Is it time to stop lowering my goal weight?

yeah were it me, I'd begin major strength training if wanting to tighten and trim a bit more. But remember ignore the scale while doing so. Personally I think you look great. Congrats on making your goal and beyond.

Yes it's time to stop losing, find your maintenance calories and get used to the new you.

There's still quite a lot of fat everywhere *cough BELLY cough*.

Actually no there isn't and I don't believe your BF number is that high either.
You have done a great job to get where you are and now it's time to be happy with your new body and not look for problem areas.

That doesn't mean you won't change at maintenance and it doesn't mean you stay at this weight forever. Time to replace weight loss goal with other goals such as strength, body composition, fitness.

You're 55kg, I'd certainly be happy with that. Your BMI is healthy too and you seem pretty on top with your maintainence plans. I wouldn't lower your goal any further now, you'll barely have any fat to keep you warm :ohwell:

I think the two things to do right now are:

1) Stop, and get comfortable with maintaining. Maintaining is a different beast than losing and requires a new set of skills (says one of the people who hasn't quite mastered that skill for herself).

2) Begin strength training to change your shape.

I also don't believe you're at 30% BF -- how did you get this measured?

Ha, I love the "drunk BF scale" comment! Agreed. Your scale doesn't know what it's doing (BF wise). As far as fear of gaining, I think you'd be safe to slowly up your calories, maybe 100 cals/day for a few weeks at a time until you find your maintenance.

I definitely see the possibility of a recomp for you. It will certainly do a lot more for you than a few more kg's on the scale would ever do at this point (IMHO).

As far as running, lots of people run while maintaining/recomping. If it's what you love, and as long as you eat to fuel those runs, and couple with a weight training program (again, fueled properly, i.e. eat enough), maintaining/recomping can happen.

PS: I peeked at your diary. Um, yeah, you got great macros, girl! Keep those % up, and you'll go far!:flowerforyou:

Unfortunately, I have found that I cannot pinpoint my exact ideal weight until I drop below it and see that I am too thin. Especially when I lose too much volume in my bustline-- that is my primary indicator that my weight is too low.

In this picture, you are looking quite good. I don't think you need to reduce more weight. If you will do, you will become too much slim. Now stop reducing weight and maintain your body shape at this level.

I say keep going!.

Thanks everyone for your advice, it's going to be hard snapping out of netting a certain amount for weight LOSS... but what if I over-estimate and put weight on?! :embarassed: :frown: :sad:

Go slow! Add 100 calories each week, and monitor (or every 2-4 weeks).

I will be sensible and eat more! I will also get into major strength training. How often (out of curiosity) do people do cardio when maintaining? I've grown to love running now :bigsmile:

Honestly, as much as you want!!! If you love it, stick with it. I do HIIT training 3-5 times per week, and walk a ton, because I love my walking time with my dog. Do what is sustainable and enjoyable for you!

Good luck! Welcome to maintenance! I second all those that say focus on the weight training. It will do wonders!!

Your height and weight are similar to mine and I still have a ways to go. And I happen to know a shirt can hide a multitude of culinary sins. But judging by your before and after picture that does show your belly, you look great. I'm not seeing any stomach fat, and you don't have anywhere to hide it.

Setting a goal weight is an estimate. Fine-tuning that goal is an assessment process. I have found that I can pinpoint my ideal weight to the exact pound. And one pound can make the difference between having a waist and not having a waist-- I have a waist at 118 pounds but not at 119! That particular one pound is at my waistline!

I agree with everyone who said you should focus on weight lifting! It will make a big difference in how your body feels and looks AND I find it is the #1 best thing for my blood sugar control. You have done amazing work for your health- I'm really impressed!

My two cents is right here in this link...

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

Generally speaking when someone is having the issues that you are having, it's not a matter of needing to lose weight...it's a matter of body composition. Lifting or otherwise performing resistance training is the only thing that is going to alter your body composition. Continued dieting will likely have the opposite effect of what you want.

I had the same issue that you're dealing with. When I reached 130 lb, I stopped and debated with myself for a few months (well, maybe 6 months), then I decided that, based on my BF measurements, that I should go down to 125 lb and set a new goal. I lost about a pound l-), when I visited my sil and she told me about this study she read that came up with the top three reasons people with a history of longevity had experienced (she's a nurse practitioner, with a lot of experience working with frail elderly). They were: exercising regularly, drinking an occasional glass of wine or beer and maintaining a weight that included a few extra pounds, but was not too thin or too fat.

So, based on that, I decided I was fine where I was and set my goal back to a range of 127 to 132. This is a weight I can easily maintain. My BF, based on my calculations (which probably aren't that accurate) of about 24% is around 24% and my BMi is 21.5%. I do a combination of strength training and cardio, but no heavy lifting and, at 67, and 5'4", I'm pretty fit, with some muscular definition and everyone thinks I'm at least 10 years younger that I am.

It actually is a relief after a lifetime of yo yo dieting, to finally stop. I discovered a new passion for fitness and am working towards becoming a group fitness instructor, specializing in working with other seniors, teaching Zumba Gold. I'm totally excited about this and am already starting to pick up subbing assignments.

So, based on my new understanding of fitness and reality, I would say (not recommend because that's out of my scope of responsibility), you'r probably fine where you are and you need a new goal. ;-)

Best wishes, whatever you decide.