For those close to their goal weight: how do you feel?

Losingthedamnweight · November 2015

And for those that hit their goal...

I was just thinking about this today. I'm doing so well and kicking so much butt that at this rate, I'll be at my goal weight by summer. But how will it feel? And how will it feel when I'm almost there? Will I want to revert to old habits? Will I be more motivated than ever? Will I think about life differently? Will I feel like a changed person mentally as well as physically? What?

queenliz99 · November 2015

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10260524/most-helpful-posts-goal-maintaining-weight-must-reads#latest

Machka9 · November 2015

I'm about 2 kg from my second goal weight.

I hit my first goal weight (15 kg down) mid-June, and I'm already another 9 kg toward my second goal weight. In other words, I've lost 24 kg now.

How does it feel?

Well ... ummm ...

On the one hand, I'm frustrated because the weight loss has slowed a bit and although I am losing weight, those 2 kg are dropping so slowly. Like 300 grams a week kind of slowly.

I'm also a little disheartened by my skin. It's not really bad, but it is saggy and wrinkly in places and to the touch it feels kind of like I'm wearing a marshmallow suit. I am exercising, including weights, but I'm told it will be another 2 years before that all tightens up. When I was this weight before, I was lean and muscular, not kind of saggy.

And I feel more hungry than ever. I've been slightly hungry for the past 8 months, but now I feel like I could sit down and clean out a buffet. Every day I feel that way. Every day I stick to my calorie limit, but every day I am so hungry!

This leads to a bit of a worry about what it will take to maintain this weight.

Then there's the clothing thing. I've got clothes from when I was slender before all the way up to my heaviest. I've only just finally had the time to start sorting through them, but for the past couple months the whole process of getting dressed has been me deciding on what to wear the night before, and then getting into it on the morning and discovering it's all too big. Plus I've got to try everything on at shops now because I have no idea what will fit and what won't.

On the other hand, it's a relief to be back where I spent most of my adult life. I'm "me" again.

And I've got more strength and energy. I'm a cyclist and my husband and I did a ride on the weekend that we had done last year. This year I was 45 min faster and felt a whole lot more comfortable out there. Plus climbing hills is much easier.

Then there's the clothing thing ... I can wear some of those cute things I figured I'd never get into again!

BernieMBurke · November 2015

I'm getting pretty close. I've lost over 60 lbs. and I want to lose another 15. I've done this once before (lost 90 lbs. in 10 months), but I got lazy. I could blame it on all kinds of thing, but they would just be excuses. I now know that I will probably have to track for the rest of my life and I'm OK with that.

How do I feel now? Absolutely fantastic! People are noticing and say I'm looking good. The real test is Friday when I go see my Nephrologist. She hasn't seen me in 6 months, but she has been getting blood test results every two months. I'm exercising consistently now and watching my macros, so I'm in pretty good shape now. Next on my list is to start lifting as well as doing cardio (mainly walking at a really fast pace - at least 4.3 miles at about 4.2 MPH). I was starting to jog/run, but I pulled a hamstring and I'm waiting until the doctor's appointment is over to start running again.

I definitely look at life differently. Now, I'm constantly focused on what I'm eating, getting the necessary amount of exercise, ensuring I get enough sleep, and ensuring I'm getting enough water. For example, I got up at 4:15 AM this morning and went walking. Next, I showered and cleaned up and left for work at 6:15. Today was a bad/long day, but I'm making myself eat enough dinner to meet my macros. Next, I'm going to bed.

