A dilemma...is good enough good enough?

sundaygirl85

Ok, so when I first joined MFP in mid-November 2007, my goal was to lose a stone (14lbs) and as of this week I made it! I'm now 133lbs, which at 5' 7 1/2" is a comfortable UK size 10 (US 6), a size smaller that I was wearing before. I've been trying to lose this weight since I first went to university four and a half yrs ago so you'd think I'd be pretty happy and proud of myself for finally succeeding, right? Well, the thing is, I'm NOT. :ohwell: I reached my goal a month early, and now I feel like I should keep going for another month to try and lose more, maybe get down to 130lb. I don't WANT to - I'd really love to be able to eat 1860 cals to maintain rather than 1360 to lose, but is this just laziness? So my question really is what does everyone think I should do? Should I accept that good enough is good enough, or should I push myself to keep going? Or is this urge to be thinner just a product of the 'you can never be too thin' attitude that abounds in the media? It could be a slippery slope - if I lose another 5lbs, will I still feel the same and want to lose ANOTHER 5lb? Aaaahhh!!! I know this is a lot questions, but they all just keep going round and round in my mind and I wanted to see what other people think.

Jen xx

sundaygirl85

Ok, so when I first joined MFP in mid-November 2007, my goal was to lose a stone (14lbs) and as of this week I made it! I'm now 133lbs, which at 5' 7 1/2" is a comfortable UK size 10 (US 6), a size smaller that I was wearing before. I've been trying to lose this weight since I first went to university four and a half yrs ago so you'd think I'd be pretty happy and proud of myself for finally succeeding, right? Well, the thing is, I'm NOT. :ohwell: I reached my goal a month early, and now I feel like I should keep going for another month to try and lose more, maybe get down to 130lb. I don't WANT to - I'd really love to be able to eat 1860 cals to maintain rather than 1360 to lose, but is this just laziness? So my question really is what does everyone think I should do? Should I accept that good enough is good enough, or should I push myself to keep going? Or is this urge to be thinner just a product of the 'you can never be too thin' attitude that abounds in the media? It could be a slippery slope - if I lose another 5lbs, will I still feel the same and want to lose ANOTHER 5lb? Aaaahhh!!! I know this is a lot questions, but they all just keep going round and round in my mind and I wanted to see what other people think.

Jen xx

rheston

So, what your asking us is to take the responsibility for your next action!?

This is just a mind game you and your body are jousting with each other over and unfortunately it will have to be intrinsic motivation rather than an extrinsic one.

I personally am looking at what decisions I will make when I get down to my goal of 180 when I'd really like to be 160 again -- but I know that's a decision I need to make when and if I get there.

Good Luck!

lifesaver

I think you should up your calories - perhaps not to 1860, maybe in between - and keep exercising and see how you feel after a month! If you still feel like you want to lose more weight, and you haven't lost any during the month, go for it. Just make sure your goal isn't going to make you underweight.

lifesaver

Oh and also - I'm basically the same goal weight as you. I am 5'7" and currently at 136, I wanted to get down to 135 but now that I'm so close I want to lose more. We're basically in the same situation haha

kat1000000

I have lost and gained 100's of lbs. in my life, and everytime it's the same. You stated you are a size 6 US, that is a great size. Our minds tend to morph what we are seeing in the mirror at times. I can only wish to be a size 8! I have been a 6 in the past, but my body does not look right at that size and i'm am only 5'3". I look really bad at that size, i actually have had people ask me if i was sick when i was that size. Everyone's body is different, and looks differently at the same weight. I would suggest that you find a couple of close friends that you can trust to give you an honest opion, and ask them if they feel you are at a good size and what they think about you losing more weight. People have a warped since of what is the right size they should be, too many super models in the world. We do not want you to lose to much and be unhealthy. I personally would never want to get below a size 6, i actually prefer a size 8 with my body build.

neverbeenskinny

Yours is a question that only you can answer. It doesn't matter how much you weigh or what size you are, the thing that matter is how healthy you are, and thin does not always equate to healthy. With your body type and your height, do you look good in your current size? If you lose any more weight are you going to be sacrificing lean body mass? Do you really have any extra fat on your body to lose without it affecting your health. We all need a certain amount of essential fat on our bodies to be considered healthy, it's different for men than women. Women need a bit more than men for our reproductive systems to work properly, and at your age you may want to be very careful you don't lose too much as you will want to keep your reproductive system healthy if you want to start a family some day. Fat also help regulate our body temperature, it stores energy as well as cushion and insulate our organs. So before you make the decision to lose more, do some research and ask yourself...do you really have more fat to lose?

Good luck, sounds like you have done a great job getting to your goal.

rem1979

You need to ask yourself why you would want to lose that extra weight.

For me, my goal is 150 which puts my in the higher end of my BMI (My range is like 123-161). But I told myself that once I get to 160 (which I was in high school), do I need to lose 10 more pounds or do I look and feel fine at 160. Looking back at pictures of being 160, I looked thin but still had a figure. I am 5'9" so I don't want to get to low on the scale because I don't want to be a walking stick figure.

sundaygirl85

Thank you everybody for your input :flowerforyou:

I have decided (I think!) that I will not try to lose any more weight just now, rather I will concentrate on toning up a little more to see if that makes any difference to the bits of my body that I'm still not happy with (mainly the little bit of jiggle under my arms!). So I just had a great workout (Kathy Smith video plus weights and toning moves for an hour and a half altogether) and feel a lot happier!

Also I want to say thank you to everyone for helping me get this far - I don't post a lot but I read the words of inspiration people leave for others and it really helps when the going gets tough and I'm bored and want to eat something!

Jen

MontanaGirl

Big congrats on making your goal!!! Wahoo - way to go! Sounds like you came to a good decision on where to go from here. I guess we will all have to find that point where good enough is good enough and focus on maintaining and keeping healthy. Muscle toning will definately help