Feeling done, even though I'm not quite at goal...
Otto132
Posts: 18 Member
Did anyone ever just feel like they were done being in deficit even though they didn't hit their goal? I started at 161 in January with a randomly chosen goal of 110. I'm 5'2. I'm 116 now. The last few weeks I've just felt done. It's not that I want to binge, I just don't want to be in deficit anymore. And, I am happy with how I look in the mirror. That perfectionist part of me says to continue until I hit my goal since I'm really quite close. But the other part says 116 isn't going to look any different than 110. What would you do?
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Replies
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Maintain! Feel great about your loss!9
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If you're happy with how you look and you randomly chose your goal I'd say give maintenance a whirl for a while, if you find after a little while you want to lose a little more you can always go back to a deficit again.10
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Maintain, wait and see. I did the same thing. I stayed at 150 (I'm taller) for 6 months to let everything settle and to test maintenance, and am now in the slow process of dropping to 135. Follow what your body tells you!5
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There is no "done" begin to seek out new activities to engage you physically, mentally and emotionally. And continue to track your calories... you have worked this hard...fought the good fight... lived through self- deprivation... and achieved success... NOW don't begin to believe that it's over... because it never ends... build on the good habits... and stay focused. Be determined4
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Transition into maintenance-you can always adjust things down the road if you feel the itch to get a bit lower
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I'm definitely getting close! My SW was 256. My GW is 150. I'm right around 168. 18lbs to go and about 10lbs roughly to get to "not overweight" category, which maintaining as "not overweight" is my real long-term goal. Boy, I'm just tired of the deficit at this point.
I'm flirting with upping my calories by 100 per day. I think I could live with that.
I'm not quite as close or lean as you are to your goal weight, so I have to keep going a little, but it's nice to know that other people close to goal feel 'done' also.4 -
Did anyone ever just feel like they were done being in deficit even though they didn't hit their goal? I started at 161 in January with a randomly chosen goal of 110. I'm 5'2. I'm 116 now. The last few weeks I've just felt done. It's not that I want to binge, I just don't want to be in deficit anymore. And, I am happy with how I look in the mirror. That perfectionist part of me says to continue until I hit my goal since I'm really quite close. But the other part says 116 isn't going to look any different than 110. What would you do?
Well, this is the problem with just setting some arbitrary number as a goal. I never had a goal weight...I had a general idea of what I thought I would have to get down to in order to be at a decent BF% and have a pretty decent physique...I was way wrong...had I actually dieted down to as low as I thought I'd have to go, I'd just look sickly skinny...2 -
You could switch to maintenance but instead of using the calorie goal for 116 lbs, use the goal for 110.
This will slowly take you down to 110 but your mentality will switch from losing to maintaining, and you won't have to switch your cal goal when you get there.
Just saying this as at 5'1 I found those last 5 lbs (110-105) made a big difference.
You could also stay st 116 and run a recomp.
Cheers, h.4 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »Did anyone ever just feel like they were done being in deficit even though they didn't hit their goal? I started at 161 in January with a randomly chosen goal of 110. I'm 5'2. I'm 116 now. The last few weeks I've just felt done. It's not that I want to binge, I just don't want to be in deficit anymore. And, I am happy with how I look in the mirror. That perfectionist part of me says to continue until I hit my goal since I'm really quite close. But the other part says 116 isn't going to look any different than 110. What would you do?
Well, this is the problem with just setting some arbitrary number as a goal. I never had a goal weight...I had a general idea of what I thought I would have to get down to in order to be at a decent BF% and have a pretty decent physique...I was way wrong...had I actually dieted down to as low as I thought I'd have to go, I'd just like sickly skinny...
I honestly didn't think I'd even make it past a few weeks in deficit. I had never dieted before, grew up thin, and basically put on a little bit of weight with each pregnancy I had (I have five kids, so that adds up). For the longest time I just thought, "this is how moms look" and left it at that. The straw that broke the camels back was at Christmas when my in laws AND my parents each asked if I was pregnant...and I wasn't, but apparently I looked like I was.
I didn't even remember what I weighed before kids, so I just went online and googled "healthy weight range" and my height and 110 seemed like a nice round number, so I went with that! I have learned a LOT about my eating habits and portion sizes, etc. It's been a really enlightening experience! I'm at the point now where random people are using terms like toothpick and tiny to describe me. I do not feel like I look sickly, but I am certainly happy with how I look now!
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Did anyone ever just feel like they were done being in deficit even though they didn't hit their goal? I started at 161 in January with a randomly chosen goal of 110. I'm 5'2. I'm 116 now. The last few weeks I've just felt done. It's not that I want to binge, I just don't want to be in deficit anymore. And, I am happy with how I look in the mirror. That perfectionist part of me says to continue until I hit my goal since I'm really quite close. But the other part says 116 isn't going to look any different than 110. What would you do?
