Is It Time???
BooMonkeyButt
Posts: 129 Member
How do you know when it's time to starting maintaining your weight? I've lost 46 pounds and weigh 125 pounds at 4'11. Ideally, I'd like to lose another five pounds but I don't know if it's in the cards for me right now. Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated.
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My first advice to anyone with weight questions is to always ask your doctor, but if that's not an option then I can probably help you out. I weigh 98.4 lbs and I'm 5'1 and I have seen my doctor recently and she had told me that it's perfectly healthy, so since you're shorter than I am then it will definitely be okay for you to lose more weight. Just remember that if you FEEL healthy, then you probably are and there's no need for you to lose weight unless it's for your own happiness. Good luck!0
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I am 5'2" and am just a couple pounds away from 125, and that is not going to be low enough to satisfy me. So I agree that long term, you could probably lose a few more pounds. However, if something is keeping you from continuing your weight loss and you need to just maintain a while before attempting to lose more, that's fine, too. Lose it at your own rate, and try to sustain the progress you have already made. Forty-six pounds is an achievement to be proud of and you don't want to undo all of your hard work by being too strict and bingeing or getting off the wagon. You are doing this for YOU, to make yourself feel good. If you need a break from your calorie restrictions, try maintence calories for a while, and when you get ready to lose more, switch back to a deficit. The other option would be to change your rate of loss goals to something less aggressive, and decrease your current deficit by getting more calories in a day but still be eating low enough to lose weight, just at a slower pace.0
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artlover47 wrote: »I am 5'2" and am just a couple pounds away from 125, and that is not going to be low enough to satisfy me. So I agree that long term, you could probably lose a few more pounds. However, if something is keeping you from continuing your weight loss and you need to just maintain a while before attempting to lose more, that's fine, too. Lose it at your own rate, and try to sustain the progress you have already made. Forty-six pounds is an achievement to be proud of and you don't want to undo all of your hard work by being too strict and bingeing or getting off the wagon. You are doing this for YOU, to make yourself feel good. If you need a break from your calorie restrictions, try maintence calories for a while, and when you get ready to lose more, switch back to a deficit. The other option would be to change your rate of loss goals to something less aggressive, and decrease your current deficit by getting more calories in a day but still be eating low enough to lose weight, just at a slower pace.
Exactly this.
I've read so many times that the last few lbs will be the hardest to come off, and a deficit of two lbs will not work for that.
So it is your choice, but if you want to continue losing weight I'd suggest setting MFP to 0.5 loss a week.0 -
Thank you everyone for we or your support, advice, and encouragement. It definitely helps and gives me things to think about. Thank you for your time. It means more than you'll ever know. Goodnight.0
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samantham425 wrote: »My first advice to anyone with weight questions is to always ask your doctor, but if that's not an option then I can probably help you out. I weigh 98.4 lbs and I'm 5'1 and I have seen my doctor recently and she had told me that it's perfectly healthy, so since you're shorter than I am then it will definitely be okay for you to lose more weight. Just remember that if you FEEL healthy, then you probably are and there's no need for you to lose weight unless it's for your own happiness. Good luck!
You’re on the border of being underweight, based on BMI (for what it’s worth, 18.6). I wouldn’t use your stats as the reference point for other people.
OP, I was recently in a similar situation, having reached my “goal weight”. What I ended up doing is increasing my calories and maintaining a much smaller deficit for about .5lb/week loss, and I’m thinking of going to maintenance soon at this point. How you feel is really all that matters once you’re in a healthy weight range. You can always go to maintenance and focus on other goals, like lifting weights or running or whatever other fitness-y things you might enjoy. I’ve discovered weight lifting not too long ago, so I always peddle that. It’s a ton of fun to have strength goals rather than weight loss goals
Regardless, congrats on your success thus far 0 -
samantham425 wrote: »My first advice to anyone with weight questions is to always ask your doctor, but if that's not an option then I can probably help you out. I weigh 98.4 lbs and I'm 5'1 and I have seen my doctor recently and she had told me that it's perfectly healthy, so since you're shorter than I am then it will definitely be okay for you to lose more weight. Just remember that if you FEEL healthy, then you probably are and there's no need for you to lose weight unless it's for your own happiness. Good luck!
Nope. Most doctors only go by BMI. Mine told me to stop losing when I was 150 pounds. No way.0 -
Everyone has a different ideal weight, so if you feel you are now slim then perhaps its time for you to maintain. For me I struggled to lose the final 3lbs to get to my ideal goal weight so I decided to maintain. I found I was much more content as I was getting to eat more and I must have still be in slight deficit as I did reach my goal.
