Is anyone on maintenance that isn't even that skinny?

I've decided to go on maintenance because I can't do 1200 any more (I'm short) so I've just learned to accept myself with a cute belly and that's that. I've lost quite a lot of weight so I'm happy with that.

Is anyone in a similar situation ? Would love to make new friends, thanks!

Caroline

Replies

fit4itall

arditarose wrote: »

I'm in maintenance. I got tiny, then purposely bulked to try gain muscle over the winter. I tried to cut the fat but went through a lot of personal stress besides getting obsessed and weird with food. So...maybe I failed. But here I am. It's time for me to focus on getting mentally and physically healthy, which doesn't meant chasing a low body fat % at the very moment.

You look amazing.

arditarose

fit4itall wrote: »

arditarose wrote: »

I'm in maintenance. I got tiny, then purposely bulked to try gain muscle over the winter. I tried to cut the fat but went through a lot of personal stress besides getting obsessed and weird with food. So...maybe I failed. But here I am. It's time for me to focus on getting mentally and physically healthy, which doesn't meant chasing a low body fat % at the very moment.

You look amazing.

That is sweet. Thank you

trina1049

I'm 66 years old, 5'2.5" with a medium frame and maintaining at 127 lbs. I think I look normal -- not fat, not skinny though pretty well defined because I started doing weight resistance and a bit of cardio when I first began to lose weight about 15 months ago. The weights really reshaped my body composition. I'm wearing US Petite size 6 (Mediums) or a Ladies 2 or 4 (Small).

My BMI is at 22.9. I'm maintaining by eating anywhere from 1850 - 2000+ calories per day with moderate exercise 4Xs per week (weights/cardio).

victoria_1024

trina1049 wrote: »

I'm 66 years old, 5'2.5" with a medium frame and maintaining at 127 lbs. I think I look normal -- not fat, not skinny though pretty well defined because I started doing weight resistance and a bit of cardio when I first began to lose weight about 15 months ago. The weights really reshaped my body composition. I'm wearing US Petite size 6 (Mediums) or a Ladies 2 or 4 (Small).

My BMI is at 22.9. I'm maintaining by eating anywhere from 1850 - 2000+ calories per day with moderate exercise 4Xs per week (weights/cardio).

You're my twin! I'm the same height about 125 and do strength training, and maintain around the same calories.

GeorgiePie88

chimaerandi wrote: »

I'm 5'3'' and my range is 132-127 and I'm moving into maintenance. I know many MFPers would rather get to like 115 or whatever but ehhh, I'm happy the way I am and I'm not trying to be a model or anything--I'm healthy and I can maintain at this weight without it turning into an obsession pretty easily. The only person who gets to have an opinion about whether you're thin enough to be on maintenance is you. You don't *have* to want to be at the bottom half of your BMI, though I know it can feel that way. You're allowed to like yourself where you are!

My stats and goals are the exact same as you. I've given up on trying to fit the skinny ideal as it was both unsustainable and made me feel miserable. I obtained my thinnest weight by disordered eating, but I know I can maintain a healthy weight by eating more and engaging in a healthy relationship with food. All I want at this moment is to be happy and healthy.

trina1049

victoria_1024 wrote: »

trina1049 wrote: »

I'm 66 years old, 5'2.5" with a medium frame and maintaining at 127 lbs. I think I look normal -- not fat, not skinny though pretty well defined because I started doing weight resistance and a bit of cardio when I first began to lose weight about 15 months ago. The weights really reshaped my body composition. I'm wearing US Petite size 6 (Mediums) or a Ladies 2 or 4 (Small).

My BMI is at 22.9. I'm maintaining by eating anywhere from 1850 - 2000+ calories per day with moderate exercise 4Xs per week (weights/cardio).

You're my twin! I'm the same height about 125 and do strength training, and maintain around the same calories.

Nice! It's good validation for our maintenance calories!

chelseamoberg13

Francl27 wrote: »

I'm 5'5" and 136 pounds right now. Some people call me skinny because I have thin legs and arms but my midsection is definitely not skinny (although all the loose skin is making it hard to know).

My goal is/was 130 pounds but it's just not been happening and I've been maintaining at 134-136 for 2 years. I'm just too hungry as a whole and not willing to give up things I like just to lose a couple vanity pounds (and I'd have to eat less to maintain that too - can't even imagine that). I mean, I'm still trying to keep a deficit most weeks, but I typically end up wiping it the following week (or during PMS), and my weight just hasn't come down, so... whatever I guess.

Still struggling with it a bit though and I haven't reached the acceptance stage yet. But what I've been doing seems to work to maintain, so I don't really want to change it anyway.

