whos reached their goal weight?? :)

elly0001

hi,
whos at their goal weight??
if u are do u find that u are still counting calories, im finding it hard to stop thinking of ways to cut calories and stuff its so weird not having to constantly eat the lowest cal option

-has/is anyone else experienceing this, if so how sis u change ur mindset???

micah2009

I did, then reset the goal, now I am focusing more on body fat%.

elly0001

Ahk so u think u should just switch the focus onto something else

xraychick77

i dont have a goal weight so much as a goal look.

to look like a fitness model..or jillian michaels..all buff and muscly

elly0001

Yeah I guess it's good to have a health focus tho

Northantsman

Still counting though not so religiously. More... monitoring them. But I am still eating healthily and going to the gym and all that good stuff. When I hit my first goal weight I set myself to lose another 7 pounds just to be on the safe side and leave me a cushioning range to bounce around within.

Sarahclarke82

I'm having your problem! I hit goal weight around a month ago and am finding it very difficult to eat my maintenance calories and to back away from the scale a bit!!!

I think the scales are going to be hidden away in a cupboard and a conscious effort to try and relax a little bit!

babyblake11

i dont see counting calories as just something you do to lose weight, its good to be aware of your calorie intake so you can make sure your not eating too little or too much

Elle408

I hit my goal in March and have had some major struggles since then trying to find the right way to maintain. It took a lot of trial and error to find out what worked for me. I think that's key really, do you feel like you need to log? Can you trust your hunger signals and know you're ok to choose the right foods and the right portion sizes? Maybe give it a week and see how you do, just don't use it as an excuse to eat everything in your path!

I want to get away from logging religiously but i'm not quite there yet, but i've started to be less strict about the numbers and am trying focus on the exercise part! Muscles are sexy! lol

(oh and ditch the scales! Haven't weighed myself in agggges, if my clothes fit, i'm ok, if they get tight, I go back to a small deficit for a few weeks... simples!)

elly0001

I'm having your problem! I hit goal weight around a month ago and am finding it very difficult to eat my maintenance calories and to back away from the scale a bit!!!

I think the scales are going to be hidden away in a cupboard and a conscious effort to try and relax a little bit!

i know its actually so hard to relax after counting for so long, i dont want to stop counting cos i want to be able to moniter it.
are you forning urself to eat all ur maintenence calories??? -a am also finding it hard to eat all of mine.

god its just so hard after restricting for all this time to realise that i dont have to choose the lowest calorie option and that i can eat more calorie dense foods after cutting for so long! wish i could just go back to how i was before dieting-enjoying and being relaxed about foods lol

alyssa92982

reached my goal in april, definitely not as strict with the calorie counting but i still do it. maintaining seems to just come naturally, havent changed in weight since april, except a few pounds here and there due to water weight. working on toning up now.

AndrewTub

I haven't reached my goal yet ! But when I do I am going to focus on excercise and building more muscle.

As far as food goes I imagine I will think of calories as blocks of 500 Kcal or something

I know I can have 4 or 5 'blocks' per day and just count them loosely throught the day. So 500 for breakfast, 500 lunch, if i have a large meal out maybe count 2 blocks for it etc.

Sarahclarke82

I'm having your problem! I hit goal weight around a month ago and am finding it very difficult to eat my maintenance calories and to back away from the scale a bit!!!

I think the scales are going to be hidden away in a cupboard and a conscious effort to try and relax a little bit!

i know its actually so hard to relax after counting for so long, i dont want to stop counting cos i want to be able to moniter it.
are you forning urself to eat all ur maintenence calories??? -a am also finding it hard to eat all of mine.

god its just so hard after restricting for all this time to realise that i dont have to choose the lowest calorie option and that i can eat more calorie dense foods after cutting for so long! wish i could just go back to how i was before dieting-enjoying and being relaxed about foods lol

I'm not forcing myself, no, just trying to have maybe an extra piece of fruit at work and a slightly larger portion of food at night. I'm getting there gradually but often have a 100 - 200 cal deficit
I know that if I think oo, i've got calories left I'll end up having some chocolate or something naughty which is what got me here in the 1st place!!