IF you're happy with the person in the mirror. Hang out there for a while.
If you really want to push to 110 after a couple weeks or month long diet break/maintenance break, Then you've recharged your willpower for that last little bit.5 -
I'll speak for myself, I'm never done. I got to within 1 pound of my goal and then bounced way up due in part to a lot of personal issues that caused stress--I was "done" for a while. I would encourage you to not think if it as a task with an end milestone. I would think of it as maybe letting up on the gas a little, not taking my foot off the accelerator completely. In other words maintain knowing that maintenance isn't as easy as you think.1
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cwolfman13 wrote: »Did anyone ever just feel like they were done being in deficit even though they didn't hit their goal? I started at 161 in January with a randomly chosen goal of 110. I'm 5'2. I'm 116 now. The last few weeks I've just felt done. It's not that I want to binge, I just don't want to be in deficit anymore. And, I am happy with how I look in the mirror. That perfectionist part of me says to continue until I hit my goal since I'm really quite close. But the other part says 116 isn't going to look any different than 110. What would you do?
Well, this is the problem with just setting some arbitrary number as a goal. I never had a goal weight...I had a general idea of what I thought I would have to get down to in order to be at a decent BF% and have a pretty decent physique...I was way wrong...had I actually dieted down to as low as I thought I'd have to go, I'd just like sickly skinny...
I honestly didn't think I'd even make it past a few weeks in deficit. I had never dieted before, grew up thin, and basically put on a little bit of weight with each pregnancy I had (I have five kids, so that adds up). For the longest time I just thought, "this is how moms look" and left it at that. The straw that broke the camels back was at Christmas when my in laws AND my parents each asked if I was pregnant...and I wasn't, but apparently I looked like I was.
I didn't even remember what I weighed before kids, so I just went online and googled "healthy weight range" and my height and 110 seemed like a nice round number, so I went with that! I have learned a LOT about my eating habits and portion sizes, etc. It's been a really enlightening experience! I'm at the point now where random people are using terms like toothpick and tiny to describe me. I do not feel like I look sickly, but I am certainly happy with how I look now!
110 is on the low end of the range for your height...BMI is a range to accommodate different builds, muscle mass, etc. My wife is the same height and she feels and looks best anywhere from 125-130 due to the fact that she has an athletic build with decent muscle mass and is bigger boned. She's not a petite frame and would look absolutely ill at 110.
Low end for me is 132...I'd look like a skeleton.
If you're done, just take a breather in maintenance and see where you want to go from there...I did that for 4 years and decided I wanted to drop another 5-10 Lbs to get visible abs...we shall see, it may or may not be worth it.0 -
mulecanter wrote: »I'll speak for myself, I'm never done. I got to within 1 pound of my goal and then bounced way up due in part to a lot of personal issues that caused stress--I was "done" for a while. I would encourage you to not think if it as a task with an end milestone. I would think of it as maybe letting up on the gas a little, not taking my foot off the accelerator completely. In other words maintain knowing that maintenance isn't as easy as you think.
Good perspective, I think I have come to terms with what maintenance will be like for me. You're right, it's not like you hit goal and then have free reign of the fridge! But on the other hand, there is a different mentality, I think, between when you are in weight loss mode vs maintainance, and I think it's that weight loss mentality I'm ready to be done with, if that makes sense.
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Yepp this is exactly what I am going through right now! I am just so DONE with cutting.. I don't even have a goal weight so I am just monitoring as I go. I am about 95% happy with my results but I keep thinking "what if I cut just a little more..." but then I'm like you "is it even going to make a difference!" I keep thinking about recomp but just feel like I don't have the patience for it, so right now I am keeping a very small deficit and not putting pressure on myself if I continue to lose or not.
You could do that, or take a diet break and hangout at maintenance for a bit, then see how you feel.. then if you want to go back to deficit you can.. if you like how you feel with more food and energy and want to continue and give recomp a try, go for it. I keep thinking no matter what I do I am in a good place and you sound like you are too.2 -
Did anyone ever just feel like they were done being in deficit even though they didn't hit their goal? I started at 161 in January with a randomly chosen goal of 110. I'm 5'2. I'm 116 now. The last few weeks I've just felt done. It's not that I want to binge, I just don't want to be in deficit anymore. And, I am happy with how I look in the mirror. That perfectionist part of me says to continue until I hit my goal since I'm really quite close. But the other part says 116 isn't going to look any different than 110. What would you do?
I am where you are. My original goal was 10 lbs and then I dropped my goal by 5 each time I came close to reaching the 'new' number. I needed mini goals because I couldn't bite off a big chunk of change in my life. But here I am at 29 lbs! I dropped my final goal destination to a healthy BMI...but this would be another 11.5 lbs from where I am now and even as a young teen, the healthy BMI weight didn't suit me. I'm not sure I have it in me to do this for another 11.5 and I'm really happy with where I am now. Sure, there are some problem areas but I need a break. I've been at this for 6 months.
