Women.. How did you know when to switch to maintenance?

I got to the weight I wanted to be at and switched to maintenance. I based that number on weight I'd been comfortable at previously.

I weigh in Boots, and according to the scales my ideal weight for my height (5'6) should be between 8st 3lbs and 11st 1lbs so I opted to go for 10st, thought anything more than that would be too much, closer I git to goal tho I changed it to 9st 10lbs so it was an even 3st loss... Got to 9st 12lbs and I was more than happy with how I looked, but more importantly how I felt, got a bit complacent and put 9lbs on tho!! But I'm still happy, moral of the story is there's no magic number, it's all to do with what's healthy, and what feels right for you, just keep healthy!! I have my cals set to maintenance now and try not to eat exercise ones back... Unless i'm hungry!! feel free to add me if you'd like.

You look in the mirror and are happy. Or at least not not happy enough to continue restricting.

I like having goals, so now that I am down to my goal weight (I'm pretty happy), I'm going to do bulk/cut cycles because I want to hit my strength goals.

As I was about to write that looking in the mirror doesn't work for me, I songplanted myself with Lita Ford.

Nothing to eat and no T.V.
Looking in the mirror don't get it for me uh-huh
It ain't no big thing

And now that I've infected the rest of you...

I don't see changes in the mirror. I only see them in photos, and sometimes not even then. I was just looking at pics from about 2 years ago when I made my "Ok, I mean it, this time I'm definitely done losing" switch to maintenance, and I was looking a bit scrawny. But I didn't see it then.

Your profile says you are 5'-6", 115 is a low weight for that height. If you switch to strength training now you can always go back to lose more fat after you build up some muscle.

I'm in my late forties, and this is my second major weight-loss. I learned a valuable lesson the last time I started to let down, and let "maintenance" do it's thing. If you don't "maintain" your current fitness and activity level, AND maintain your healthy watch on calories -- you WILL slowly start the slide back up the scale.

So, this time I set a realistic weight goal with my training coach. When I got to that goal, it was actually summer and the fitness part of the plan was rolling along great, because the weather was good, lotsa time & energy for exercise, etc. I changed my goals on MFP to "maintain." By continuing to log what I ate, and continuing the exercise regime I had the time for, I actually lost another 5 lbs over the JUN-JUL-AUG-SEP time frame. I finished one year of maintenance, by actually losing about 10 lbs -- but I actually just lived the active life I've made a habit and ate the way that has become a habit.

Unfortunately, I know from experience, that if I don't maintain the plan, I will gain. So, my suggestion to anyone on the fence about when to switch to maintenance is: it's more about the lifestyle and diet, than about the number on the scale. If you reduce the activity level, or let the calories creep back up, the scale will creep back up, too. So, ask yourself: Can I maintain this activity level every day, every week, etc? Do I have the time to make it a priority? Do I have a plan to stick with it? Same with diet: Can I, and do I want to eat this way? Do I crave these healthy foods, are they easy to shop for, afford, prepare, - do I have the time and energy to eat this way? Can I be motivated to continue to log my daily foods and activity to stay in line. MFP is a great resource, and I can say it really helps me just as much in "maintenance" as it did in "loss."

Good luck -- add me if you want some "maintaining" friend.

Whenever I like what I see in the mirror... which is not going to be for a while yet!

I looked at the height/weight charts and choose the high end to start with. Once I got closer to that weight I evaluated my goal weight by 1 pound increments.