ohdear1986

i am maintaining but i ain't counting. BUT i do weigh every single day! i also zig zag my calories, some days i eat little and some days i sort of binge/pick at everything. i have worked out i can have 4 "off days" a week where i can eat what ever i set my eyes on. burgers, cakes, butter, chinese etc. as long as i am careful the other 3 (stick to 3 meals NO SNACKS) i tend to maintain i have also found, i can now eat more now than before. i think my metabolism is throught the roof due to increased exercise extra muscle tone etc. when i was fat i was only eating 1 meal a day!!

elly0001

after cutting calories for so long has anyone else found that they feel like theyre wasting calories now that u can eat more? lol i guess its just trial and error, everything in moderation till i start maintaining or something but yeah finding it hard to eat all my maintence calories! :S

WowieGarcia

Still counting though not so religiously. More... monitoring them. But I am still eating healthily and going to the gym and all that good stuff. When I hit my first goal weight I set myself to lose another 7 pounds just to be on the safe side and leave me a cushioning range to bounce around within.

Ditto.

Atlantique

after cutting calories for so long has anyone else found that they feel like theyre wasting calories now that u can eat more? lol i guess its just trial and error, everything in moderation till i start maintaining or something but yeah finding it hard to eat all my maintence calories! :S

It's taking much more planning. It's almost like starting MFP--I had to really think about fitting the calorie goal. Now I'm so attuned to that 1400 or so a day that I keep hitting the end of the day with calories left over. I'm sure the new goals will become habits as well, but it will take some time, just as it did in the beginning of the diet.

elly0001

after cutting calories for so long has anyone else found that they feel like theyre wasting calories now that u can eat more? lol i guess its just trial and error, everything in moderation till i start maintaining or something but yeah finding it hard to eat all my maintence calories! :S

It's taking much more planning. It's almost like starting MFP--I had to really think about fitting the calorie goal. Now I'm so attuned to that 1400 or so a day that I keep hitting the end of the day with calories left over. I'm sure the new goals will become habits as well, but it will take some time, just as it did in the beginning of the diet.

i keep getting to the end of the day and not be hungry but still have calories left over as well -i thought that when i reached this point i would be able to just use them up on somehting like an icecream or something i used to enjoy before dieting instead now im so used to cutting that i feel weird about using them up cos like this whole time its been like dont eat when ur not hungry lol maintaining is definitly harder than loosing!

psuLemon

after cutting calories for so long has anyone else found that they feel like theyre wasting calories now that u can eat more? lol i guess its just trial and error, everything in moderation till i start maintaining or something but yeah finding it hard to eat all my maintence calories! :S

For me, my focus is on body fat now. I have hit my initial goal of 12% body fat, now I am aiming for 8%. Keep in mind, at your maintenence phase, you are supposed to eat more. The best way to figure it out is figuring out your BMR; below are two links to help you understand.



http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm

Once you figure that out and just understand foods in general, you should be able to judge. I know i can.

rybo

I'm where I want to be. I don't log quite as strictly as before, but enough to keep me where I am at. I have no problems eating maintenance cals, as I was riding a very small deficit to begin with to get to where I am anyways.

melsinct

I am still 7 pounds from goal but have upped my calories to lose 0.5 pounds/week, which only puts me at a 250 calorie/day deficit. I am hoping that adding those extra 250 calories in when I go to maintenance won't be too much of a problem, rather than having to suddenly add 500 a day, which is like an extra meal.

I can see the point of whoever before me said that maintenance is like starting MFP over again. I have a feeling when maintenance comes it will be a struggle to get into the groove of not losing and not gaining.

Another question for maintainers: Do you allow yourself say a 5 pound swing or so? For example, my goal weight is 145 but I am wondering if I should go to 140 then maintenance keep myself between 140-145. Man, maintenance seems more confusing than weight loss. :grumble:

elly0001

yeah so because i keep having calories left over and not being hunry enough to eat them i am still loosing weight -what do u guys think, should i set out a sort of meal plan for myself so that i dont get to the end of the day with left over calories?