I'm 5ft 2" / 133lbs and am slim but I workout a lot - chest 33" waist 26.5" hips 35" 0 -
Thank everyone for your advice and input. I'm only thinking about maintenance because I can't seem to loose anymore as the scale isn't moving. I know I'm not gaining weight and it's frustrating not seeing it move because I don't understand why it isn't.0
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alissagorkin91 wrote: »Thank everyone for your advice and input. I'm only thinking about maintenance because I can't seem to loose anymore as the scale isn't moving. I know I'm not gaining weight and it's frustrating not seeing it move because I don't understand why it isn't.
Well, if that’s the case, do you use a food scale to weigh all of the food you eat? That’s the #1 cause of no weight loss - inaccurate calorie tracking. And keep in mind that weight loss isn’t linear, so you can go weeks without any losses and then have one big loss (just had that myself today).0 -
Yes, I use a food scale.0
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If you want to keep losing, you could open your food diary for people to look at, in case they notice some common mistakes. Otherwise, how long has it been since you saw a loss? It could just be the whole non-linear weight loss thing. I found that the less I had to lose, the less consistently I lost it.0
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I thought it was but I fixed it now. I think it's been maybe 2-3 weeks.0
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The last time I lost was on the 21st.0
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If you’re confident your tracking is accurate, and nothing happens in another couple of weeks, then you might have a reason to take a step back and see where the problem is. In the meantime, it could just be a bit of a stall, which is normal. But that’s just my view. I know how frustrating it is to be doing everything you can and not see the results.
Taking measurements might help too, btw. And I would definitely get onto a strength training program (though be mindful that there is usually some water retention weight gain as your muscles repair themselves at the beginning).
ETA: Ok, so I looked through your diary, and I don’t think your logging is accurate. Some days seem incomplete, I see a lot of estimates for take-out (i.e. Chinese food), you don’t actually weigh most things (cheese, sour cream?). You need to tighten up your logging. Maybe read this:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10012907/logging-accuracy-consistency-and-youre-probably-eating-more-than-you-think/p10 -
I'm 5ft 5 and I weigh 126lbs and I just knew it was time to maintain so I guess you will know0
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I have logged everything correctly. I only use Quick Add when I have a bite of something or can't find the exact calories. So pl0
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How did you know it was time to maintain? What was going on?0
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If you’re confident your tracking is accurate, and nothing happens in another couple of weeks, then you might have a reason to take a step back and see where the problem is. In the meantime, it could just be a bit of a stall, which is normal. But that’s just my view. I know how frustrating it is to be doing everything you can and not see the results.
Taking measurements might help too, btw. And I would definitely get onto a strength training program (though be mindful that there is usually some water retention weight gain as your muscles repair themselves at the beginning).
ETA: Ok, so I looked through your diary, and I don’t think your logging is accurate. Some days seem incomplete, I see a lot of estimates for take-out (i.e. Chinese food), you don’t actually weigh most things (cheese, sour cream?). You need to tighten up your logging. Maybe read this:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10012907/logging-accuracy-consistency-and-youre-probably-eating-more-than-you-think/p1
I measure out the Chinese food in measuring cups and Sour Cream with measuring spoons. Tell me how you weigh these things when it tells you 1 TBSP or one cup. One cup is one cup. One TBSP is one TBSP.0 -
alissagorkin91 wrote: »The last time I lost was on the 21st.
Ok that doesn't mean anything. It's very common to stall for a couple weeks. Just give it time.
Besides, if you're really stuck and can't lose more (after a month or two), it means you're eating at maintenance anyway, so there's nothing to change.0 -
I don't have it set to maintenance though.0
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alissagorkin91 wrote: »I don't have it set to maintenance though.
Doesn't matter. If you're not losing for longer than 2 months = you're eating at maintenance. Increasing calories will make you gain.
My guess is that it's only been 2 weeks so you'll experience a 'woosh' (big drop in weight) soon. Is your period due soon? Because that usually explains stalls.
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alissagorkin91 wrote: »If you’re confident your tracking is accurate, and nothing happens in another couple of weeks, then you might have a reason to take a step back and see where the problem is. In the meantime, it could just be a bit of a stall, which is normal. But that’s just my view. I know how frustrating it is to be doing everything you can and not see the results.
Taking measurements might help too, btw. And I would definitely get onto a strength training program (though be mindful that there is usually some water retention weight gain as your muscles repair themselves at the beginning).
ETA: Ok, so I looked through your diary, and I don’t think your logging is accurate. Some days seem incomplete, I see a lot of estimates for take-out (i.e. Chinese food), you don’t actually weigh most things (cheese, sour cream?). You need to tighten up your logging. Maybe read this:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10012907/logging-accuracy-consistency-and-youre-probably-eating-more-than-you-think/p1
I measure out the Chinese food in measuring cups and Sour Cream with measuring spoons. Tell me how you weigh these things when it tells you 1 TBSP or one cup. One cup is one cup. One TBSP is one TBSP.