Have you tried adding in more exercise/muscle building? Loosing weight (especially for women) messes with the amount of muscle you have & muscle is what burns calories. You could keep eating what you love, add in some weight lifting, and still be able to hit your goal. I am getting ready to start yoga for that reason - it strengthens so many muscles!! Either way - congrats on getting to a place where you are healthy & your body is happy.

srecupid

I'm 5"10 170. I'm pretty fat but got burned out so I'm taking a break for now.

lolosensan2

chelseamoberg13 wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

I'm 5'5" and 136 pounds right now. Some people call me skinny because I have thin legs and arms but my midsection is definitely not skinny (although all the loose skin is making it hard to know).

My goal is/was 130 pounds but it's just not been happening and I've been maintaining at 134-136 for 2 years. I'm just too hungry as a whole and not willing to give up things I like just to lose a couple vanity pounds (and I'd have to eat less to maintain that too - can't even imagine that). I mean, I'm still trying to keep a deficit most weeks, but I typically end up wiping it the following week (or during PMS), and my weight just hasn't come down, so... whatever I guess.

Still struggling with it a bit though and I haven't reached the acceptance stage yet. But what I've been doing seems to work to maintain, so I don't really want to change it anyway.

Have you tried adding in more exercise/muscle building? Loosing weight (especially for women) messes with the amount of muscle you have & muscle is what burns calories. You could keep eating what you love, add in some weight lifting, and still be able to hit your goal. I am getting ready to start yoga for that reason - it strengthens so many muscles!! Either way - congrats on getting to a place where you are healthy & your body is happy.

I was thinking this exactly. I am 5'5'' too and 136 is actually my end goal. I am probably around 148. I don't own a scale but I think I'm in the higher 140s right now. Do you lift? I think lifting makes all the difference in appearance.

Francl27

chelseamoberg13 wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

I'm 5'5" and 136 pounds right now. Some people call me skinny because I have thin legs and arms but my midsection is definitely not skinny (although all the loose skin is making it hard to know).

My goal is/was 130 pounds but it's just not been happening and I've been maintaining at 134-136 for 2 years. I'm just too hungry as a whole and not willing to give up things I like just to lose a couple vanity pounds (and I'd have to eat less to maintain that too - can't even imagine that). I mean, I'm still trying to keep a deficit most weeks, but I typically end up wiping it the following week (or during PMS), and my weight just hasn't come down, so... whatever I guess.

Still struggling with it a bit though and I haven't reached the acceptance stage yet. But what I've been doing seems to work to maintain, so I don't really want to change it anyway.

Have you tried adding in more exercise/muscle building? Loosing weight (especially for women) messes with the amount of muscle you have & muscle is what burns calories. You could keep eating what you love, add in some weight lifting, and still be able to hit your goal. I am getting ready to start yoga for that reason - it strengthens so many muscles!! Either way - congrats on getting to a place where you are healthy & your body is happy.

Hate lifting and I don't want my arms to get more muscular, and I like my legs too, so it's kinda a moot point anyway... I still lift... occasionally.

snowflake930

I am not skinny.
5'2-3/4" I have been maintaining @ around 130 for 2-1/2 years. High end of normal range, I wanted to get to the lower end of normal to have some cushion, but it was not to be. Perfectly happy here. I got down to 125 for about 2 minutes, but discovered my body likes being at 130, and decided I was on maintenance. I will be 65 in September and I was morbidly obese when I started out, so I am pretty content with it.

Heartisalonelyhunter

lolosensan2 wrote: »

chelseamoberg13 wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

I'm 5'5" and 136 pounds right now. Some people call me skinny because I have thin legs and arms but my midsection is definitely not skinny (although all the loose skin is making it hard to know).

My goal is/was 130 pounds but it's just not been happening and I've been maintaining at 134-136 for 2 years. I'm just too hungry as a whole and not willing to give up things I like just to lose a couple vanity pounds (and I'd have to eat less to maintain that too - can't even imagine that). I mean, I'm still trying to keep a deficit most weeks, but I typically end up wiping it the following week (or during PMS), and my weight just hasn't come down, so... whatever I guess.

Still struggling with it a bit though and I haven't reached the acceptance stage yet. But what I've been doing seems to work to maintain, so I don't really want to change it anyway.

Have you tried adding in more exercise/muscle building? Loosing weight (especially for women) messes with the amount of muscle you have & muscle is what burns calories. You could keep eating what you love, add in some weight lifting, and still be able to hit your goal. I am getting ready to start yoga for that reason - it strengthens so many muscles!! Either way - congrats on getting to a place where you are healthy & your body is happy.

I was thinking this exactly. I am 5'5'' too and 136 is actually my end goal. I am probably around 148. I don't own a scale but I think I'm in the higher 140s right now. Do you lift? I think lifting makes all the difference in appearance.