Atlantique

I am still 7 pounds from goal but have upped my calories to lose 0.5 pounds/week, which only puts me at a 250 calorie/day deficit. I am hoping that adding those extra 250 calories in when I go to maintenance won't be too much of a problem, rather than having to suddenly add 500 a day, which is like an extra meal.

I can see the point of whoever before me said that maintenance is like starting MFP over again. I have a feeling when maintenance comes it will be a struggle to get into the groove of not losing and not gaining.

Another question for maintainers: Do you allow yourself say a 5 pound swing or so? For example, my goal weight is 145 but I am wondering if I should go to 140 then maintenance keep myself between 140-145. Man, maintenance seems more confusing than weight loss. :grumble:

I've lost this weight before and kept it off for over 20 years. Yes, it's good to think of it more as a range of weight. I didn't worry if I went up or down 3 pounds or so as those are just normal daily fluctuations. If it got to 5, I made some changes.

crisanderson27

I've reached two goals now...and am resetting it again. I too am aiming more for a body fat percentage...particularly since I like the weight I'm at now, and simply want more muscle.

Guess when I get to THAT point...I'll be able to see about maintenance lol.

hill2302

I've hit my weight goal, but then re-set to look more towards body composition. So I'm probably going to end up cutting a bit more before starting a bulking stage. It will definitely be wierd eating so many calories when that happens. I find logging on my phone second nature now. I usually have my food logged in before I finish or within an hour of finishing my meal. It's kind of a safety blanket at this point. I can certainly see my self logging for quite a while longer. I'm already over 210 consecutive days logging my food and it's been pretty easy for me.

Lunachic77

I hit my goal weight a couple of months ago and then readjusted to a new goal...which i also met. The hardest thing about being where you want to is the maintenance. I felt guilty eating so many calories but i knew it was necessary. I was still losing weight and had to experiment with different calorie totals to get a good combo going. I do find myself now (because I'm at my goal) eating a bit more than I should...like brownies and snackies because in my mind I'm thinking, "well your thin now, these 2 brownies aren't gonna hurt". But I really don't want to fall into that trap because that's how it starts...

kfitz10103

My maintenance calories now are 2,174, but I eat 1,674. At my goal weight (in 13.6 lbs!) I will maintain at 2,056. That is 382 more calories per day I will eat when I am maintaining. I think I may switch to a 250 calorie per day deficit from a 500 calorie a day deficit once I get down to just 5 more lbs to lose so the transition will be easier. Then I will go from 1,924 per day to 2,056 per day. Maybe that is why you are supposed to only lose 1/2 lb per week towards the end of your weight loss journey.

lizdavis07

i dont have a goal weight so much as a goal look.

to look like a fitness model..or jillian michaels..all buff and muscly

i agree.

i've reached my goal weight, but not my goal LOOK. there's much more toning that needs to be done.
i believe you should always keep track of your calories in order to maintain...no matter what weight you are

Legs_McGee

I hit my goal weight in mid-April. I still monitor my calories because I don't want to let my weight creep up again - I bought a bunch of new clothes in a smaller size! - but I'm not as religious about it now (especially lately because I've been out of town a lot). I do weigh myself nearly everyday to make sure I stay within the 5 pound range I allow myself. So far - so good.

TakeOne

after cutting calories for so long has anyone else found that they feel like theyre wasting calories now that u can eat more? lol i guess its just trial and error, everything in moderation till i start maintaining or something but yeah finding it hard to eat all my maintence calories! :S

I've been maintaining for a little over a year now. I wouldn't say that I feel like I'm wasting calories....its just I've relaxed a bit more. I still have fitness goals that I'm working towards and I still eat the same things. Its all about balance. And I still don't eat all of my calories everyday. Now I get to have more of the fruits and veggies that I love. But I also get to have 1/2 cup of ice cream instead of a 1/4 cup

elly0001

Wow thanks heaps for all ur posts-lots of gd suggestions congrats for meeting ur goals!