I don’t know about the Chinese food (which I love too btw!) - if it’s from a restaurant, you just have to give it your best guess, and if it’s from a box, you can look at the weight of the box in oz or grams and calculate your serving size from that. For sour cream (which I’m having for dinner right now!), I weigh it out in grams on the plate. A tablespoon can be around 15-20 grams, depending on how you spoon it out. This guide is really helpful and explains accurate tracking in grams: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p10 -
alissagorkin91 wrote: »How did you know it was time to maintain? What was going on?
I'll throw my story in!
I've never put in such hard work to reach a weight goal in my life, and I finally did it about 2 months ago. I completely relate to that "what now?" feeling, because what I did then was...nothing. I just kept going. My body would quit on me if it were exhausted, right? I must have more to lose...
But my "ah-ha" moment came with outside forces, when my husband said one night "You look so good, I'm so proud of you..but could you please not lose any more weight? I don't think I could handle any less of you..literally." I was shocked, I had never been told to NOT lose weight. Ever. I was so confused, a little hurt even for some reason. But it made me stop and inspect myself, and then it started clicking.. feeling bones everywhere, being cold all the time.. I had actually WAY surpassed my goal. I had such number blinders on I had forgotten healthy facts like muscle weighs more than fat. I had simply stopped paying attention to anything but the scale. So I took a few days off from MFP to re-evaluate myself and how I felt about my body and my health routine. And then I did the math on paper: if I didn't start maintaining, I would be dead by Christmas. A literal skeleton. Simple as that. No thanks.
My takeaway advice is the same basic advice for crossing a street: stop, look, and listen. To your body. It's an amazingly wise vessel. Give it a chance to speak.0 -
alissagorkin91 wrote: »How did you know it was time to maintain? What was going on?
I'll throw my story in!
I've never put in such hard work to reach a weight goal in my life, and I finally did it about 2 months ago. I completely relate to that "what now?" feeling, because what I did then was...nothing. I just kept going. My body would quit on me if it were exhausted, right? I must have more to lose...
But my "ah-ha" moment came with outside forces, when my husband said one night "You look so good, I'm so proud of you..but could you please not lose any more weight? I don't think I could handle any less of you..literally." I was shocked, I had never been told to NOT lose weight. Ever. I was so confused, a little hurt even for some reason. But it made me stop and inspect myself, and then it started clicking.. feeling bones everywhere, being cold all the time.. I had actually WAY surpassed my goal. I had such number blinders on I had forgotten healthy facts like muscle weighs more than fat. I had simply stopped paying attention to anything but the scale. So I took a few days off from MFP to re-evaluate myself and how I felt about my body and my health routine. And then I did the math on paper: if I didn't start maintaining, I would be dead by Christmas. A literal skeleton. Simple as that. No thanks.
My takeaway advice is the same basic advice for crossing a street: stop, look, and listen. To your body. It's an amazingly wise vessel. Give it a chance to speak.
Thank you so much for sharing and I will definitely do that. My fiancé tells me that I don't have to lose any more weight but I feel like he's just saying it just to say it, you know?0 -
Oh I absolutely know. I guess that's where trusting your loved ones comes into play. I think if your fiancé says you look great, he really thinks you look great, and therefore you look great
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Then why don't I believe it? I look in the mirror and all I see is flabby skin and my jiggly tummy.0
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You can always take a break and start losing again. Diet breaks are good for the mind and body anyway.
I went into maintenance. I might like to drop some more someday though. Entering maintenance is not the be all end all.0 -
alissagorkin91 wrote: »alissagorkin91 wrote: »How did you know it was time to maintain? What was going on?
I'll throw my story in!
I've never put in such hard work to reach a weight goal in my life, and I finally did it about 2 months ago. I completely relate to that "what now?" feeling, because what I did then was...nothing. I just kept going. My body would quit on me if it were exhausted, right? I must have more to lose...
But my "ah-ha" moment came with outside forces, when my husband said one night "You look so good, I'm so proud of you..but could you please not lose any more weight? I don't think I could handle any less of you..literally." I was shocked, I had never been told to NOT lose weight. Ever. I was so confused, a little hurt even for some reason. But it made me stop and inspect myself, and then it started clicking.. feeling bones everywhere, being cold all the time.. I had actually WAY surpassed my goal. I had such number blinders on I had forgotten healthy facts like muscle weighs more than fat. I had simply stopped paying attention to anything but the scale. So I took a few days off from MFP to re-evaluate myself and how I felt about my body and my health routine. And then I did the math on paper: if I didn't start maintaining, I would be dead by Christmas. A literal skeleton. Simple as that. No thanks.
My takeaway advice is the same basic advice for crossing a street: stop, look, and listen. To your body. It's an amazingly wise vessel. Give it a chance to speak.
