When to stop weight loss.

Lillymoo01
Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
How do you really know when you have reached the 'ideal' weight and transition into maintenance?

I am only 1 kg off of my goal but my body fat percentage is still 28% and I would like it to be a bit lower although this is still an acceptable amount for my age. My BMI is 23 but with an extra kilo gone it will be 22.5%.

Also what is the best way to transition into maintenance?

Replies

  • BrianKMcFalls
    BrianKMcFalls Posts: 190 Member
    If you're not really happy with the results at goal weight, adjust the goal. It's your goal, as long as it's healthy it's basically your decision.

    I'm basing the rest of this on the general tone of your post... But, it doesn't sound like you're happy with your body composition (healthy BMI, but BF% higher than you want) at the target weight and there are several routes you can take to address that.
  • AigreDoux
    AigreDoux Posts: 594 Member
    I've been in maintenance for 6 months and still don't know if I'm at my ideal weight...

    I stopped when I got to a weight that I thought was healthy. For me, that is BMI ~22 or so. I still think I could be leaner, but I decided to recomp for a while and it's been going well. May cut down a few more pounds for summer but no need to decide everything all at once.

    One thing to consider, though, is that you may benefit at the very least from a diet break, even if you decide to keep going. I found this very useful during my weight loss phase to see what maintenance would feel like. Also there is data that it helps with adherence as well as helps physiologically. But Lyle explains it better than I do:
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    Thanks for that. I have decided to eat at maintenance weight for a couple of kgs less than I am. Hopefully that means I will lose weight really slowly but easily settle into maintenance once there. Not that it gives me many extra calories than I am already eating. Sigh......
  • sofchak
    sofchak Posts: 862 Member
    I think that's a great decision, Lillymoo01. I hit my "ideal weight" goal in May, 2016 (25 lbs down in 5 months). I decided I wasn't really happy with the way I looked once reaching my goal. Therefore, I changed my diet a bit so I would still lose, but at a slower rate until I reached a point where I liked how I looked in the mirror. I found that I was much happier at about 8 lbs less than my initial goal. The approach was deliberate and slow (6 additional months) on purpose to help prepare for maintenance. Now in maintenance for 5 months at +/- 3 lbs. Just remember that it's all a journey.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    I had chosen a goal range - 150-155. That's natural set point for me (I'm tall) and what I weighed when I graduated from college and came back to after both my kids. Less than that I am hungry and grumpy. So I celebrated when I hit 155 and kept at a deficit until I hit 150. That took a long time - as long to lose that last 5 pounds as the previous 35. Then I upped to a 250 calorie deficit to see if would stabilize - it did. After 8 months I started to lose again and went to 0 deficit.

    Your body changes with time. I have maintained 5 years now and continue to log everything. BUT I gained 3 pounds in January despite hitting my calorie goals so went back on deficit. It didn't help until I started exercising again. For me, there are two things that will stop me losing weight no matter what my calories: carbs over 50% and not walking an hour a day. I can maintain without doing those things, but I can't lose.
  • JohnnyPenso
    JohnnyPenso Posts: 412 Member
    I was kind of in the same boat myself. In the past I kind of hit a barrier at 170-175 and always thought to myself, "gee, if I could ever get to 160 I'd be perfect!!". Then, with the help of calorie counting, I blew right through 170 and almost effortlessly got down to 160 and looked in the mirror and said, "Oh, that's not perfect!!". :s Now it's much better of course but I still have a little belly fat and my legs are too skinny so I decided to halt my weight at 160-162 (5'10" male, old) and hit the weight room for a few months and see what happens. I worked out for a month at home and then into the gym when I thought I was ready and after two months I lost a full inch off my waist (good thing I didn't buy a ton of clothes when reaching 160) and I can see the belly fat is noticably smaller.

    For me the key thing is, with counting calories I am now in total control of what I weigh and, thanks to apps like MFP I can track some of my nutrient intake as well. I have a much better feel for what is happening with my body. I went away this weekend and maintained my caloric intake until Sunday when I ate a huge amount of popcorn and chocolate and came home 8 lbs heavier than I was just 4 days prior. I knew it was only water weight from all the salt in the popcorn so I didn't panic and after 4 days of eating normally it's all gone and I'm back to where I was before last weekend. I also never gave any thought to potassium or calcium or iron intake before and realize that I was probably deficient in some of those elements for a great deal of my life, considering how I am now tailoring my diet to meet my RDA's. Because of that feeling of control I now, for the first time in my life, can see that a fitness and body composition goal is attainable and it's just a matter of applying myself to it and adjusting as time goes by.
  • STEVE142142
    STEVE142142 Posts: 867 Member
    There really is no such thing as the ideal weight. What it comes down to is you have to look in the mirror and be happy with what you see. Remember BMI index is just a number just like weight is a subjective number.

    To Explain what I mean I'm 56 years old male. Height is 6 feet 4 inches and I weigh 208 pounds. According to the BMI index I'm considered overweight. To have a normal BMI weight I should weigh between 154 and 205 pounds. If I weighed 155 pounds I would look anorexic.

    Also to give you a perspective as far as BMI and why I consider it unrealistic number. According to the BMI index every player in the NBA is considered overweight.
  • MrsEAPM
    MrsEAPM Posts: 5 Member
    First: Congratulations on your weight loss! If you're (almost) at goal weight, but not entirely happy with your BF%, you can check out this thread about body composition (sensible advice, no extreme shortcuts or bulk-cut regiments):

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat

    Good luck!
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    STEVE142142 wrote: »
    There really is no such thing as the ideal weight. What it comes down to is you have to look in the mirror and be happy with what you see. Remember BMI index is just a number just like weight is a subjective number.

    To Explain what I mean I'm 56 years old male. Height is 6 feet 4 inches and I weigh 208 pounds. According to the BMI index I'm considered overweight. To have a normal BMI weight I should weigh between 154 and 205 pounds. If I weighed 155 pounds I would look anorexic.

    Also to give you a perspective as far as BMI and why I consider it unrealistic number. According to the BMI index every player in the NBA is considered overweight.

    This is why BMI has a range. I look like hell at 150 (the middle of my normal range) and too fat at 177 (the upper), so I've settled into the high 160s until skeletal muscle builds, or I hit a long-term wall in strength.

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