Rinse, repeat!

teresadutton · November 2015

I have passed my goal and now I am after my ultimate goal, I started May at 190lbs, today 138lbs, ultimate goal is 130. I love the way I feel. I look great with clothes on, lol. I have a lot of extra skin (my highest weight was 230). Although I have to admit, when I hit my goal of 140lbs I was very disappointed, MFP did nothing when I logged that weight. I always wondered what MFP would say, it said nothing, no great job, no you hit goal, no fireworks, nothing. It was such a let down. I am 100% more confident in myself now. I LOVE buying clothes now. I have been fat my entire adult life so it is "fun" to experience life as an adult in a thin body, really it is the same life but I feel different.

paxbfl · November 2015

I have an interesting perspective on this because I reached my goal weight and then, eventually, gained about 20 pounds back. I am now losing it again. I felt great when I hit my goal weight, but I don't think I fully appreciated it. Gaining back 20 pounds, carrying that around all day, feeling that weight on my knees when I run, it really made me appreciate it that much more. So I'm looking forward to getting back there (about 12-13 pounds to go).

kyrannosaurus · November 2015

I am less than 2kg from what I had always planned to be my ultimate goal weight.

I thought I would be totally happy at that weight and everything would be great.

It is definitely good, really good, but it's not what I expected. I will probably aim to lose a few more kilos once I hit my goal and then work on recomping.

victoria_1024 · November 2015

I hit my goal weight recently so it's very new for me. Ideally I will lose another 5-10 pounds, but I've been maintaining for the past couple of weeks and go back and forth deciding if I want to lose more or just hang out here for a while.

I feel pretty good. When I see pictures of myself, I'm really pleased. I get comments from people constantly about how good I look or how skinny I am. This is both good and uncomfortable. I would say that I'm just as motivated to maintain as I was to lose. I'm still logging and exercising regularly. But I have to admit, it's weird not seeing the scale move. I have to remind myself that it's ok for the number to stay the same and that the scale isn't moving because I met my goal, and this is a good thing. When you work for something for so long, it is definitely strange just changing your goals.

jemhh · November 2015

I've been close to my goal weight (within 12 pounds but up and down the same 5 pounds) since December. On one hand, I am very frustrated and tired of the process. On the other hand, I am proud of myself for coming so far and I feel so much healthier and happier and stronger. I have not reverted to old habits (regular overeating and being lazy) but I am finding it hard to stick with a deficit long enough to finish losing the fat. However, I am much stronger now than I was in January so that's a plus side to having eaten more this year. All of this plays in an endless loop in my mind right now. I think I changed my calorie goal 4 times today on the website and probably another 4 times in my head. Right now I am thinking about the fact that if I continue to eat at maintenance I will likely hit what, to me, is a significant milestone (200 lb. deadlift) at the end of December. But it will also mean that I will have had no net weight loss all year so I'm undecided as to how to proceed, food-wise.

Sued0nim · November 2015

Fit, strong, hot, awesome

Well you asked

BurnWithBarn2015 · November 2015

Marvelous, strong and energetic, really motivated ( i took some old projects and blew new life into them)

And looking forward to the future

Matt71Fleming · November 2015

I've went from 102 kg to 85kg.Only 2-3 kg to go.Ive actually enjoyed the lifestyle change.I feel happier and fitter than I've been in a long time.I don't know what I will do when I reach my goal.Obviously try and keep it off but it will be just great to reach my goal.

PinkPixiexox · November 2015

I thought that the moment I hit goal, mountains would move and the world would change. The reality? It all just carried on as before. People didn't suddenly want to be my friend, men didn't suddenly start falling at my feet (boooooo!) and I wasn't treated any differently at work. For me, I started the journey with really wild expectations about how much my life would change - and I guess I was a little disappointed at the anti-climax! .. Sure, I feel much better health-wise and I know I 'look' a lot better too, but upon reaching my goal I realized this - This entire process is for you and you alone. Ultimately at the end of the journey, you need to be at peace with who and what you are - because that final reward will be for you.

Whitezombiegirl · November 2015

For me: I've just got back down to a UK size 6/ US size 2. It took me 9 months.

But how will it feel? Back to normal, I've always been slim
And how will it feel when I'm almost there? Annoyingly slow
Will I want to revert to old habits? I got hungrier and ate more snacks, but generally logging kept me on track
Will I be more motivated than ever? No
Will I think about life differently? Nope.
Will I feel like a changed person mentally as well as physically? No.