Lifting does make a huge difference, as long as you use a proper progressive lifting routine. The weight you can lift will increase exponentially if you're doing it right. I get so sick of women on here saying they 'lift' when really they're faffing around with Dumbbells or doing Body Pump, neither of which help anything really, certainly not in the long term.

galprincess

Hi I'm 31 years old mum of 3 and I'm in maintenance im 5'5 and 131lbs im happy and slowly increasing calories im looking ok and im ready to start recomp

vivmom2014

Heartisalonelyhunter wrote: »

lolosensan2 wrote: »

chelseamoberg13 wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

I'm 5'5" and 136 pounds right now. Some people call me skinny because I have thin legs and arms but my midsection is definitely not skinny (although all the loose skin is making it hard to know).

My goal is/was 130 pounds but it's just not been happening and I've been maintaining at 134-136 for 2 years. I'm just too hungry as a whole and not willing to give up things I like just to lose a couple vanity pounds (and I'd have to eat less to maintain that too - can't even imagine that). I mean, I'm still trying to keep a deficit most weeks, but I typically end up wiping it the following week (or during PMS), and my weight just hasn't come down, so... whatever I guess.

Still struggling with it a bit though and I haven't reached the acceptance stage yet. But what I've been doing seems to work to maintain, so I don't really want to change it anyway.

Have you tried adding in more exercise/muscle building? Loosing weight (especially for women) messes with the amount of muscle you have & muscle is what burns calories. You could keep eating what you love, add in some weight lifting, and still be able to hit your goal. I am getting ready to start yoga for that reason - it strengthens so many muscles!! Either way - congrats on getting to a place where you are healthy & your body is happy.

I was thinking this exactly. I am 5'5'' too and 136 is actually my end goal. I am probably around 148. I don't own a scale but I think I'm in the higher 140s right now. Do you lift? I think lifting makes all the difference in appearance.

Lifting does make a huge difference, as long as you use a proper progressive lifting routine. The weight you can lift will increase exponentially if you're doing it right. I get so sick of women on here saying they 'lift' when really they're faffing around with Dumbbells or doing Body Pump, neither of which help anything really, certainly not in the long term.

<eye roll>
Stop dissing on what other people choose to do for fitness. Your judgement is irrelevant.

batoolnabulsi

Great! Nothing feels as good as accepting yourself, which I finally managed to do, 2 lbs to reach the NEW goal, at first I wanted to reach 113 lbs which is really low, but now my goal is 119 lbs then I'll start maintaining and focus on getting fitter and more flexible, there's no point in eating less and feeling annoyed.. Although I sometimes stress over weight, I fear gaining it, but I need to accept myself..
I can never look skinny, I do have a flat stomach but I'm curvy and will always look curvy.. So it's okay..leaner legs aren't for me after all...
Cheers for accepting ourselves

vingogly

I'm 69yo, 5'11" and I went into maintenance after losing 51 lbs (216 lbs) maybe a year and a half ago. I just got tired of paying that much attention to what I was eating. I kept most of the weight off for the year and a half. What I learned from this experience was that I need to log what I eat -- even when I'm in maintenance. Going on maintenance even if you haven't reached your goal is I think a valuable thing to do because (a) you're proving to yourself that yes, you can go into maintenance and stay there and (b) you're learning what you need to do to successfully stay at your goal weight -- provided you continue to log everything and monitor your weight.

Last November, I decided to stay at a calorie level that would let me lose about a pound a week. I've done so since then, and now I'm up to 72 lbs lost (184 lbs). My current goal for final weight is 160 lbs - 170 lbs which is right in the "normal weight" sweet spot for me. This has nothing to do with aesthetics, it's a matter of health because I have atrial fibrillation, hypertension, and prostate cancer. So by the end of the year, I should be there. Staying there will be a matter of staying vigilant, weighing myself, and taking corrective action if I see the weight going up again.

I'm doing cardio now, plan to get back on a weight program when I get the OK from my surgeon (I had hernia surgery a couple of weeks ago).

vicky1947mfp

vingogly wrote: »

I'm 69yo, 5'11" and I went into maintenance after losing 51 lbs (216 lbs) maybe a year and a half ago. I just got tired of paying that much attention to what I was eating. I kept most of the weight off for the year and a half. What I learned from this experience was that I need to log what I eat -- even when I'm in maintenance. Going on maintenance even if you haven't reached your goal is I think a valuable thing to do because (a) you're proving to yourself that yes, you can go into maintenance and stay there and (b) you're learning what you need to do to successfully stay at your goal weight -- provided you continue to log everything and monitor your weight.

