Almost to "goal weight," not feeling ready to maintain

TheRealNoodlette
TheRealNoodlette Posts: 132 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Ok so apparently I'm less than ten pounds from my original goal weight. I can't quite believe it. I still have what I call my "thigh butt" and I still have belly fat around my middle that I want to deal with. I know that you can't "spot reduce," and I figure if I keep up with my strength training it will hopefully go away eventually.

FWIW, my original goal was to get to a normal BMI, which for me is supposed to be between 107 and 140. I'm 5'3", 41 year old woman, pear shaped. Honestly I can't imagine myself getting down to 107, I would look too skinny I think.

I started this weight loss program in March and I've lost over 60 pounds. It's working so well for me that my new lifestyle just seems normal. Is it just going to be a continual thing, to basically keep doing what I'm doing now? When did you decide you were in "maintenance" rather than "weight loss" mode?

Replies

  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    edited October 2014
    I didn't. When I got to a certain point, the weight loss stopped. So I stayed there. :smile:
    It makes sense if you think about it. There comes a time when the math just equals out. So I stayed there.

    ETA: I did have a goal weight in mind... it was 2lbs more than where I stopped.
  • animejennie
    animejennie Posts: 12 Member
    Same as the above poster. When I got down low enough, my body just stopped losing weight and maintained itself.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I'll be in weight loss mode forever I think, considering I've been stuck 2-3 pounds from my goal for 4 months, lol.
  • __freckles__
    __freckles__ Posts: 1,238 Member
    edited October 2014
    I was in the same boat. Met goal weight and wasn't happy. I also have stubborn fat areas, but if I lost anymore weight with how my body composition was at the time, it wasn't going to look good. So I decided to bulk for a couple of months and build muscle. Then I did a cutting period. My body composition was a million times better. Just started my second bulk a month ago.

    My plan is to do bulk/cut cycles until I'm happy with my body composition. I'm getting there, but it's a slow process.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    I didn't. When I got to a certain point, the weight loss stopped. So I stayed there. :smile:
    It makes sense if you think about it. There comes a time when the math just equals out. So I stayed there.

    ETA: I did have a goal weight in mind... it was 2lbs more than where I stopped.

    You know, that's about it. I did eventually get to my 'ideal weight' according to the NIH. It also happened to be the weight I graduated from college at and came back to after each of my kids. But I never thought I'd get there. It took a LONG time to get that last 5 pounds.

    Then I stuck there for a year and eventually dropped another 5 pounds just because I happened to, not because I tried to. That may come back this winter. We'll see.

  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
    Congrats on your amazing loss! Also, good for you for knowing how important strength training is for a healthy lifestyle. For me, I actually realized I was too skinny and it was time to get more fit. I stopped watching the scales and decided instead to judge by the mirror and my overall feeling. I have never been happier. Now my goals are just getting in better and better shape. You'll know!
  • Patttience
    Patttience Posts: 975 Member
    10 pounds to go? Well you should rethink things when you get closer to your goal. Youve come a long way but 10 pounds is still very significant when you are near goal.

    That said, i got to 2 pounds close to goal and just got sick of everything: the calorie counting the restricting and my mood was a bit down so i just stopped calorie counting. Had a bit of a wonky patch but stuck to my no sweet rules and then got back on track.

    I'm 5'5" and pear shaped too. Currently about 138pounds. My legs are gorgeous and i'll always have a fat backside but in general i look good in my clothes and wouldn't be embarrassed if i had to put on a bikini at the beach.

    I'm so glad not to be counting calories but i am still weighing daily and food logging. I've also just taken up tennis which i hope to keep going for the long term and doing some running just now which i hope to end quite soon because i know i can't sustain that. But that's for a race i registered to enter some time ago. Haven't really done enough training for it so might not even be able to complete the course. But it is good to get a bit fitter.

    My goal weight is 132 pounds. 107 might be a little bit skinny for you. Don't aim for the lowest healthy weight you can do, aim for lower middle of the range. It will be easier to maintain. Maintaing a very low weight is probably very hard for most people who are prone to weight gain. It requires a lot of regular exercise or hardly eating anything at all.
  • 50sFit
    50sFit Posts: 712 Member
    edited October 2014
    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    I didn't. When I got to a certain point, the weight loss stopped. So I stayed there. :smile:
    It makes sense if you think about it. There comes a time when the math just equals out. So I stayed there.

    ETA: I did have a goal weight in mind... it was 2lbs more than where I stopped.
    I hit walls where my progress stalled. I lost the first 50 lbs no problem, and right about 225, nothing!
    I maintained for a few months, and then I started losing again but slower. 210 lbs was a killer wall, and so was 200 lbs. The final 15 lbs were hell to shed, but I did and have maintained that for 3 years and focused on fat loss.
    Maintaining is a whole new battle that most do not win after they lose their weight.

  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited November 2014
    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    I didn't. When I got to a certain point, the weight loss stopped. So I stayed there. :smile:
    It makes sense if you think about it. There comes a time when the math just equals out. So I stayed there.

    ETA: I did have a goal weight in mind... it was 2lbs more than where I stopped.


    ^^ agree with this ☺

    I've been maintaining this weight +/_ 2lbs for over a year.

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