So, my new plan is to drop 3.5 more pounds and then go to maintenance for awhile. My family will be going through a stressful time in August and I feel like I will need all my mental resources to go to that space.
You are not alone.1 -
middlehaitch wrote: »You could switch to maintenance but instead of using the calorie goal for 116 lbs, use the goal for 110.
This will slowly take you down to 110 but your mentality will switch from losing to maintaining, and you won't have to switch your cal goal when you get there.
Just saying this as at 5'1 I found those last 5 lbs (110-105) made a big difference.
You could also stay st 116 and run a recomp.
Cheers, h.
Intriguing. Thanks for your perspective.
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middlehaitch wrote: »You could switch to maintenance but instead of using the calorie goal for 116 lbs, use the goal for 110.
This will slowly take you down to 110 but your mentality will switch from losing to maintaining, and you won't have to switch your cal goal when you get there.
Just saying this as at 5'1 I found those last 5 lbs (110-105) made a big difference.
You could also stay st 116 and run a recomp.
Cheers, h.
Intriguing. Thanks for your perspective.
Intriguing, indeed. I'm 6.6 lb above my own arbitrary goal of 160 with a weight loss target of 0.5 lb per week. My calorie budget today is 1740. When I pretended to be 160 with a goal of maintaining, it raised my calorie budget to 1950.0 -
Take a break and maintain and see how you feel in a few months. I'm in a similar boat having lost 49lbs. Not quite 50 and at 209, I'm not under 200 yet, but my weight loss has slowed down so I'm taking a break.
BTW congratulations you've done great!!1 -
JeromeBarry1 wrote: »middlehaitch wrote: »You could switch to maintenance but instead of using the calorie goal for 116 lbs, use the goal for 110.
This will slowly take you down to 110 but your mentality will switch from losing to maintaining, and you won't have to switch your cal goal when you get there.
Just saying this as at 5'1 I found those last 5 lbs (110-105) made a big difference.
You could also stay st 116 and run a recomp.
Cheers, h.
Intriguing. Thanks for your perspective.
Intriguing, indeed. I'm 6.6 lb above my own arbitrary goal of 160 with a weight loss target of 0.5 lb per week. My calorie budget today is 1740. When I pretended to be 160 with a goal of maintaining, it raised my calorie budget to 1950.
It is a slow decent as I said @JeromeBarry1. But is a reasonable alternate if you are just sick of thinking deficit and want to move to maintenance.
Out of curiosity what would your maintenance be at the weight you are now?
Cheers, h.0 -
Did anyone ever just feel like they were done being in deficit even though they didn't hit their goal? I started at 161 in January with a randomly chosen goal of 110. I'm 5'2. I'm 116 now. The last few weeks I've just felt done. It's not that I want to binge, I just don't want to be in deficit anymore. And, I am happy with how I look in the mirror. That perfectionist part of me says to continue until I hit my goal since I'm really quite close. But the other part says 116 isn't going to look any different than 110. What would you do?
I can't speak for your situation, but for me, I had to stop before I got too skinny. Although a weight in the low 170s would have put me in the midrange value for what is considered "normal" for my height (six foot two) based on standard BMI tables, it became pretty clear that anything in the 180s or lower made me look gaunt. Not the look I was going for.
As of this morning I weight 196. My starting weight was around 235.
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I'm 5'2 also. I weigh 130 right now, and I honestly look pretty good. My arbitrary goal is 118-120, may hang out and reevaluate. I want to be able to have enough calories at maintenance to enjoy my life, but I have 3 kids and am in my 30s *shrug*1
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If you feel good, you've won. Congrats!2
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RavenLibra wrote: »There is no "done" begin to seek out new activities to engage you physically, mentally and emotionally. And continue to track your calories... you have worked this hard...fought the good fight... lived through self- deprivation... and achieved success... NOW don't begin to believe that it's over... because it never ends... build on the good habits... and stay focused. Be determined
This is the unfortunate truth.... maintenance begins a whole new ball game. It takes a while to figure out what your maintenance calories are. 2 years into maintenance, I still have to be diligent. What got me into the position of needing to lose weight in the first place was overeating by 70-100 calories a day (yep.... an apple, orange or hardboiled egg
) Personally, if I let my guard down for even a couple of months I find myself nearing the top of my maintenance range. I worked too hard to lose it to not work just as hard to keep it off. Goal weight is just an arbitrary number we decide upon, so if you feel good where you are and are at a healthy weight ..... celebrate, up your calories, and move on to the next phase. Although I wasn't one of those people, some of my MFP friends continued to "incidentally" lose a few more pounds as they searched for their sweet spot in maintenance. Congrats on your success 
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