Last November, I decided to stay at a calorie level that would let me lose about a pound a week. I've done so since then, and now I'm up to 72 lbs lost (184 lbs). My current goal for final weight is 160 lbs - 170 lbs which is right in the "normal weight" sweet spot for me. This has nothing to do with aesthetics, it's a matter of health because I have atrial fibrillation, hypertension, and prostate cancer. So by the end of the year, I should be there. Staying there will be a matter of staying vigilant, weighing myself, and taking corrective action if I see the weight going up again.

I'm doing cardio now, plan to get back on a weight program when I get the OK from my surgeon (I had hernia surgery a couple of weeks ago).

Great job. Good luck with your healthy lifestyle.

mamadon

I'm 5'4 and weigh around 150. When I was younger and thinner, I would have felt horrible at this weight. Being 54 years old and coming from 268 pounds, I am perfectly happy not being "skinny"

vicky1947mfp

mamadon wrote: »

I'm 5'4 and weigh around 150. When I was younger and thinner, I would have felt horrible at this weight. Being 54 years old and coming from 268 pounds, I am perfectly happy not being "skinny"

Healthy and happy is the key.

VitaSh

I suggest you look up Layne Norton's videos on Youtube about reverse dieting and how you can slowly reverse your calories higher to help increase your metabolism and change body composition, and then it will be much easier to lose weight from a higher caloric intake and/or maintain weight at higher calories, if you're interested.

DebSozo

VitaSh wrote: »

I suggest you look up Layne Norton's videos on Youtube about reverse dieting and how you can slowly reverse your calories higher to help increase your metabolism and change body composition, and then it will be much easier to lose weight from a higher caloric intake and/or maintain weight at higher calories, if you're interested.

This sounds very interesting.

Francl27

VitaSh wrote: »

I suggest you look up Layne Norton's videos on Youtube about reverse dieting and how you can slowly reverse your calories higher to help increase your metabolism and change body composition, and then it will be much easier to lose weight from a higher caloric intake and/or maintain weight at higher calories, if you're interested.

All it's done for me so far is making the weight creep up, to be fair, lol.

wendymoira

I'm definitely not skinny: 5'3.5" and 155-157 lbs. It's what I weighed at my most comfortable ten years ago, pre-kids, so it's what I aimed for. I can even wear some of my old clothes again! (Although, not surprisingly, my tastes have changed a bit, and so has my shape courtesy of kids.)

I'd love to get more toned one of these days, and if that means I lose more weight, fine, but honestly I'm enjoying being back at the weight I wanted to be at, and I'd like to maintain for at least a year or two (it's been 4 months) before starting any more deliberate weight loss.

solieco1

enterdanger wrote: »

I'm frequently in maintenance, but no on purpose. lol.

^^^this

Tweaking_Time

I have hit maintenance twice now. I am living proof that your body shape still changes after achieving goal weight. A couple of months after hitting my goal weight (both times), I had to set a new goal weight to fine tune. Hence my current MFP name "tweaking_time." My old handle was Go_Mizzou99 (lost 75 pounds that time)

Congrats on figuring out what works for your OP. Going off restricted calories and back on to maintenance calories is cool. You can always go back to fully or partially restricted calories if you want. You can also stay on maintenance and increase your activities and accomplish the same....or not.

Best wishes for your continued success either way.

JenD1066

I don't know how anyone can do 1200, skinny or not! I'm on maintenance (5'5", 107#) and I guess some people would consider me skinny, but only until they see that I have actual biceps and quads! Numbers are just guidelines. Do not let them define you.

kandi416c

Well i keep my calorie goal between 1400 and 1600 but i make a lot of exercise because i enjoy it so much. Is the best part of my day, when you just disconnect from the world for 1 hour and is very motivational when you see your body, working out so hard! Also i'm 5'1, i'm petite.

llbrixon

5'6" 163 pounds now. Goal is 155-160. Seriously thinking of going maintenance now and if I lose any that would be a nice bonus. Weight loss has been slow.....

vincychan1983

Frankly speaking, 1200 calories can be done when you are in a short term diet program. For me, it cannot be sustained in long term since I will crave for any food if there is nothing to occupy my mind, and eventually binging everything. Somehow, a toned body shape would be better than losing a few pounds as you can visualise it in the mirror.

If you are happy with your current body shape and weight, just keep it with 1400 - 1600 calories per day in average, and keep your body moving. Most importantly, stay happy

I'm petite too, 5'3, 113 lb.

CincyNeid

I work out multiple times a day. I can maintain 20mph for 35 miles. I run several times a week. As of the moment I have over 100 miles logged running for they year, and over 1,100 miles on my bike for the year .... I eat a solid 1,800-2,000 calorie diet. And I've been maintaining 225 pounds for going on a year now. Down from 326. I wouldn't say I'm skinny by any stretch. Depending on the brand of clothing I'm between a Medium and a Large.

My original goal was to get down to 190 pounds but I don't think I'll ever see it.