bad habits. I think MFP will be a life long journey.
Good to luck to all on your weight loss journeys xxx

staceywoo

I'm at the same point, finally hit my goal weight last weekend - 39 lbs lost.
Rather than immediately changing to maintenence level calories I've manually changed my calorie goal so that it increases by 100 cals each week - last week I went up from 1200-1300 and this week from 1300-1400. It's been harder than I thought to eat the extra calories, as I'm so used to being so careful! The easiest way I've found is to boost my calories up with nuts and dried fruits, so it doesn't feel like I'm eating lots more food.
Once I get up to 1500 I'll switch to the automatic maintenance calories that MFP gives me. Good luck! I guess the thing to remember is it's trial and error, so if you put on a pound or two while adjusting then it's not the end of the world and you know how to work it off again