The most annoying thing was buying new clothes. Not everything is available in a size UK6/ US2. The things I do buy all sit in the wardrobe as they still need altering- I'm 5ft0 so pants/ skirt/ dresses and sleeves need hemming and I'm short-waisted with a smaller-than-average waist so wasitbands have to be taken in. I'm also picky- so nothing I buy new gets lefts alone- I'm always changing buttons and what not before I'm happy with it.

Additionally I have a lot of high-end club wear from my Goth days which is far too big now. My taste has evolved anyway but still... some of it i never got round to wearing (and I'm not selling it!)

Overall i feel 'back-to-normal'. I feel vigilant and also under (my own) pressure to move my focus to strength training and fitness rather than losing body fat. I still care deeply about what i eat and I don't think I will ever be able to over-indulge without intense guilt.

Also- i look young for my age (40) and when I wear slightly baggy things I look even younger (Little Ophan Annie - apparently)- my husband is 50 so he hates it when I look young.

I had a rubbish body-image 30lbs heavier (flabby and full of cellulite) and i still have a rubbish body-image now (skinny and flat-chested). Funny thing is that the poor self-image has been imposed on me from other people ('you've lost your bust!'). I never liked a full bussom and never wanted one. I always liked the skinny, pale Goth girl image! It doesn't stop me being hurt by others comments though- guess I just need to grow a thicker skin.

P.s One of the UK womens mags just ran an article about huge bums- basically skinny-shaming people and a quote from J-Lo about how she feels sorry for skinny girls that they have no shape and that they don't look good in clothes (tch!). Side note: I always had and always will have a 'J-Lo bum' and 15 years ago I was criticised for it- now it's okay! Okay then.............fed up of body trends. Rant over.

cafeaulait7 · November 2015

It's really, really nice to not have to worry about clothing hiding any bulges. That's the best thing for me as far as looks go. And it is cool if parts look really hot. That's great fun. But mostly, it's not something I care a lot about, if that makes sense. I didn't really mind being chubby.

The fitness and health side of things is more exciting to me, I think. The health side had better be exciting, because I have blood sugar problems, darnit (they are still new)! So it really does matter what I eat and if I exercise consistently. So my attention is on that part of things now, with lots of goals.

I am more aware of gaining it back, too. I did once before and it's the slow creep and complacency that got me (and would again, I'm sure). I forget to get on the scale, stopped tracking entirely, etc. I'll be much more careful that way this time!

I think I'll get a pair of nicely tight jeans with no stretch and remember that those should continue to fit, lol. I'll try them on on the 1st of every month or something.

I still do get hungry some days I shouldn't, btw. Most of the time, I'm great, but I could overdo it easily too often. It's never over, I think.

MarcyKirkton · November 2015

I feel better. I was embarrassed by how I looked. But I also feel irritated at times that the weight is so slow to come off at this stage.

I could never have done what people kept pushing at times on here......slow down to a very small loss rate. This stage is making me bonkers!

kazminchu · November 2015

Like I need to reevaluate my goals. I'm by no means on the lower end of a healthy weight, being 150lbs and 5'5.5, but I just feel like I'm not going to weigh much less than this. And, sorry to be a negative Nelly, I still hate my body. I still look and feel huge. My extra skin is gross and I don't think it will go away without surgery. My boobs have vanished. I wobble SO much when I'm on the cross trainer.
At this point I'm wondering whether it's worth giving up on losing weight, per se, and focusing more on building muscle mass. I like my little biceps that have appeared, but they just won't get any bigger even though I struggle to lift what I do now.
So I guess in the next couple of months I'm going to sit myself down and try to make a new goal, one that hopefully will give me some satisfaction.

scorpcookie · November 2015

It's a great feeling when you are close to your goal weight, that all that hard work has finally paid off. I had a big smile when I saw that I had reached my original goal a few weeks ago.

Now I'm working on some stretch goals and as I see signs of my abdominal muscles for the first time in my life, I feel incredible. I'm hoping that at this point I only have another 5-10lbs to go before I can go into maintenance mode for a bit before trying my hand at a bulk.

