1 lb away from goal weight... now what?

MireyGal76

So, I'm at a place I didn't really expect to be. I am 1 lb away from the "goal weight" I set. What now?

I am 6'1", and currently weigh 166lbs. According to the body fat calculator (using a tape measure), I still have a body fat percentage of 21%. If you look at my profile pics, though, that seems a bit high to me - I thought my body fat would have been lower, but maybe it's not? (is 21% good?).

So what now? Do I drop my goal weight by 5lbs? Do I strive for a lower body fat %? I'm the kind of person that needs SOME sort of goal, but oddly unsure what on earth to make it. :-P

Any suggestions?

poetgurl2005

21% isn't bad for a woman. You have to maintain a certain percent of body fat to maintain your period and fertility. You could alway have your goal to be to tone up.

iLoveMyPitbull1225

Are you not ready to set your calories for maintenance?? I reached my first goal then decided to drop it by 5 more pounds because I wasnt quiiite where I wanted to be yet. Once I reached that one, I set for maintenance. I can't really help with the % part, but in my inexperienced opinion I think that 21% isnt bad and you look lean.

Jodi_83

Maybe set a challenge as a goal?
Eg. Run a 10km event, or a half marathon, or a triathlon or something?

MireyGal76

I ran my first half marathon last year - but only at a pace of 2:22:18. I am tossing about the idea of training for a half in August and aiming to beat my time. (well, really, I'd love to slaughter my time).

As for setting to maintenance... I don't know why it feels like a let down to move into maintenance mode, but it does.

Very weird.

bbbsmama

Once I hit my goal weight I will set a goal that has no scale. I want to tone. I also want to be able to hold planks for 2+ minutes (that may sound easy to some, but its hard for me, lol)

janeite1990

How are you finding your body fat percentage? The charts for height and weight are useless.

My plan when I get to my goal is to set weight lifting goals. For example, right now I can manage one set of 20-pound single arm dumbell curls. I'd like to do 3 sets, and I want to move up to cheating on 25-pounds.

kierstin1976

My goal was 118lbs, when I got down to 120lbs I realized that I was too thin. I'm some where between 17-18% body fat. I'm trying to put on muscle weight. I set weight lifting goals.

MireyGal76

How are you finding your body fat percentage? The charts for height and weight are useless.

My plan when I get to my goal is to set weight lifting goals. For example, right now I can manage one set of 20-pound single arm dumbell curls. I'd like to do 3 sets, and I want to move up to cheating on 25-pounds.

I googled "body fat percentage calculator" and looked for one that had a fairly detailed measurement based calculation. How accurate it is, I am not so sure. I did pick one that used height too - as I find that it often assumes I am overweight without taking into account my 6' frame.

http://www.healthyforms.com/helpful-tools/body-fat-percentage.php = this one tells me I'm 23%
http://www.healthstatus.com/cgi-bin/calc/calculator.cgi = this one tells me I'm 22.58 - 23%

ryno0618

If you aren't ready for maintenance, then there's no harm in working for 5lbs more loss. The key with maintenance mode is continually setting goals for yourself. Maintaining is harder than losing for me. You could set a goal to run that half in August, set some strength training goals to help you lower the BF% a bit, etc etc Best of Luck!

to_the_surface

Congrats on reaching the weight goal. Now the real fun begins.

Find a scale that measures body fat. Regardless of what body fat number the scale shows in day one (it might not be accurate) set the goal to drop it by 2-3%.

You do need to keep an eye for quantity of calories but quality/timing of those calories as well as diet composition is more important.

Results vary widely. What I've seen is that about 75% of people actually do get a little heavier but much leaner. Scale would show X pounds over their "target weight" but they'd drop a size in clothing/body measurements.

Good luck

LadyIntrepid

I'm with you. A hair away from my goal of 22% body fat and weight loss goal and so... what's next? I don't want to lose more weight -- no desire to be a size 0. 4-6 works great for me. So I've decided to stay at maintenance food-wise, do a little less cardio (I do a LOT in addition to weight training), and start working out with a trainer to further tone and shape. Also -- small goals -- like hover for 4 minutes (I can do 3 now), up weights little by little on various body parts. And if the body fat % goes down if my weight goes up, so be it. I'm less concerned with the scale now than other measurements.