Thank you so much for sharing and I will definitely do that. My fiancé tells me that I don't have to lose any more weight but I feel like he's just saying it just to say it, you know?
I'm so glad that there are people going through this too and that I can really relate to you guys.
My moment was when I dropped below my BMI quite alarmingly quick. The biggest one was visual. I was changing and saw myself in the mirror and was a little disgusted with what I saw. Bones showing everywhere, ribs showing in a gross way which I wasn't comfortable. Knobs of my shoulder blades. I realised no, this is not on. This is not beautiful, and not healthy. That was my aha moment.
I hate to say it but there was a very small little voice at that back of my head glowing with a kind of satisfaction seeing myself so skinny. But I stomped on that worm quick smart.
This is secondary, but also the fact my hubby said, "Can you gain a little more weight? You need to eat more, you already look so slim and great...but you're getting a little too skinny."
He made me promise to gain 2 kg.
I thought he was just saying it at first, but then I realised he comes from a family of women who are really skinny because they are really unhealthy and quite sickly, so he sees skinny as a 'bad' thing and "shape" as a good thing (not like obese but a little more meat, which I translate as 'chubby'. But I don't like that so we agreed to meet in between) and he likes "meat" on my bones because I look "beautiful" and "womanly". 0 -
alissagorkin91 wrote: »alissagorkin91 wrote: »How did you know it was time to maintain? What was going on?
I'll throw my story in!
I've never put in such hard work to reach a weight goal in my life, and I finally did it about 2 months ago. I completely relate to that "what now?" feeling, because what I did then was...nothing. I just kept going. My body would quit on me if it were exhausted, right? I must have more to lose...
But my "ah-ha" moment came with outside forces, when my husband said one night "You look so good, I'm so proud of you..but could you please not lose any more weight? I don't think I could handle any less of you..literally." I was shocked, I had never been told to NOT lose weight. Ever. I was so confused, a little hurt even for some reason. But it made me stop and inspect myself, and then it started clicking.. feeling bones everywhere, being cold all the time.. I had actually WAY surpassed my goal. I had such number blinders on I had forgotten healthy facts like muscle weighs more than fat. I had simply stopped paying attention to anything but the scale. So I took a few days off from MFP to re-evaluate myself and how I felt about my body and my health routine. And then I did the math on paper: if I didn't start maintaining, I would be dead by Christmas. A literal skeleton. Simple as that. No thanks.
My takeaway advice is the same basic advice for crossing a street: stop, look, and listen. To your body. It's an amazingly wise vessel. Give it a chance to speak.
Thank you so much for sharing and I will definitely do that. My fiancé tells me that I don't have to lose any more weight but I feel like he's just saying it just to say it, you know?
I'm so glad that there are people going through this too and that I can really relate to you guys.
My moment was when I dropped below my BMI quite alarmingly quick. The biggest one was visual. I was changing and saw myself in the mirror and was a little disgusted with what I saw. Bones showing everywhere, ribs showing in a gross way which I wasn't comfortable. Knobs of my shoulder blades. I realised no, this is not on. This is not beautiful, and not healthy. That was my aha moment.
I hate to say it but there was a very small little voice at that back of my head glowing with a kind of satisfaction seeing myself so skinny. But I stomped on that worm quick smart.
This is secondary, but also the fact my hubby said, "Can you gain a little more weight? You need to eat more, you already look so slim and great...but you're getting a little too skinny."
He made me promise to gain 2 kg.
I thought he was just saying it at first, but then I realised he comes from a family of women who are really skinny because they are really unhealthy and quite sickly, so he sees skinny as a 'bad' thing and "shape" as a good thing (not like obese but a little more meat, which I translate as 'chubby'. But I don't like that so we agreed to meet in between) and he likes "meat" on my bones because I look "beautiful" and "womanly".
I get it. I just want to get back to the same size and weight from when I first met my fiancé. That's the last time I was happy with my body and weight. But now, I'm thick. He's loves it. Bigger breasts, thighs, and butt. I don't know if I can ever get back down to that weight with all of this.0 -
Gosh - it is your body, not your fiancé's!!! You need to love yourself, too!! (I just celebrated my 22nd wedding anniversary yesterday, so I have experience with successes and difficulties in couples...)
I think you need to stop thinking of the scale. When you say that you feel "thick" and you see flabby skin and jiggly tummy, but that your weight loss has stopped, I perceive that you need to work on getting in shape. Getting stronger and less flabby will do wonders for your morale. Stop thinking about how much you weigh - keep logging and tracking - but make an honest effort to do some fitness for at least 3 h per week. I mean doing exercise so that you are very sweaty. I'm sure that you'll feel a huge change within weeks and SEE changes in about 3 months.
Good luck.0
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