Need2Exerc1se · November 2015

I am very close to goal, though I think I may go for a little more when I get there. I imagine over time I will start to slip back into old habits and have to reign it back in. That's what I did for the 40 years (m/l) that I was thin. I am going to do my level best to always reign it in at 5-10 lbs, which is also what I did when thin.

kristen6350 · November 2015

I've been within 5lbs of my goal weight (aka maintenance) for some time now. I really don't feel much different as when I was 40lbs heavier, my pants just have a smaller size on them.

cwolfman13 · November 2015

I've been maintaining for about 2.5 years...i'm healthier and way more fit than I was when i started over three years ago...but really, i think this notion that life is going to completely change is a fallacy IMO. Life goes on as it always has.

whether or not you go back to old habits is really a matter of whether or not you've actually adopted a healthier lifestyle. motivation is an overrated emotion...discipline is where it's at. you have to be disciplined to lose weight and disciplined to maintain weight. there are plenty of days where I'm 100% NOT motivated to do the things that I do to maintain my health and my weight...but I do them regardless.

hapa11 · November 2015

The thing I've noticed is how nice it is not to think about my weight so much. Before I'd think about it constantly, and every time I'd meet someone I'd think, I wonder if they're thinking about how fat I am. Now I just think about the conversation we're having.

starwhisperer6 · November 2015

What I am seeing from this is that, while fitness is not really necessary for the weight loss, it seems to be pretty important as far as being happy with the finished process.

robertw486 · November 2015

PinkPixiexox wrote: »

Sure, I feel much better health-wise and I know I 'look' a lot better too, but upon reaching my goal I realized this - This entire process is for you and you alone. Ultimately at the end of the journey, you need to be at peace with who and what you are - because that final reward will be for you.

This is completely my view on the issue... it's a journey for me and me alone. I set a goal to be more fit than I was 25 years ago, and 25 years ago I was fresh out of the military and in fairly good shape by most standards.

Right now I'm very near my goal low weight, but my intention is to go into recomp mode or a slow build and put some more muscle back on. And I feel great. There is even part of me that wants to drop even more weight before I recomp, but for now I'm happy with my progress.

But I do want to add, for me personally, feeling better is mostly due to doing more aerobic type exercise than I usually did in the past. I've done it mostly for the quick weight loss, but it does make me feel much better, and has somewhat changed my end goal.

But I suspect that end goal may very well be elusive. Not because I won't get there. But because I may well look in the mirror, be happy with what I did.... and still wonder if the grass is greener if I cut more, if I bulk more, etc. So for me, regardless of the mirror, my end goal overall is to feel great and accept that whatever I see in the mirror is what makes me feel great. I'm still not sure how thin or how bulked that will be.

So in reference to the original question..... I'll let you know when I get there. Check back yearly maybe!

Francl27 · November 2015

I'm hungrier now than I was before. That's the really sucky part. But definitely not reverting back to old habits... Before I used to eat even if I wasn't hungry, now food just doesn't really appeal to me that much if I'm not hungry (that's fairly new though... and I've been maintaining for 1.5 year)... and if I eat as much in one sitting as I used to eat twice a day, I just get stuffed.

Otherwise... nothing has changed really. I look better in clothes (which is both good and bad, honestly, because I keep wanting to buy new clothes). But yeah my workouts performance is better.

serasmommy · November 2015

I need to work on myself. Still. Forever. I'm smaller but I still struggle with low self-esteem. Wearing smaller clothing that so called fits, feels really exposed. I've passed my first goal and so near my second one. I didn't have huge goals, mind you. I'm 5'3", 148 lb down from 210.
I don't think I'll be able to accept myself unless I do some counseling/therapy thing, and that's a thought I'm not fond of.

Machka9 · November 2015

cafeaulait7 wrote: »

It's really, really nice to not have to worry about clothing hiding any bulges. That's the best thing for me as far as looks go.

Earlier this week, I wore a skirt which, a year ago, I would have worn with a big, loose shirt ... but now I was able to wear it with a tight figuring hugging top and there were no bulges! That was really nice!

For those close to their goal weight: how do you feel?

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