Hellbent_Heidi

Maybe set a challenge as a goal?
Eg. Run a 10km event, or a half marathon, or a triathlon or something?

I agree with this...set some fitness goals, or strength training goals that aren't scale-related!

Congratulations on your weight loss!

Krys_140

I understand the "letdown" feeling, though my experience with it is not related to weight loss. Stick with me while I bring this story around to relevance...

I go through something like that every year. As a conference planner, I work on one major meeting a year, and when it happens, after the frenzy of activity, careful planning, and hard work that goes into making that convention "go off without a hitch", I experience what I call the "post-meeting blues". Every. Single. Year.

Something that helps me with this is to focus on another goal. Unrelated to the meeting. Unrelated to the goal I just achieved.

Perhaps you could take up a new hobby? Might sound silly, but you have put such energy into getting where you ARE that you need a new outlet for all of this energy, and that next fitness goal might not require as much energy, which means it will still feel like a letdown. What else are you passionate about?

Helping other MFP'ers reach THEIR goals? Writing about your success in a blog? Becoming a trainer at your gym?

In any case - Congratulations on (almost) reaching your goal, and for changing your lifestyle for the better! You are an inspiration to me!

MoveTheMountain

So, I'm at a place I didn't really expect to be. I am 1 lb away from the "goal weight" I set. What now?

I am 6'1", and currently weigh 166lbs. According to the body fat calculator (using a tape measure), I still have a body fat percentage of 21%. If you look at my profile pics, though, that seems a bit high to me - I thought my body fat would have been lower, but maybe it's not? (is 21% good?).

So what now? Do I drop my goal weight by 5lbs? Do I strive for a lower body fat %? I'm the kind of person that needs SOME sort of goal, but oddly unsure what on earth to make it. :-P

Any suggestions?

First, based on that profile pic, I *highly* doubt you're at 21% body fat. I would guess you're somewhere closer to 15%, and maybe a little lower than that.

Second, how do you feel about where you are now? Take some of the cognition-goal-setting out of it, and ask yourself if you think you're where you'd like to be. If not, keep at it. If so, switch to maintenance mode.

And of course, nice work - from this guy's perspective, you look great.

ktfitzgerald

You look fantastic! Congrats on reaching your goal. Maintenance should be your new goal. It can be more challenging than you would think. And to me and you look like you have a bf % of less than 20%.

12by311

Dang lady. YOU are awesome.

My vote goes to fitness goals. I think it keeps things fresh if you can actively work towards accomplishing those types of things.

iLoveMyPitbull1225

Understandable about the let down thing...I set mine to maintenance literally two days ago... I posted something on here as well because it is a bit scary, I wasnt sure to do it or not to do it. I just set my own goals. ( they suggested 1780 and i was like WOAH so its set for 1500 and I never even eat that much.)

You dont wanna keep loosing 5 pounds, then 5 more, then 5 more....you might get too thin.

ninerbuff

You're fine. Congrats.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

AnninStPaul

body fat of 21-24% is considered "fit" for a woman; 14-20% is for full time athletes, who often stop menstruating.

congratulations! it's time for a new adventure!

MireyGal76

Firstly, THANK YOU everyone! Thank you for your encouragement, your wisdom and your suggestions! This is precisely why I love MFP! :-D

I've always struggled with self esteem issues, so when asked if I look at myself and am I happy... I don't know if I'll ever be able to say "yes, for sure!" I always see somewhere that is too flabby, or damn, there's some cellulite over there, or, or, or...

Perhaps my goal should be to start being happy with what I've got now. :-)

NAH!

Lotsa love to you all!
Sandy

PS... if I would stop menstruating at 20% body fat... holy crap am I setting my goal for 18%!!!
*sorry guys, maybe tmi!*